PSOM Update: Funding News & Opportunities

PSOM Resource Hub

Please be sure to visit our Resource Hub where helpful information concerning the current tools, updates, and resources supporting research are seamlessly featured – including the Human Resources Support and FAQs and Wellness pages.

Check out the new PSOM Matching Tool, developed to help departments identify and share available staff capacity.

Science Advocacy Resources

If you are interested in science advocacy, Science Homecoming helps scientists advocate for NIH and NSF funding by publishing op-eds in their hometown newspapers. The site offers free templates, editorial support, and tools to highlight the local impact of science.

New NIH Public Access Policy Requirements

The NIH implemented the 2024 Public Access Policy on July 1, 2025. As a reminder, under the new policy, final peer-reviewed journal manuscripts for work funded by the NIH must be submitted to PubMed Central immediately upon acceptance for publication.

The NIH notice of this change is found here, and the 2024 Public Access Policy is found here. A comprehensive FAQ is also available.

Extended Eligibility for Mentored Career Awards

NIH recently extended eligibility to accommodate new applications for those whose career awards have been terminated. See: NIH is Temporarily Extending Eligibility for Some Mentored Career Development Awards | Grants & Funding

Subscribe to the ORS Listserv

The Office of Research Services keeps Penn's research community up to date on developments affecting sponsored projects via an electronic mailing list. Sign up here.

Updates to the RAMPART tool

The Risk Assessment Model for Proposal and Award Rapid Testing (RAMPART) tool has been updated in two key ways since its initial release:

1. The risk assessment model is based on terms that appear significantly more common in grants that have been closed than grants that remain open.

2. An option to receive suggested alternatives to selected blocks of text that, if used, are predicted to reduce the grant’s risk.

Full announcement from ORS

Access the RAMPART tool via PennERA

Pivot-RP Funding Database

A second mechanism of support provided by the Office of the Vice Provost for Research to Penn researchers is Pivot-RP, a platform geared toward enhancing the discovery of sponsored research opportunities, making the process faster, more targeted, and more efficient. Pivot-RP also simplifies communication with potential collaborators by offering seamless ways to share opportunities.

Impact of Executive Orders

For questions related to the impact of the new Presidential Executive Orders on federally funded research, the Office of the Vice Provost for Research is making current information and guidance available via the homepage of the Office of Research Services (ORS).

The LLS Discovery Grant Program (DGP) is Now Open

Letter of Intent deadline: August 19, 2025, 3PM EDT

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is pleased to announce the 2025-2026 application cycle of the Discovery Grant Program (DGP), designed to encourage basic research, technological innovation, and informatics pipeline development for investigators researching leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, and all other rare blood cancers.

Important: Because of particular contractual requirements, any faculty interested in applying should first seek approval by emailing Michael Ostap, interim Chief Scientific Officer, and Robert Vonderheide, Director of the Abramson Cancer Center. Careful consideration of proprietary information or potential IP from the proposed work is required; if there are specific questions about IP, please contact Benjamin Dibling, Managing Director of the Penn Center for Innovation.

DOD Melanoma Funding Opportunities

Letter of Intent deadline: September 10, 2025

Melanoma Research Program Department of Defense, Defense Health Agency Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) featured Funding Opportunities for Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25). See website below for details regarding CDMRP funding opportunities in Melanoma research.

Please direct inquiries to: CDMRP Public Affairs

The LLS Translational Research Program (TRP) is Now Open

Letter of Intent deadline: October 16, 2025, 3PM EDT

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is pleased to announce the 2025-2026 application cycle of the Translational Research Program (TRP), which was formed to enhance the transfer of basic research findings to clinical usefulness.

CANCELED: PSOM Limited Application - NSF Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Award

Please note that the National Science Foundation (NSF) has canceled this year's Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Award.

PSOM Limited Application - Searle Scholars Program

Submission deadline: July 15, 2025

The University has been invited to nominate two candidates for the Searle Scholars Program. The Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR) is managing the final candidate review and selection process; each school within the University may submit the names of up to two candidates.

Please direct inquiries to: Kaitlyn Hagarty

PSOM Limited Application - Mathers Grant Program (Fall Cycle)

Submission deadline: July 25, 2025

The University has been invited to nominate three candidates for the Mathers Grant Program. The Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR) is managing the final candidate review and selection process. Each school within the University may submit the names of up to three candidates.

Please direct inquiries to: Kaitlyn Hagarty

PSOM Limited Application - Rita Allen Scholars Program

Submission deadline: August 1, 2025

The University has been invited to submit one nomination for the 2026 Rita Allen Foundation (RAF) Scholars Award Program. The Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR) is coordinating the final applicant review and selection process. Each school within the University may submit one nomination to OVPR.

Please direct inquiries to: Kaitlyn Hagarty

Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholars Fellowship Award in Translational Immunology (non-cancer)

Submission deadline: August 3, 2025

The Warren Alpert Distinguished Scholars program will support individual postdoctoral scientists of exceptional creativity in the field of translational immunology (non-cancer). These translational awards are to enable a postdoctoral researcher or instructor to advance to become a full-time faculty member at the Assistant Professor level or higher and to promote the development of a laboratory program that will lead to independent funding.

Please direct inquiries to: Joshua Darfler

PSOM Limited Application - Landenberger Research Foundation Awards

Submission deadline: August 25, 2025

The Perelman School of Medicine has been invited to nominate one candidate for the Margaret Q. Landenberger Research Foundation Awards.

Please direct inquiries to: Kaitlyn Hagarty

PERFORM-KUH TL1 - Next Application Round

Submission deadline: Late 2025-Early 2026

The Philadelphia Program for Mentored Research Training in Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Diseases (PERFORM-KUH) institutional network award would like to announce the next round of PERFORM-KUH grant applications! Please find attached the RFA to participate in this program. We ask you to identify students or post-doctoral fellows from within your research programs or labs, forward this information to them, and with your help, encourage your trainees to apply.

Please direct inquiries to: Adam Mussell

RFA for the Hopkins-Penn Ovarian Cancer SPORE CEP & DRP Awards 2025-2026

Submission deadline: August 1, 2025

The UPenn SPORE in Ovarian Cancer are offering two grant opportunities to support new projects in ovarian cancer research: the Developmental Research Program (DRP) and the Career Enhancement Program (CEP).

Please direct inquiries to: Ehay Jung

SBDRC Pilot Grants

Submission deadline: August 29, 2025

The Penn Skin Biology and Diseases Resource-based Center (Penn SBDRC) invites you to apply for Pilot & Feasibility (P&F) awards. As one of six NIAMS P30-supported centers nationwide, we aim to support and accelerate innovative and collaborative skin research with the potential to impact patient lives. Awards up to $50,000; 3 different funding mechanisms.

Please direct inquiries to: SBDRC

Frontiers Planet Prize - 4th Edition

Submission deadline: September 30, 2025

The $1M Frontiers Planet Prize recognizes exceptional scientists enhancing our understanding of planetary health and developing solutions to stay within safe operating limits. The deadline for the internal submission is Sept. 30, 2025. Read the full posting for eligibility guidelines, criteria, and detail on the Penn internal selection process.

Please direct inquiries to: Ximena Trujillo

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