Funding Opportunities

Grants for melanoma and skin cancer clinical research

Melanoma and Skin Cancer Trials conducts investigator-initiated clinical trials and related research to improve how doctors prevent, diagnose and treat melanoma and skin cancer.

We have built an impressive reputation for delivering multicentre trials that improve melanoma and skin cancer outcomes across the world. Since 1999, we have delivered 29 clinical trials involving over 7,500 participants.

Melanoma and Skin Cancer Trials facilitates the development of competitive investigator-initiated proposals through our concept development pathway. For more information on how we can help you develop a research proposal and secure funding, contact us.

2025 NHMRC-Horizon Europe - GO7886

Open Date

10 September 2025

Closing Date

29 April 2026 (Single stage deadline model); 25 Nov 2026 (Two-stage deadline model)

Grant amount

$1,000,000.00 AUD (Total Amount $4,000,000.00 AUD)

Application website

2025 NHMRC-Horizon Europe

About

The 2025 NHMRC-Horizon Europe grant opportunity supports Australian participation in international collaborative research under Horizon Europe. Horizon Europe facilitates collaboration and strengthens research impact and innovation while tackling global challenges.

NHMRC will invite Australia-based researchers who are listed on eligible applications deemed fundable by the European Commission (EC) to apply to NHMRC for support of the Australian component of research under the following topics submitted under the Horizon Europe topics listed in section 2.4 of the 2025 NHMRC-Horizon Europe Guidelines.

Chronic Conditions Prevention and Integrated Care Program - GO8398

Open Date

6 May 2026

Closing Date

17 June 2026

Grant amount

$12,000,000 AUD (Total Amount $148,235,000.00 AUD)

Application website

Chronic Conditions Prevention and Integrated Care Program

About

This grant opportunity (GO) will drive improved health outcomes for people in Australia, living with, or at risk of, chronic conditions by supporting early detection, prevention and effective management. Guided by the National Strategic Framework for Chronic Conditions 2026-2035 (Framework) the Program will support a strategic and competitive investment approach that ensures transparency, fairness and alignment with Government priorities.

The objectives of the GO are:

Health Promotion and Education
Embedding Prevention and Early Detection
System integrated, multidisciplinary and person centred continuity of care
Managing Multimorbidity
Enhanced and targeted support for health equity.

Funding will be awarded to initiatives that demonstrate measurable impact and contribute to long-term, sustainable improvements in chronic conditions health outcomes based on the following Tiers, with Tier 1 being prioritised:

Tier 1: National Collaborative Activities – Funding supports large-scale activities with national scope that address multiple chronic conditions and/or risk factors and meet at least two Program objectives/focus areas listed at section 2.1 in the Framework. These initiatives should foster cross-sector collaboration, encouraging partnerships between health organisations, community groups, research institutions, and other relevant stakeholders. Tier 1 projects should use a unified approach, addressing related conditions or common risk factors regardless of specific diagnoses.

Tier 2: Targeted Activities – Funding is designed to support short term activities that contribute to at least one of the Program’s objectives. These activities may focus on a single chronic condition or risk factor allowing for targeted interventions including pilot projects and time limited trials.

Grants-in-Aid

Open Date

20 April 2026

Closing Date

20 May 2026 (EOI); 1 September 2026 (Full Application)

Grant amount

$360,000 AUD

Application website

Cancer Council Victoria

About

Grants-in-Aid funds high quality research focused on discovering and improving prevention, detection, treatment, and care for people affected by cancer.

In the 2026 round, up to 12 grants will be available (maximum value $360,000 per grant).

6 general grants (max. $120,000 p.a. for two or three years)
1 mesothelioma grant (max. $120,000 p.a. for two or three years)
1 non‑Hodgkin’s lymphoma grant (max. $120,000 p.a. for two or three years)
4 clinical trial research grants (two- or three-year proposals, no p.a. funding cap)
Priority area: People with disabilities and/or mental health conditions
Priority area: Rare or less common cancers

MRFF 2026 National Critical Research Infrastructure - GO7982

Open Date

18 February 2026

Closing Date

14 July 2026

Grant amount

Total amount $85,000,000.00 AUD

Application website

National Critical Research Infrastructure

About

The 2026 National Critical Research Infrastructure initiative invests in research infrastructure to ensure Australian researchers find innovative solutions to complex health problems in areas of unmet medical need. This grant opportunity has four streams.

Stream 1 – Innovation enablers

Address an area of unmet medical need by promoting the development and implementation of new research infrastructure by supporting development and/or expansion of research enablers such as biobanks, tissue repositories, novel platforms, and secure health data environments to create valuable research resources.

Stream 2 – Digitisation of health care

Translate or implement innovative artificial intelligence technologies into health applications that:

benefit multiple health disciplines/areas
involve consumers in the research journey to ensure the research is applicable to the needs of the Australian community; and
increase artificial intelligence workforce capacity and capability, particularly in relation to health, through cross-sector and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Stream 3 – Co-investment partnerships

Utilise co-investment (cash only) with the research sector, state and/or territory governments, and industry, in significant critical research infrastructure (e.g. facilities, personnel and equipment):

to support development of research capacity, capability and/or effectiveness in an area of unmet medical need, or
to enable Australian research using new platforms, systems and services in an area of unmet medical need.

Stream 4 – mRNA technology enablers

Leverage and enhance emerging mRNA technologies, platforms, and/or equipment to accelerate development of mRNA-based vaccines and therapeutics in an area of unmet medical need.

An application may only be submitted to one of the above four streams. Applicants must specify the stream to which they are applying in their application.

MRFF 2026 Consumer-Led Research Grant Opportunity - GO8270

Open Date

4 March 2026

Closing Date

5 August 2026

Grant amount

$2,500,000.00 AUD (Total amount $20,000,000.00 AUD)

Application website

2026 Consumer-Led Research Grant

About

The objective of this grant opportunity is to provide grants of financial assistance to support medical research and medical innovation projects that:

Stream 1 (Incubator): identify health priorities, develop new approaches and/or methodologies and conduct pilot studies addressing health issues and/or barriers that:

are co-led, co-produced and/or co-designed with consumers
are in partnership with health services
increase consumers’ understanding of, and involvement in, research.

Stream 2 (Targeted Call for Research): develop and/or test scalable and sustainable approaches, in partnership with consumers, that enable self-care interventions or improve quality of life and/or survivorship care.

Approaches are for individuals from one or more priority populations, who have experienced or are experiencing long-term diseases and conditions. Approaches may, where appropriate, also deliver for the individual’s families, carers and communities.

Topic A: Research projects that focus on cancer
Topic B: Research projects that focus on long term physical diseases and conditions other than cancer
Topic C: Research projects that focus on mental health challenges, diseases or conditions.

MRFF 2026 Genomics Health Futures Grant Opportunity - GO8294

Open Date

18 March 2026

Closing Date

19 August 2026

Grant amount

$8,000,000.00 AUD (Total amount $74,000,000.00 AUD)

Application website

2026 Genomics Health Futures Grant Opportunity

About

The objective of this GO is to provide grants of financial assistance to support medical research and medical innovation projects that:

Stream 1 (TCR): develop genomic tools and technologies to identify genetic predisposition to cancer and improve screening and targeted intervention. Focus on increased access to genomic testing and on liquid biopsy.

Stream 2 (TCR): conduct scalable research to enhance novel gene discoveries, increase diagnostic rates and enable disease modelling to support development of targeted therapies or prevention strategies.

Stream 3 (Incubator): develop novel methods for using polygenic risk scores to identify subgroups of the population at high risk of common and complex diseases.

Topic A: Cardiovascular disease
Topic B: Diabetes
Topic C: Other common and/or complex diseases

Stream 4 (Incubator): develop novel methods for improving accuracy and usefulness of polygenic risk scores to stratify people with common cancers for surveillance and treatment.

Topic A: Breast Cancer
Topic B: Colorectal cancer
Topic C: Prostate cancer
Topic D: Other common cancers

Stream 5 (TCR): undertake research to enhance or streamline uptake of clinical genomics into practice.

Stream 6 (Accelerator): develop and maintain infrastructure to support research collaboration by enabling data sharing, portability, longevity and connectivity of analysis across Australia. Research conducted should address emerging ethical, legal and social issues associated with the governance of clinical and genomic datasets with particular focus on the application of advanced analytics (e.g. AI) to enhance the diagnostic utility of genomics.

Applicants must propose research that addresses these objectives and those of the Genomics Health Futures Mission as outlined in the Roadmap and Implementation Plan.

MRFF 2026 Early to Mid-Career Researchers Grant Opportunity - GO8417

Open Date

29 May 2026

Closing Date

22 July 2026 (Minimum Data); 19 August 2026 (Full Application)

Grant amount

$4,000,000.00 AUD (Total amount $44,800,000.00 AUD)

Application website

2026 Early to Mid-Career Researchers Grant Opportunity

About

The objectives and intended outcomes of this grant opportunity are aligned with the following Australian
Medical Research and Innovation Priorities 2024-2026:

Health and Medical Researcher Capacity and Capability
Priority Populations.

Consistent with the MRFF Act, the objective of this grant opportunity is to provide grants of financial
assistance to support medical research and medical innovation projects that:

Stream 1 (Incubator): conduct early stage, small scale research, led by early career researchers, that seeks to assess the potential and feasibility of novel strategies to address a critical or intractable health issue in one or more Priority Populations.
Stream 2 (Accelerator): establish a large-scale interdisciplinary research program, led by mid-career researchers, that drives implementation of substantial improvements to health care and/or health system effectiveness for one or more Priority Populations.
Stream 3 (Targeted Call for Research): utilise co-funding to accelerate the translation of research that addresses a specific health need as well as led by early or mid-career researchers into policy and practice. (Note: a priority population focus is not required).

Priority Populations are defined as:

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people
People in remote/rural communities (living in MM3-7)
People with a disability
People from culturally and linguistically diverse communities
LGBTIQA+ people
Children and youth
Older people experiencing diseases of ageing
People with rare or currently untreatable diseases/conditions.

Ian Potter Foundation Public Health Research Grants 2027

Open Date

28 May 2026

Closing Date

18 June 2026 (EOI); 20 August 2026 (Full Application)

Grant amount

Minimum $100,000.00 AUD per year (up to 5 years)

Application website

Ian Potter Foundation – Public Health Research Grants

About

The Foundation seeks to identify and support community-led implementation of public health measures that aim to improve the health and well-being of communities that have a high incidence of ill health by supporting them to implement preventative public health initiatives that work best in their specific context.

This can encompass:

Early-stage projects exploring the most pressing public health challenges identified by a community and developing solutions with the community to improve health and well-being for that community
Advanced projects that seek to implement solutions conceptualised and developed with the community as an equal partner
Collecting and synthesising the evidence of established community-led initiatives to inform policy or develop and test funding models for long-term sustainability
Scaling of pilot projects that have demonstrated success in improving health and well-being in a community
Community-led innovative public health initiatives that disrupt or shift existing systems, driving determinants of health (social, economic and environmental), which perpetuate health outcome inequities.

Community-based organisations with the appropriate DGR status of any size are encouraged to apply. The Foundation only considers grant applications for multi-year grants (up to 5 years) for a minimum of $100,000 per year.

MRFF 2026 International Clinical Trial Collaborations Grant Opportunity - GO8232

Open Date

11 February 2026

Closing Date

16 September 2026

Grant amount

$3,000,000.00 AUD (Total Amount $13,000,000.00 AUD)

Application website

2026 International Clinical Trial Collaborations Grant

About

The Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Clinical Trials Activity Initiative (the Initiative) aims to increase clinical trial activity in Australia in order to improve the evidence base supporting clinical care and to help patients access trials relevant to their health circumstances and enable researchers to bring international trials to Australian patients.

The objective of this grant opportunity is to provide grants of financial assistance to support medical research and medical innovation projects that:

Promote Australian involvement in international collaborative investigator-initiated clinical trials research through the establishment and co-ordination of clinical trial site/s in Australia.
Provide high-quality evidence of the effectiveness of novel health treatments, drugs or devices in ‘usual care’ settings, which will support a decision on whether to deliver the intervention in an Australian setting.

The intended outcome of the research is to improve the health and wellbeing of Australians by investing in new clinical trials that support increased access to high-quality, evidence-based and effective health care.

Applicants to this grant opportunity must propose a clinical trial in Australia in collaboration with international counterparts. The clinical trial should not have commenced recruitment at the Australian trial site/s.

Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies Grants

Open Date

9 September 2026

Closing Date

4 November 2026

Grant amount

TBC

Application website

Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies Grants

About

This funding scheme is open to research proposals for clinical trials and/or cohort studies of any size – that is, they may be large or small clinical trials or cohort studies.

The intended outcomes of the Clinical Trials and Cohort Studies Grants scheme are improvements in health and well-being, health care practice or policy, as a result of:

High-quality clinical trials that provide reliable evidence of the effects of health-related interventions on health outcomes (or appropriate surrogates).
High-quality cohort studies that provide reliable evidence on the relation of important risk factors and other exposures to health-related outcomes.
High quality retrospective cohort studies that provide reliable evidence on the relation of important risk factors and other exposures to health-related outcomes.

Partnership Projects 2026 - GO8163

Open Date

7 January 2026

Closing Date

11 November 2026

Grant amount

$1,500,000.00 AUD (Total Amount $35,300,000.00 AUD)

Application website

Partnership Projects 2026

About

Partnership Projects will support collaborations, within the Australian context, that translate research evidence into health policy and health practice, to improve health services and processes.

The objectives of the Partnership Project scheme are to:

• Meet the need for more effective integration of research evidence into health policy and service delivery

• Create partnerships among policy makers, managers, service providers and researchers

• Provide support to answer often complex and difficult questions that policy makers, managers and service providers face when making decisions and implementing policies that affect Australians’ health and health care

• Be highly responsive to the priorities of government, the community and health professionals

• Enable applicants to apply for funding at any time during the year to allow researchers and Partner Organisations to develop timely collaborations.

International Grant Opportunities:

Next Steps Program

Open Date

19 March 2026

Closing Date

10 April 2026 (Letter of Intent); 16 June 2026 (Full Application)

Grant amount

$1,000,000 USD

Application website

Melanoma Research Alliance

About

Through the 2026 Next Steps Program Request for Proposals, Melanoma Research Alliance welcomes proposals that aim to accelerate the development of new approaches and technologies in cellular therapy and vaccine therapy specifically for acral and/or uveal melanoma. Proposals on GNAQ/11 related melanomas are also allowed. This RFP will support preclinical, pre-IND development stage, and clinical-stage studies
focused on advancing cellular or vaccine-based therapeutic approaches that have the potential to
improved treatment strategies for patients with acral or uveal melanoma. Competitive proposals will
demonstrate a clear path toward translating promising preclinical discoveries into near-term clinical
development or clinical trials. It is anticipated that achieving the aims of the proposal may require
the expertise from different departments at a given institution or collaborations across multiple
institutions and core facilities.

Cellular and vaccine therapies include, but are not limited to:

CAR T-Cell Therapy
Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocyte (TIL) Therapy
T Cell Receptor Therapy
Dual Target Cellular Therapy
Nucleic Acid or Peptide Personalized Neoantigen or Shared Antigen Vaccines
Cell-based Vaccines
Oncolytic Virus Vaccines
Novel Vaccine Delivery Approaches
Combination Approach (e.g., cell therapy and immune or targeted therapy, vaccine therapy and immune or targeted therapy, cell and vaccine combination therapy)

Researchers and clinicians within or outside the U.S. working in academic medical centers, universities, or other non-profit research institutions are eligible to apply.

Rising Tide Foundation for Clinical Cancer Research Grant Opportunity

Open Date

19 March 2026

Closing Date

22 June 2026 & 23 November 2026 (Letter of Intent)

Grant amount

$500,000 USD

Application website

Rising Tide Foundation for Clinical Cancer Research

About

Rising Tide Foundation for Clinical Cancer Research (RTFCCR) supports innovative and unique patient
centered clinical trials with the potential to impact the lives of cancer patients timely. Our overall goal is
to improve cancer patients’ treatment options and quality of life by funding clinical studies focused on
therapy optimization, disease and treatment burden, and early detection and intervention.

To be eligible for funding, proposed clinical trials must meet the following criteria:

Clinical trials must be interventional, early to late stage (Phase 1, 2, and 3); they may include secondary
non-clinical endpoints.
Only applications aimed at detecting and intervening in early cancer (pre-cancerous changes) can also be considered at the pre-clinical validation stage.
Pharmaceutical agents used in the study can be generic (off-patent repurposing), registered for this indication, or under development by an academic institution.
Clinical trials testing immunotherapies should be discussed with RTFCCR before application submission.
Applications must have patient partner involvement

Cancer Prevention and Control Clinical Trials Grant Program (R01 Clinical Trial Required) - PAR-25-167

Open Date

05 January 2025

Closing Date

5 February 2026, 5 June 2026 and 5 October 2026

Grant amount

Application budgets are not limited but need to reflect the actual needs of the proposed project.

Application website

Cancer Prevention and Control Clinical Trials Grant Program

About

This notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) invites applications of investigator-initiated clinical trials (Phase 0-IV) that have the potential to reduce the burden of cancer through improvements in early detection, screening, prevention and interception, healthcare delivery, quality of life, and/or survivorship related to cancer; with such attributes, the proposed studies should also have the potential to improve clinical practice and/or public health. This NOFO does not and will not support clinical trials for studies of cancer diagnosis and/or oncologic therapy in patients.

Examples of relevant areas of research include but are not limited to:

Cancer prevention and interception: development and testing of interventions (including diet, nutritional compounds, drugs, small molecules, vaccine and biologics) and approaches (including physical activity, medical devices, cancer preventive surgery, risk-reducing surgery, and non-surgical ablative techniques) to block, reverse, or delay the early stages of cancer (including treatment of preneoplastic lesions and presurgical trials in early stage cancer with the intent of developing an agent/intervention for cancer prevention). This also includes studies examining mechanism and surrogate biomarkers of efficacy;
Cancer screening: studies of operating characteristics and clinical impact (harms as well as benefits) of cancer early detection technologies and practices, such as imaging and molecular biomarker approaches;
Early detection: studies for identification, development, and validation of biological markers for early cancer detection and cancer risk assessment;
Behavioral research in cancer prevention and control: development and testing of interventions addressing risk behaviors such as: tobacco use, energy balance, alcohol use, or sun exposure; vaccine uptake; immune function; screening behavior; treatment adherence; biopsychosocial processes of cancer-related behavior; communication, decision science, environmental modifications and policy changes aimed at altering cancer-related health behaviors and/or preventing or improving cancer-related risks and outcomes;
Susceptibility to cancer and cancer-related outcomes: strategies to translate clinical, environmental and genomic/genetic determinants of cancer occurrence and outcomes into evidence-based interventions for clinical and public health practice;
Implementation science: strategies to promote the adoption, implementation, and sustainability of evidence-based intervention into routine healthcare and public health settings or the deimplementation of ineffective interventions;
Healthcare delivery: single and multi-level interventions addressing the organization and/or delivery of cancer care (e.g., team-based care; novel use of electronic health records; new organizational mechanisms/staffing such as patient navigation; new models of specialized services such as palliative care or survivorship programs);
Cancer survivorship: interventions addressing the physical, psychological, social, and financial burden of cancer and its treatment among survivors of cancer and their families (e.g., mental health, social functioning, caregiver well-being and adaptation);
Supportive and palliative care: development and testing of interventions (including diet, nutritional compounds, drugs, small molecules, vaccine and biologics) and approaches for the prevention or treatment of acute and chronic symptoms and morbidities related to cancer and its treatment including those experienced by patients with metastatic cancer; and/or
Quality of Life (QOL): studies to improve the QOL of patients.

Foreign Organizations

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) are eligible to apply.
Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are eligible to apply.
Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed.

National Cancer Institute's Investigator-Initiated Early Phase Clinical Trials for Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis (R01 Clinical Trial Required) - PAR-25-081

Open Date

05 January 2025

Closing Date

5 February 2026, 5 June 2026 and 5 October 2026

Grant amount

The total direct costs available is up to: $2,499,995 USD

Application website

National Cancer Institute

About

This notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) is applicable to a broad range of early phase (Phase 0, I, and II) investigator-initiated clinical trial evaluations that improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in areas of common and unmet need. Potential areas of research may include, but are not limited to, the clinical evaluation of new or improved anticancer drugs and biologics, including immunotherapies, new or improved imaging technologies and surgical interventions, novel approaches to radiation therapy, and incorporation of complementary and alternative medicine approaches to treatment. The research component may include the development of therapeutics, diagnostics, and devices in combination with standard care therapies including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy, or any combination of these modalities. Additional research aims can be proposed as part of the overall research plan provided it includes at least 1 clinical trial to be completed within the project period.

Note that Phase III clinical trials will not be accepted through this NOFO.

Description of the type of clinical trials that can be supported include:

Single-site clinical trial(s): Early phase trials where the protocol is implemented by one investigational site that conducts and coordinates the protocol. While a single-site clinical trial may enroll participants from multiple locations/clinics within a geographic area, those participants will receive an intervention or undergo outcome assessments under the direction and oversight of one research team at one investigational site.
Multi-site clinical trial(s): Early phase trials that recruit study subjects from two or more geographically distinct enrollment sites, or centers. The sites are usually distinct in other characteristics (e.g., demographic, socioeconomic, or clinical). Study protocols are followed at these sites.
Mechanistic clinical trial(s): Hypothesis-driven interventional studies (i.e., early phase trials) focused on basic and/or translational, discovery research on the biology and pathophysiology of cancer or the mechanism of action of an intervention.
Feasibility clinical trial(s): Early phase trials that propose to break new ground and/or extend previous discoveries toward new directions and/or applications.
Pragmatic trial(s): Early phase trials that test an intervention under the usual clinical conditions in which it will be applied, while explanatory trials do so under more idealized circumstances.
Ancillary clinical trial(s): Early phase trials that address research questions related to ongoing trials but are distinct from the primary/secondary objectives of the parent study. An ancillary clinical trial is an independent trial that includes an additional intervention prospectively assigned to patients or a subpopulation of patients within a larger trial. For helpful examples, see case studies 42b and 42c.
Pharmacodynamic trial(s): Early phase trials that link outcomes to measurements on pre- and post-treatment specimens to test hypotheses about therapeutic mechanisms based on pre-clinical data.
Biomarker-driven trial(s): Early phase trials that test predictive or prognostic biomarker findings obtained from pilot trials.
Co-clinical trial(s): Early phase trials that involve patients and in parallel (or sequentially) animal or human-in-animal models of cancer that mirror the genetics and biology of the patients’ malignancies or pre-cancerous lesions. The co-clinical trial should include either a therapeutic goal (e.g., the prediction, staging, and/or measurement of tumor response to therapies) or an early diagnostic goal.

Foreign Organizations

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) are eligible to apply.
Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are eligible to apply.
Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed.

Melanoma Research Program Focused Program Award – Rare Melanomas (HT942526MRPFPARM)

Open Date

21 May 2025

Closing Date

13 July 2026 (Pre-application); 14 October 2026 (Full application)

Grant amount

$2,800,000 USD (Total amount: $5.6M USD)

Application website

Melanoma Research Program (MRP)

About

The vision of the MRP is to prevent melanoma initiation and progression, and reduce hardship. The mission is to support development of earlier interventions to enhance mission readiness, diminish melanoma burden, and improve quality of life for Service Members, Veterans, their Families and the American public.

Studies involving non-melanoma skin cancers are not allowed under the FY26 MRP.

Rare melanoma subtypes can have distinct characteristics compared to cutaneous melanoma, which makes up the majority of melanoma diagnoses. Rare melanoma subtypes are typically less well-studied, and this has led to a variety of prevention, diagnosis and treatment challenges. The MRP seeks to fund research across the entire cancer research spectrum (biology, etiology, prevention, diagnosis and detection, prognosis, treatment and quality of life) and must address a critical unmet need relevant to rare melanomas. Although the FY26 MRP accepts applications addressing topics relevant to uveal melanoma, the MRP is particularly interested in receiving applications that address other uncommon presentations of melanoma, including but not limited to:
• Genetic (molecular subtypes).
• Histologic (desmoplastic and acral lentiginous).
• Tissue of origin (mucosal, acral).
• Clinical presentation (pediatric, leptomeningeal disease).

Foreign Organizations

Extramural and intramural U.S. Department of War (DOW) organizations are eligible to apply,
including foreign and domestic organizations, for-profit and nonprofit organizations, and
public or private entities.

Melanoma Research Program Team Science Award (HT942526MRPTSA)

Open Date

21 May 2025

Closing Date

13 July 2026 (Pre-application); 14 October 2026 (Full application)

Grant amount

$2,100,000 USD (Total amount: $18.9M USD)

Application website

Melanoma Research Program (MRP)

About

The intent of the FY26 MRP Team Science Award (TSA) is to support a broad range of hypothesis-driven, multidisciplinary studies that are responsive to at least one of the FY26 MRP Focus Areas and have the short-term goal of advancing the state of the science in melanoma research and/or patient care. Team science is a synergistic effort that harnesses techniques, approaches, and perspectives from multiple disciplines and/or therapeutic areas to address complex, multi-dimensional problems that will impact patient outcomes. The TSA is intended to bring together investigators from divergent disciplines to achieve innovations and advancements in melanoma research and/or patient care that could not be achieved by any one investigator working independently. While basic research is allowed, all applications are expected to articulate the short- and long-term benefits of the expected research outcomes for the melanoma patient community.

Types of research that meet the intent of the TSA include, but are not limited to:

Translational research that leverages clinical samples from established biobanks, established biorepositories, and/or ongoing or completed clinical trials.
Data science research where quantitative and analytical approaches, processes and/or systems are developed and/or used to obtain knowledge and insight from large and/or complex sets of melanoma data.
Research that uses bioengineering approaches to develop tools that assist in the detection, diagnosis, prognosis and/or treatment of melanoma.
Other hypothesis-driven basic to translational research designed to investigate melanoma prevention and/or interception, rare melanomas or melanoma survivorship.

Clinical trials are not allowed within this funding opportunity.

Melanoma Research Program Survivorship Research Award (HT942526MRPSRA)

Open Date

21 May 2025

Closing Date

22 September 2026 (Pre-application); 14 October 2026 (Full application)

Grant amount

$1,020,000 USD (Total amount: $2,040,000 USD)

Application website

Melanoma Research Program (MRP)

About

Studies involving non-melanoma skin cancers are not allowed under the FY26 MRP.

The intent of the Survivorship Research Award is to address the relatively new and underfunded area of melanoma-specific survivorship by supporting a broad range of innovative and impactful research that has the intended outcome of improving the health and well-being of melanoma survivors, their families and/or their care partners. Applications may propose development of evidence-based practices, behavioral health science, survivor and/or care partner well-being interventions and surveillance, and/or identification of psychosocial survivor outcomes. Clinical trials are allowed.

The following list outlines areas of survivorship research of interest to the MRP:

Preservation of function (physical ability) and symptom management throughout treatment
and beyond
Psychological and social impacts of a melanoma diagnosis and treatment on melanoma
survivors and care partners
Treatment outcomes
Health care delivery

Foreign Organizations

Extramural and intramural U.S. Department of War (DOW) organizations are eligible to apply,
including foreign and domestic organizations, for-profit and nonprofit organizations, and
public or private entities.

Clinical Studies of Orphan Products Addressing Unmet Needs of Rare Diseases (R01 Clinical Trials Required) - RFA-FD-25-020

Open Date

22 August 2025

Closing Date

20 October 2026 and 19 October 2027

Grant amount

The total funds available is up to: $2,600,000 USD

Application website

Clinical Studies of Orphan Products Addressing Unmet Needs of Rare Diseases

About

This grant is intended to support clinical trials of orphan products in all phases of product development (phase 1, 2 and/or 3) for rare diseases with unmet medical needs. These clinical trials should evaluate safety and/or efficacy of medical products in support of a new indication or a change in labeling. Depending on the phase of development, these trials may need to include an appropriate comparator, such as a placebo, a concurrent external control, or a historical control. Applicants are encouraged to refer to “Rare Diseases: Considerations for the Development of Drugs and Biological Products” for guidance on conducting more efficient and successful drug development programs. Applicants are also encouraged to refer to Guidance Documents for Rare Disease Drug Development for selected guidances relevant to rare disease drug development and information on the Orphan Products Grants Program website before applying for this opportunity.

To facilitate efficient product development, the use of shared, established infrastructure and resources and collaborative efforts between stakeholders in industry, academia, and patient organizations are highly encouraged under this grant. Additionally, patients living with a rare disease, or their caregivers have experiences and knowledge that contribute to important considerations in product development, such as with trial feasibility, thus early and ongoing patient engagement is also highly encouraged.

Innovative and Efficient Trial Approaches:
FDA is interested in supporting innovative and efficient trial designs and will allow for additional funding with justification for applications proposing the use of one or more of the following:

Innovative trial designs such as seamless and adaptive trial designs, which compress the phases of a trial into one continuous trial, as well as basket, umbrella and platform trials, which allow for testing of multiple drugs and/or multiple diseases using a common infrastructure.
Innovative methods using data simulations and modeling toward the study of safety and efficacy of a product.

These approaches may hold significant promise for the advancement of therapeutic treatments for rare diseases through all phases of product development. Early engagement with FDA review divisions to discuss the use of these innovative approaches is highly recommended prior to submitting a grant application (e.g., preIND, INTERACT, other meetings).

Foreign Organizations

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) are eligible to apply.
Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are eligible to apply.
Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed.

Gateway for Cancer Research Grants

Open Date

N/A

Closing Date

6 November 2026

Grant amount

Up to $1,500,000 USD

Application website

Gateway for Cancer Research

About

Gateway funds Phase I and II patient-centered cancer investigator-initiated clinical trials that have the potential to shift the paradigm for standard of care. Gateway strive to fund treatment-based studies at the bedside, including all types of cancers, focusing on the following:

New Investigational Therapies
New Indications
De-escalation of Treatment
Mitigation of Treatment Toxicity
Predictive Biomarkers (with a therapeutic component)
Integrative Medicine

In these research areas:

Biomarkers (prognostic or predictive with supportive treatment)
Gene Therapy
Basket Trials
Immunotherapy
Targeted Therapies

Gateway has a variety of core research grant programs designed to facilitate an organization’s broad impact on early phase cancer research, including:

Gateway Traditional Grant Program

Core grants funding early phase clinical trials for cancers of all types at renowned institutions around the world. These grants are typically two (2) to five (5) years in duration with award amounts up to $1.5 million.

Joint NCI/SPORE/P20 Program

Our collaboration with the National Cancer Institute (NCI)/Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE)/P20 Program allows us to fund more patient-centric research.

Integrative Research

Gateway focuses on funding integrative oncology research that pairs conventional therapies with evidence-based, complementary therapies to manage symptoms and side effects from treatment. This also aims to increase quality of life during treatment.

Decentralized Clinical Trial Initiative (DCTI)

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we launched a new grant program to fund research leveraging site-less, technology-informed trials, with the objective of bringing clinical trials directly to patients’ doorsteps.

LifeArc Rare Disease Clinical Trials Programme

Open Date

22 August 2025

Closing Date

No formal deadline; EOI reviewed regularly

Grant amount

£5M per proposal

Application website

Rare Disease Clinical Trials Programme

About

LifeArc aims to translate promising research into life-changing innovations for people living with rare diseases within 5 years. To help deliver this ambition, our Rare Disease Clinical Trials Programme exists to help progress potentially transformative rare disease innovations through clinical development.

The programme supports academic institutions and industry to deliver high-quality clinical data through early-stage clinical trials. These must focus on proof of efficacy, with consideration of the route to patient impact within 5 years. Interventions can include:

therapeutics (including repurposed drugs) and advanced therapies (including gene and cell therapies)
medical technologies or devices
diagnostics that demonstrate potential to improve decision-making and outcomes.