The University of Utah Foundation Relations team manages a several limited submission opportunities sponsored by various foundations each year. Foundations Limited Submissions are reviewed by a Foundations LSO Committee that selects applications most likely to:
- Perpetuate success for the University;
- Assist the selected faculty member in advancing their research; and
- Meet the goals and expectations of the sponsor
The CFR team conducts three cycles of Foundation LSO review each academic year: Fall, Winter, and Spring. All Foundation-sponsored LSOs that are currently managed by the UofU CFR Office are listed HERE, with links to learn more about each program. The InfoReady internal competition links for each program are published as they are created. Interested faculty members must apply to the internal competition and be selected by the LSO Committee for each program.
Internal competitions for all Fall 2025 Foundations LSOs are active and shared below! Please contact Gwen Allouch if you have questions about applying for an opportunity listed above.
| Fall Funding Opportunities | Sponsor | Internal Competition Status | Program Description |
| Warren Alpert Foundation: Distinguished Scholars Fellowship Award | Warren Alpert Foundation | Applications due September 7th, 2025
Apply here |
The Award will support individual postdoctoral scientists of exceptional creativity in the field of neurosciences.
These transitional awards are to enable a postdoctoral researcher 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. The medical school, research institute, or academic hospital appointing the scholar will be awarded $200,000 annually for two years to cover salary, lab costs, and related expenses. Under certain circumstances, the awardee may transfer funding to support their beginning faculty position. Indirect costs of up to 15% of direct costs may be included in the $200,000. Awards from the foundation are very competitive. The foundation will accept applications from investigators in any career stage. However, based on the foundation’s award history we particularly encourage mid-late career faculty with an established and recognized research background to apply. Collaborative research projects with other US based organizations are acceptable. Research collaborations between US based organizations and organizations based outside the US are not encouraged and will be given lower priority. Although the maximum award is $700,000 over three years (inclusive of 10% indirect costs), careful consideration should be given to the actual costs of the project and the total budget amount should be commensurate with the project scope.
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| Brain Research Foundation: Seed Grant Program 2026 | Brain Research Foundation | Applications due September 10th, 2025
Apply here
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The objective of the BRF Seed Grant Program is to support new and innovative projects in neuroscience, especially those of junior faculty, who are working in new research directions. BRF Seed Grant awards are not intended to supplement existing grants. |
| Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists 2026 | Blavatnik Family Foundation | Applications due September 12th, 2025. Apply here | The Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists recognize the country’s most promising faculty-rank researchers in Life Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Chemistry. One Blavatnik Laureate in each disciplinary category will receive $250,000 in unrestricted funds. |
| 2026 Andrew Carnegie Fellows | Carnegie Foundation | Applications due September 14th, 2025. Apply here | The goal of this program is to help Americans understand how and why our society has become so polarized and what can be done to strengthen the forces of cohesion. Carnegie is interested in solutions-focused, pathbreaking research from across the humanities and social sciences which may be relevant to polarization and social cohesion in America today.
Political polarization is characterized by threats to free speech, the decline of civil discourse, disagreement over basic facts, and a lack of mutual understanding and collaboration. Fellowships of $200,000 are awarded annually to about 30 exceptional scholars, journalists, and public intellectuals. The funding is for a period of one or two years with the anticipated result of a book or major study.
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