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Greetings,

 

We are excited to share this limited submission opportunity from the Rita Allen Foundation. The Rita Allen Foundation Scholars program supports research scientists in the early stages of their tenure-track careers. Harvard may put forward one nomination for this funding opportunity. In anticipation of the opening of the 2027 Rita Allen Foundation Scholars opportunity, the Office of the Vice Provost for Research is facilitating an internal application process for applicants from the Cambridge Campus, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and The Wyss Institute. The internal application and/or timeline may be updated once the 2027 application cycle is posted by the Rita Allen Foundation. More information about the award and the internal selection process can be found in the synopsis and links below. For a full list of currently open opportunities that have been announced through our office, please visit our new Current Opportunities web page. As a reminder, our Research Development team is available to provide proposal development support to FAS ladder faculty.

 

Rita Allen Foundation Scholars

  • Harvard Pre-Proposal Deadline: July 19, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET
  • OSP Deadline, if selected: five business days in advance of the sponsor deadline, at 9:00 AM ET
    Departments or areas may require additional time for proposal review and submission. Please discuss a timeline with your departmental or FORA grants administrator.
  • Sponsor Deadline, if selected: To be announced
  • Award Amount: Up to $110,000 per year for a maximum of five years. Recipients of the Award in Pain can be granted $50,000 per year for up to three years.  
    Rita Allen Foundation Scholar grant funds may only be used for direct project expenses, including up to 50 percent of the Scholar’s compensation. While this falls short of the 15% overhead required by FAS/SEAS policy, these are early career awards so FAS/SEAS recognizes this indirect cost limit and does not require further action, such as a waiver or direct charge of other costs. 
 

Program Overview

 

The Rita Allen Foundation Scholars program funds basic biomedical research in the fields of cancer, immunology, and neuroscience. The program embraces innovative research with above-average risk and groundbreaking possibilities. Scholars have gone on to win the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, the National Medal of Science, the Wolf Prize in Medicine and the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences. Rita Allen Foundation Scholars are distinguished by their bold approaches to basic scientific questions that address problems of global concern, as well as their potential for learning, leadership and collaboration. 

 

Eligibility Criteria

  • Candidates must be nominated by an eligible institution. 
  • Candidates should be independent investigators in the early stages of their careers and research.
  • The caliber of early-stage investigators suggests nominees would be appointed to tenure-track positions at their respective institutions.
  • It is preferable that candidates be in the first three years of their tenure track (this is taken into consideration in the rating of applications by the Scientific Advisory Committee).
  • A senior postdoc should not be a candidate.
  • Associate professors should not be candidates.
  • Candidates must have received committed startup funds from their respective institutions.
  • Candidates must have lab space from their institutions.
  • Rita Allen Foundation Scholars may not accept an award from the Beckman Young Investigator Program, Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences, Searle Scholars Program, or Vallee Scholars Program that would take effect beginning in year one of the Rita Allen Foundation award. Rita Allen Scholars may apply for awards from these organizations that would take effect beginning in year two of the Rita Allen Foundation award. Other sources of funding also may influence selection.
 

Pre-Proposal Materials

  • Applicant name, title, affiliation, appointment date
  • Grant Administrator name and email address
  • Proposal title
  • Total funding requested
  • Project period
  • Proposal/narrative plan of work (two pages max., 11 point font minimum. A third page may be used for related graphics and/or references). The narrative should include responses to the following:
    • Description of how a Rita Allen Foundation Scholars award would enable the candidate to pursue new ideas and take strategic risks (1 paragraph)
    • Explanation of how this proposal differs from, or relates to, the candidate's other supported projects (1 paragraph)
  • A current CV, 5 pages, NIH Biosketch format, please include current and pending sources of funding
  • Letter of nomination from a Department Chair or Center Director
  • Status of engagement (Applied, Considering Applying, Not Applying) regarding the following research opportunities: Beckman Young Investigator Program, Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences, Searle Scholars Program, Vallee Scholars Program. 
 

Limited Submission Details

 
This is a limited submission opportunity and Harvard may only submit one nomination. In anticipation of the opening of the 2027 Rita Allen Foundation Scholars opportunity, the Office of the Vice Provost for Research is facilitating an internal application process for applicants from the Cambridge Campus, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and The Wyss Institute to select Harvard's nominee. To be considered for a Harvard nomination, potential applicants must submit an internal pre-proposal by 11:59 PM on July 19, 2026, via the link above. Applicants from HMS Quad, HSDM, and affiliated institutions should apply through the process facilitated by HMS Foundation Funds, which nominates separately to this opportunity.
 

Additional Information and Resources

 

For more information, please refer to the Rita Allen Scholar FAQs.

 

Recent Harvard recipients include Ryan Flynn (HSCRB, 2022) and Amanda Whipple (MCB, 2020). Interested candidates may also view the Scholars directory for information on other recent awardees.

 

Questions from FAS or SEAS faculty about this opportunity may be directed to research_development@fas.harvard.edu.

 

Requests for support related to the application portal may be directed to vpr@harvard.edu.

MAILING LISTS

Sign up to join the mailing list for FAS Funding Focus, a resource series tailored to help FAS faculty and staff navigate the ever-evolving landscape of grants and funding. Previous editions of FAS Funding Focus (FFF) are accessible in the FFF archive. To receive additional announcements from FORA, including the monthly On Your RADAR (Research Administration Developments & Announcements Rundown) newsletter and invitations to the FORA Forum, a monthly meeting for Harvard research administrators, please sign up for the FORA listserv here.
 

RESOURCES

Research Development maintains a Sample Proposal Library of successful proposals from recent award recipients that are available to FAS and SEAS faculty by request; please email Research Development to request to view a proposal. For more information on Research Development's resources—including lists of internal funding programs, early career funding programs, and sabbatical fellowships—please visit the Funding Opportunities web page. 
 

SEARCH FOR OPPORTUNITIES WITH PIVOT

All Harvard affiliates can search for opportunities and set up alerts using Pivot, a searchable database of federal and private funding opportunities. Information on Pivot, including a one-page user guide, and other funding opportunity databases available to the Harvard community can be found on the Funding Databases web page.
 

PIVOT CURATED SEARCHES

Curated funding opportunity lists are funding search topics of broad interest. The following curated lists can be further refined in Pivot based on your funding needs. To view the results you must be on a Harvard network or logged in to your Pivot account. Information on setting up a Pivot account can be found in our one-page user guide. 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional curated lists are available on the Funding Databases web page. We continue to add to and refine these lists based on feedback. Please feel free to reach out to us at research_development@fas.harvard.edu with any suggestions you may have.
 Research Development | FAS Office of Research Administration | research.fas.harvard.edu
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