Greetings,

We are excited to share this funding opportunity from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and the Alzheimer’s Association. The Bridge Funding for Disrupted Neurodegenerative Research Grant Program aims to provide funding for early career researchers whose projects focused on Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and other neurodegenerative disorders and age-related causes of dementia have been impacted by a series of changes within the U.S. federal government. More information about the award 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. 

The Michael J. Fox Foundation and Alzheimer's Association: Bridge Funding for Disrupted Neurodegenerative Research Grant Program (BFDN) Powering the Next Generation of Research 

• OSP Deadline: three business days prior to Letter of Intent (LOI) submission. Please note that for the July 30, 2026 LOI deadline, the OSP deadline will be in less than one week (July 27, 2026 at 9:00 AM ET).
• Sponsor LOI Deadlines:
  • July 30, 2026 by 5:00 PM ET
  • October 30, 2026 by 5:00 PM ET
  • January 29, 2027 by 5:00 PM ET
  • April 30, 2027 by 5:00 PM ET
• Award Amount: Proposed budgets may vary but should not exceed $250,000, inclusive of 10% indirect costs. Award period may span 3 to 12 months.
  • No more than 10% of the total direct costs may be included as indirect costs; this is inclusive of indirect costs for the implementing institution as well as any for subcontracts. While this falls short of the 15% overhead required by FAS/SEAS policy, these are early career awards and FAS/SEAS recognizes this indirect cost limit and does not require further action, such as a waiver or direct charge of other costs.
  • Institutional cost-share of up to 25% of the total requested budget is required. Institutional cost share may support the following, included but not limited to: protected research time, facility and core fees, salary and fringe, as well as computing and other equipment otherwise not allowable under Alzheimer's Association and The Michael J. Fox Foundation funding. 
  • Funds can be used to bridge salary costs for the investigator, essential team members and/or the costs to maintain perishable laboratory items such as reagents and animal models. 

Program Overview

As the world’s largest nonprofit funders with a shared commitment and purpose to deliver better treatments and a cure for (respectively)  Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and related disorders, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and the Alzheimer’s Association (who has partnered with the Robertson Foundation and other philanthropic partners to support this unique funding program) are continuing the Bridge Funding for Disrupted Neurodegenerative Research (BFDN) Powering the Next Generation of Research grant program. Recent advances in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disorders research show tremendous promise, and ensuring funding for priority research grants is vital for investigators to effectively and efficiently perform life-saving research and carry out public health programs toward better health outcomes for the United States—and the world. This program specifically aims to:

1. Ensure continuity of career support for early career researchers who had either their K or R or other Early Stage Investigator (ESI) specific investigator-led award disrupted in recent months. 
2. Provide funding for salary and other direct costs for research projects focused on Alzheimer’s disease, Frontotemporal Dementia, Parkinson’s disease, Dementia with Lewy Bodies, atypical Parkinson's and/or other related disorders that have been impacted by specific changes in the federal research funding landscape, such as those at the NIH and/or other U.S. Federal Funding Agencies.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must be an Early Stage Investigator (ESI) per the NIH definition or be within 7 years of their ESI designation.
  • An ESI is a Program Director/Principal Investigator who has completed their terminal research degree or end of post-graduate clinical training, whichever is later, within the past 10 years and who has not previously competed successfully as a PD/PI for a substantial NIH independent research award.
  • The intention of this program is to provide bridge funding for ESIs who had their K or R or other ESI specific investigator-led award disrupted in recent months. See a list of NIH grants that a PD/PI can hold and still be considered an ESI. 
  • Adjustments to this eligibility period may be considered for documented career interruptions such as family leave, military service, or major illness or injury. The approval of any exemptions must be obtained prior to submitting a LOI.
• Applicants must be able to demonstrate research disruption based on recent U.S. federal funding challenges and provide the federal agency review, communication, and/or summary statement demonstrating the delay as part of the application .
  • This program will not support projects that were not funded due to specific payline cutoffs. 
• Applicants must demonstrate financial need for their continued research program to move forward.
• Multiple PI requests are not eligible. However, if a project was a Multiple PI project and is impacted, this could be appropriate with a single investigator submitting this request. Collaborators may be included as key personnel on the project.
• Applicants who have had their full time status reduced due to funding challenges, but remain faculty at the institution, are considered eligible. 
• Those with T32 or other institution-led training programs that had disruptions in funding are not eligible. 

LOI Materials

• Statement of resources available, including other annual research support outside of the specific grant(s) or project with disruption; this statement should include a list of other funding to the investigator, the team and/or the lab.
• Biosketch for the PI (NIH or other format allowed).
• Confirmation of career level in accordance with the eligibility criteria listed above and in the program overview.
• Confirmation and brief description of research disruption type:
  • Delayed Review: Projects stalled due to NIH and/or other U.S. federal funding agency review process delays.
  • Termination: Laboratories whose federal grants have been terminated or cut significantly due to changes in funding priorities and/or area of interest.
  • Priority Misalignment: Projects that no longer fit NIH and/or other U.S. federal funding agency focus areas requiring redirection to align with current priorities.
  • Gaps: Previously funded projects awaiting reapproval under new criteria.

Selection Criteria

• LOIs will be reviewed and evaluated by the Alzheimer’s Association and The Michael J. Fox Foundation internal research team for alignment with the eligibility and goals of the funding program. 
• Budget requests will be considered in the context of the project and/or need demonstrated in the LOI. 

Additional Information and Resources

 

 

 

 

 

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