Clinical Pilot and Feasibility Awards are offered to support projects involving human subjects (see 45 CFR§46.102(f)) that will develop and test new hypotheses and/or new methods (or those being applied to the problems of cystic fibrosis for the first time), and to support promising new investigators as they establish themselves in research areas relevant to cystic fibrosis. The intent of these awards is to enable investigators to collect sufficient preliminary data to determine the best strategies and methods for approaching a major question that ultimately will require assessment through a larger-scale research and/or multi-center, collaborative trial.
Support may be requested for $80,000 per year (plus 12% for indirect costs) for single-center studies; and up to $150,000 per year (plus 12% indirect costs) for multi-center clinical studies for up to two years. Up to an additional $100,000 over the entire project period may be available via supplemental funding.
Supplemental Funding to Address High Priority Areas
Health Equity Supplement: Applicants may request an additional $50,000 (plus 12% indirect costs) over the entire project period to either advance our knowledge of health disparities in cystic fibrosis or enhance the diversity, equity, and inclusion in the biomedical workforce.
Applicants must be independent investigators. Fellows may submit applications; however, funding will be considered only if they will hold a faculty-level appointment at the time of the award. Industry-sponsored research projects are not eligible for this award.
Special consideration will be given to those projects that pursue new approaches, study under-researched topics, or investigate more creative avenues of research to address the problems of cystic fibrosis. Applications for continued funding of existing projects, or for long-term support of an investigator, will not be considered.
Up to an additional $50,000 over the entire project period may be available via supplemental funding.
Areas of Encouragement
Areas of Encouragement are research topics that are considered gaps in our knowledge in the detection and monitoring, diagnosis, or treatment of a CF complication. The Areas of Encouragement will be updated on a biennial basis during Guidance, Action, Projection (GAP) Meetings and will be informed by GAP meeting attendees, community surveys, CF Foundation workshop recommendations, and other areas of focus identified by guidelines committees or Foundation/TDN research working groups. The 2023 Areas of Encouragement can be found in the GAP Meeting executive summary. Learn more about the Foundation's Key Research Priorities.
Applicants to the funding opportunities reviewed by the Clinical Research Committee are highly encouraged, but not required, to submit research proposals that address one or more Areas of Encouragement.
For specific questions regarding your proposal and the CF Foundation's research priorities, please contact the Program Officer, Dara Riva, at driva@cff.org.
Policies and Guidelines
Please review the Spring 2025 Policies and Guidelines for complete submission information.
Deadlines
All letters of intent and full applications for the 2025 cycles must be submitted online at awards.cff.org by 5 p.m. ET.
Spring 2025
- Letter of Intent: October 10, 2024
- Full application: February 18, 2025
Fall 2025
- Letter of Intent: April 3, 2025
- Full application: August 18, 2025
For More Information
Those who are interested in any funding programs offered by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation may get further information, or discuss the potential relevance of their studies or research by contacting Angela Minucci, the pre-award specialist for this program, at aminucci@cff.org.
Grants and Contracts Management and Administration (GCMA) Office inquiries can be sent to:
GCMA Office
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
4550 Montgomery Ave.
Suite 1100 N
Bethesda, MD 20814
800-FIGHT-CF
301-841-2614