Updated: April 2025
To apply for an opportunity listed below, submit your proposal through the RUSH Research Portal. Select “Non-Profit: Philanthropy” as the “Funding Source” when creating a new master project and grant within the portal.
If you are unsure which office can coordinate a particular application, just ask! Members of either team will be happy to direct you to the right place:
- Philanthropy can be reached at (312) 563-7564 or by contacting david_vomholt@rush.edu
- Sponsored Programs Administration, ORA can be reached at ora_grants@rush.edu
Archived philanthropic RFPs from the past year can be found here.
Funding Source | Grant Name | Description | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acumed LLC | Education grants | Professional Medical Education Grants: Professional Medical Education Grants provide funding for independent medical educational programs for health care professionals, including congresses, conferences, symposiums, or courses, with or without labs, that are sponsored by professional medical associations, societies, or continuing education providers and academic institution labs. This includes support requested for cadaveric labs intended to educate fellows or residents at an academic institution. More Information | Rolling deadline: Completed application, including all required supporting documentation, must be received at least 60 days before the scheduled date of the event, activity, or program |
| American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry | Junior Investigator Awards | This $60,000, 2 year ($30,000 per) is for one child and adolescent psychiatry early career faculty (assistant professor level or equivalent). It is intended to facilitate innovative research on the treatment and prevention of child and adolescent mental health disorders. Recipients are required to submit a poster presentation on their research for AACAP's 2027 Annual Meeting in Honolulu, HI, October 25-30, 2027. More Information | 04/01/2025 Application Due |
| Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation | Reach Grant | The goal of this 2 year, $250,000 ($125,000 per year) award is to support translational studies that will result in a phase I and/or II clinical trial, two to three years from the project end date. Examples of appropriate research projects include but aren’t limited to, completing IND-enabling studies, providing requisite pre-clinical data for clinical trial development, or validating biomarkers that will enable patient selection for new clinical trials. More Information | 04/10/2025 Application Due |
| CureSearch for Children's Cancer Research | Young Investigator Award | The 2025 Young Investigator Program is designed to provide support and training for exceptional young investigators in pediatric oncology drug development. The award is intended for investigators who have completed post-doctoral training and are transitioning to a full-time academic position. More Information | 04/14/2025 LOI Due |
| Whitehall Foundation | Research Grants Program | Research grants are available to established scientists of all ages working at accredited institutions in the United States. Applications will be judged on the scientific merit and the innovative aspects of the proposal as well as on the competence of the applicant. Research grants of up to three years will be provided. The maximum budget is $100,000 per year for the two- and three-year research grants. More Information | 04/15/2025 Application Due |
| Whitehall Foundation | Grants in Aid Program | This program is for researchers at the assistant professor level who experience difficulty in competing for research funds because they have not yet become firmly established. Grants-in-Aid can also be made to senior scientists. Applications will be judged on the scientific merit and innovative aspects of the proposal, as well as on past performance and evidence of the applicant’s continued productivity. Grants-in-Aid are awarded for a one-year period and do not exceed $30,000. More Information | 04/15/2025 Application Due |
| Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation | OREF Resident Clinician Scientist Training Grant (4 avail.) | $20,000 award for an orthopaedic surgery resident or fellow in an approved orthopaedic program, who intends to pursue a career with research as a major component. The work should clearly be achievable by the resident as a free-standing project even when it is a part of a larger work, and it should potentially lead to publication with the resident as an author. More Information | 04/17/2025 LOI Due |
| Elsa U. Pardee Foundation | Elsa U. Pardee Foundation Research Grant | 1 year award for research identifying new treatments or cures for cancer. It is anticipated that this early-stage funding by the Foundation may lead to subsequent and expanded support using government agency funding. Project relevance to cancer detection, treatment, or cure should be clearly identified. No limits set on the grant amount that can be requested. It must be reasonable and clearly supported by the scope of the project outlined in the application. More Information | 04/30/2025 Application Due |
| Acumed LLC | Professional Medical Education Grants | Professional Medical Education Grants provide funding for independent medical educational programs for health care professionals, including congresses, conferences, symposiums, or courses, with or without labs, that are sponsored by professional medical associations, societies, or continuing education providers and academic institution labs. This includes support requested for cadaveric labs intended to educate fellows or residents at an academic institution. More information | 05/01/2025 Application Due |
| Illinois Society for the Prevention of Blindness | 2025 Research Grants | Award opportunities to foster junior investigator development while advancing clinical care in ophthalmology and optometry. Preference is given to applicants at the start of their career. Students must be enrolled full-time at an accredited Illinois institution of higher education or postdoctoral fellows/residents that are within seven years after receiving their advanced degree (MD, OD, PhD). Students, postdoctoral fellows, and residents are required to have a faculty mentor involved with their research. More Information | 05/01/2025 Application Due |
| Foundation for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation | Encompass Midcareer Investigator Research Grant | One $25,000 award for research related to the field of physical medicine and rehabilitation will be given for seed money for new research projects that extend an established investigator’s work in new directions.
| 05/01/2025 Application Due |
| Foundation for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation | Richard Materson ERF New Investigator Research Grant | 1 year, $10,000 award to be used as seed money for research in topics related to the field of physical medicine and rehabilitation. Application Criteria
| 05/01/2025 Application Due |
| Foundation for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation | Gabriella Molnar Pediatric PM&R Research Grant | $10,000 to be used as seed money for research in topics related to pediatric rehabilitation the field of physical medicine and rehabilitation.
| 05/01/2025 Application Due |
| Foundation for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation | Musculoskeletal Research Grant | One year, $30,000 award for a short-term seed grant for research in topics related to musculoskeletal rehabilitation in the field of physical medicine and rehabilitation.
| 05/01/2025 Application Due |
| Foundation for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation | Tactile Medical Cancer Rehabilitation Research Grant | One year, $10,000 award for a short-term seed grant for research in topics related to musculoskeletal rehabilitation in the field of physical medicine and rehabilitation.
| 05/01/2025 Application Due |
| Brain Aneurysm Foundation | 2025 Research Grant Program | Awards ranging $20,000-$50,000 for basic scientific research directed at early detection, improved treatment modalities, and technological advances that will ultimately improve outcomes for patients with brain aneurysms, as well as projects that are translational, clinical/outcome, early detection, imaging, and SAH/SAH complications focused, as well as AI-focused projects. Any project with the potential to advance basic scientific, translational, and clinical brain aneurysm research will be considered. More Information | 05/06/2025 Application Due |
| The Vilcek Foundation | Creative Promise Prize | The Vilcek Foundation will award three Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise of $50,000 each to young, immigrant biomedical scientists who demonstrate outstanding early achievement. Who Should Apply
| 06/09/2025 Application Due |
| Helen Hay Whitney Foundation | Postdoctoral Research Fellowships | The Helen Hay Whitney Foundation supports early postdoctoral research training in all basic biomedical sciences. To attain its ultimate goal of increasing the number of imaginative, well-trained and dedicated medical scientists, the Foundation grants financial support of sufficient duration to help further the careers of young men and women engaged in biological or medical research. More Information | 06/16/2025 Application Due |
| Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation | OREF Mentored Clinician Scientist Grant (Must have been awarded a "K" award to apply) | $20,000 award to promote the development of new clinician scientists who have demonstrated success as both a clinician and a researcher. Allows investigators to spend dedicated time in research for a period of up to five years to develop a long and productive career in academic surgery. More Information | 06/17/2025 Application Due |
| Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation | OREF/AAOS Clinical Gaps Research Grant | $100,000 award solicits investigator-initiated research proposals focused on addressing clinical gaps in healing, repair, or diagnostics through devices, biologics, or technology. Areas of research focus may include translational preclinical or clinical research to preferably include pilot human studies. More Information | 06/17/2025 Application Due |
| Gateway for Cancer Research | 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 2-5 years in duration with award amounts from $200,000 to $1.5 million. More Information | 06/20/2025 Application Due |
| Gateway for Cancer Research | 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. This grant program will support translational research through clinical trials conducted by institutions that receive NCI SPORE awards. Gateway will issue grant awards based on an application and review process conducted by Gateway. More Information | 06/20/2025 Application Due |
| Gateway for Cancer 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. More Information | 06/20/2025 Application Due |
| Gateway for Cancer Research | Joint Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) Program (FGAs Reviewed Once Annually) | Our collaboration with the Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) allows us to bring the most promising patient-centered, integrative oncology research proposals forward, Gateway collaborates with SIO to support integrative clinical trials conducted by principal investigators and institutions among its membership. SIO’s mission is to advance evidence-based, comprehensive, integrative healthcare to improve the lives of people affected by cancer. More Information | 06/20/2025 Application Due |
| Gateway for Cancer Research | Decentralized Clinical Trial Initiative (DCTI) | Successful DCTI proposals should:
| 06/20/2025 Application Due |
| Little Giraffe Foundation | 2025 Neonatal Research Initiative | The Little Giraffe Foundation is offering research grants in the amount of $5,000 - $10,000 for neonatal research and invites qualified scientists, doctors, and nurses at universities, hospitals and research institutions to submit applications for research grants directed at addressing both the long term and immediate health needs caused by premature birth. More Information | 06/20/2025 LOI Due |