Early Career

Non-federal Agencies

• Beckman Young Investigator Award: This program provides research support to the most promising young faculty members in the early stages of their academic careers in the chemical and life sciences, particularly to foster the invention of methods, instruments and materials that will open up new avenues of research in science.  Awards average $600k over 4 years. Deadline: Applications open annually in the summer. Eligibility: The BYI program is open to those within the first four years of a tenure-track position.

• Cottrell Scholar Award: This program champions the very best early career teacher-scholars in chemistry, physics and astronomy by providing significant discretionary awards for research. Awards are $100K over three years. Deadline: In 2023, the CSA proposal target date was July 1, 2023; Eligibility: For the 2023 proposal cycle, eligibility is limited to faculty members who started their first tenure-track appointment anytime in calendar year 2020.

• Emerging Leader Award: The Mark Foundation Emerging Leader Awards support innovative cancer research from the next generation of leaders. These grants are awarded to outstanding early career investigators to support high-impact, high-risk projects that are distinct from their current research portfolio. Awards are $750k over 3 years. Deadline: January; Eligibility: In 2023, applicants had to be three to eight years from the start of an independent faculty research appointment as of December 2023 (i.e., the official start date of the appointment must fall within the calendar years 2015-2020). Exceptions due to prolonged medical or family leave will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Applicants must demonstrate multi-year independent funding that sustains the central activities of the laboratory (e.g., at least one or two grants such as NIH/R01, NSF/CAREER, or equivalently substantial multi-year awards).

• Klingenstien-Simons award in Neuroscience: The Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship supports early-career investigators engaged in basic or clinical research that may lead to a better understanding of neurological and psychiatric disorders. Several areas within neuroscience are of particular interest: 1) Cellular and molecular neuroscience; 2) Neural systems; 3) Translational research. Applicants must inform the Esther A. & Joseph Klingenstein Fund of other sources of funding. Awards are $225k over 3 years. Eligibility: To qualify for an award, investigators must hold a Ph.D. and/or an M.D and have a tenure track appointment or equivalent at a university, medical center, or research institute with a maximum of four years between the completion of last postdoc and the application deadline. U.S. citizenship is not a requirement, but it’s expected that candidates will be permanent residents of the U.S. and their research will be conducted in U.S. institutions. Deadline(s): Application portal opens annually on October 1, 9:00am EST and are due mid-February.

• McKnight Scholar Awards: These awards support emerging neuroscientists to focus on disorders of learning and memory. Applicants must demonstrate interest in solving important problems in relevant areas of neuroscience, including the translation of basic research to clinical neuroscience and have no more than four years of experience in a tenure-track position. Applications are due in January. Awards are $75k/year for 3 years ($225k total). Deadline: For FY23, applications were due January 1, 2023. Eligibility: Have no more than four years of experience in an independent, tenure-track faculty position.

• NYSCF – Robertson Neuroscience Investigators: This award supports truly innovative neuroscientists whose research has the potential to transform our fundamental understanding of the brain and how it functions. This career development award provides up to $1.5 million in flexible funding over 5 years. No institutional overhead is provided. NYSCF will accept applications from researchers based at domestic and international accredited non-profit research and academic institutions. Deadline: Currently suspended as of FY23, though may open again in future years.  For FY22, applications were due February 16, 2022. Eligibility: Be within 6 years of starting a faculty (professorship) or comparable position on June 1 of application year.

Limited Submissions

Campus competitions required unless otherwise noted. Limited submission competitions are announced in the Strategic Research Initiatives Newsletter and through funding opportunity and limited submission announcements. Current Limited Submissions are also listed at ucsb.infoready4.com.  If you are interested in any of these awards, we also recommend that you track them in Pivot.

• BRF Seed Grant Program: The purpose of this program is to provide start-up monies for new research projects in the field of neuroscience that will likely lead to extramural funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) or other outside funding sources. Each total grant is limited to $80,000 (direct costs) for a two year grant period. Assistant professors with a new research project that will generate pilot data that will lead to R01 funding or a comparable outside grant will be first priority. Limit: UCSB may submit one (1) nomination. Eligibility: must be a full-time Assistant or Associate Professor working in the field of neuroscience. Deadline(s): Campus announcement typically sent in October; Application deadline in January.
• Camille Dreyfus Teacher–Scholar Award: This program provides a $100K unrestricted grant to support the teaching and research careers of talented young faculty in the chemical sciences. Nominees are normally expected to be within the first five years of their independent academic careers. Limit: UCSB may only submit one (1) nomination. Eligibility: For FY23, Nominees must hold a full-time tenure-track academic appointment in the chemical sciences, and are normally expected to have been appointed no earlier than mid-year 2018. Deadline(s): Campus announcement typically sent in October; Application due February.
• Mallinckrodt Grant: The mission of the Foundation is to support early-stage investigators engaged in biomedical research that has the potential to significantly advance the understanding, diagnosis, or treatment of disease. Awards are $75K per year for up to three years ($225k total). Limit: UCSB may only submit one (1) nomination. Eligibility: Applicants should be in the first to fourth year of their tenure track faculty position and not have current NIH R01 funding. Deadline(s): Campus announcement sent in June; Applications due August.
• Moore Inventor Fellows: This program focuses on supporting scientist-inventors at a critical stage of research to capture opportunities that otherwise might be missed. The foundation seeks to provide freedom and support to promising inventors with the most compelling ideas to pursue creative work. Each fellow will receive a total of $825,000 over three years to drive their invention forward, including $50,000 per year from their home institution as a commitment to these outstanding individuals. Limit: UCSB may only submit two (2) nominations. Eligibility: Candidates must be no more than 10 years past receiving the terminal advanced degree in their field (M.S., Ph.D. or M.D.). Deadline(s): Campus announcement typically sent in September; Applications due December.
• Packard Fellowships for Science and Engineering: This program allows the nation’s most promising young professors to pursue their science and engineering research with few funding restrictions and limited paperwork requirements. Disciplines that will be considered include physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, astronomy, computer science, earth science, ocean science, and all branches of engineering. Each fellowship provides $875,000 over five years. Each institution is eligible to nominate only two young professors. Limit: UCSB may only submit two (2) nominations. Eligibility: Applicants must be within the first three years of their faculty careers. Deadline(s): Campus announcement typically sent in December; Applications due in April. 
• Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences: This program funds the research of young investigators of outstanding promise in science relevant to the advancement of human health. The program makes grants to selected institutions to support individuals in their first three years of their appointment at the assistant professor level. Scholars receive $75k/year for 4 years ($300k total). Limit: UCSB is invited to nominate one (1) candidate. Eligibility: Candidates must have been awarded a doctorate in biomedical sciences, medicine or a related field; For FY23, Must not have been appointed as an assistant professor at any institution prior to June 12, 2019. Deadline(s): Campus announcement typically sent in March; Applications due September. 
• Searle Scholars Program: Grants of $300K for a three-year period are made to ladder faculty in their first or second year of their first appointment at the assistant professor level in the fields of biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, immunology, neuroscience, pharmacology, and related areas in chemistry, medicine and biological sciences. Institutions are limited to two applications. Limit: UCSB may only submit two (2) nominations. Eligibility: For FY24, Applicants should have begun their appointment as an independent investigator at the assistant professor level on or after May 1, 2022. Deadline(s): Campus announcement typically sent in June; Applications due September. 
• Sloan Research Fellowships: This program seeks to stimulate fundamental research by early-career scientists and scholars of outstanding promise. Candidates must hold a tenure track position and be nominated by a department head. Candidates must hold a Ph.D. (or equivalent) in chemistry, computational or evolutionary molecular biology, computer science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience, ocean sciences, physics, or a related field. The size of the award is $75,000 for a two-year period. Limit: A department may not nominate more than three (3) faculty. Nominations are at the discretion of the Chair; there is no campus competition. Eligibility: Candidates must be in a tenure-track position with a regular teaching obligation, but be untenured as of September 15 of the nomination year.  Candidates must hold a Ph.D. or equivalent degree in chemistry, computer science, Earth system science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience, physics, or a related field. Deadline(s): Campus announcements typically sent in July, Applications due in September.
• The 1907 Trailblazer Award: The 1907 Foundation is a charity that funds medical research for mental health. The goal for the Trailblazer Award is to catalyze disruptive - but actionable - ideas which have the potential to unearth causes & cures for mental health and uniquely require the 1907 Trailblazer Award to see the light of day.  Embedded in this statement, there are three key phrases:  i) mental health, ii) disruptive, iii) causes & cures.  Awards are $120,000. Limit: UCSB may only submit two (2) nominations. Eligibility: Applicants should be within ten years of their PhD/MD degree award date. Deadline(s): Campus announcement sent out in April; Applications due in June. 
• Johnson & Johnson Women in STEM²D Program: This program aims to fuel the development of female STEM²D leaders and feed the STEM²D talent pipeline by awarding and sponsoring women at critical points in their research careers, in each of the STEM²D disciplines: Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Manufacturing and Design.  Awards are $150k over 3 years. Limit: UCSB may submit one applicant per STEM2D discipline; six applicants in total; Eligibility: The awards will fund one woman per discipline who has completed her advanced degree, who is working as an assistant professor and who is not yet tenured at an accredited university or design institution. Deadline(s): Program currently suspended.