EPILEPSY RESEARCH GRANT OPPORTUNITIES
CURE Epilepsy awards grants for novel research projects that address finding the cures for epilepsy and address the goal of “no seizures, no side-effects.”
Scientific Advisory Council (SAC) members may not apply for funding from or participate in grant funding recommendations for CURE Epilepsy while serving on the SAC.
SUDEP Team Science Award
We are pleased to announce a new, one-time grant opportunity (2 year / $250,000) focused on identifying and understanding clinical risk factors for Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP). This funding opportunity will bring together multiple teams to work collaboratively to advance our ability to assess risk, develop prevention strategies, and ultimately improve outcomes for people living with epilepsy. For more information on eligibility, key dates, and submission guidelines, please click the link below.
See Grant Guidelines
CURE Epilepsy Award
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Overview
The CURE Epilepsy Award (2 years / $250,000) reflects CURE Epilepsy’s continued focus on scientific advances that have the potential to truly transform the lives of those affected by epilepsy, with prevention and disease modification as critical goals. Key priority areas for the award include:
- Basic mechanisms of epilepsy
- Acquired epilepsies
- Pediatric epilepsies
- SUDEP
- Treatment-resistant epilepsies
- Sleep & epilepsy
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Eligibility
This award is available to both established and early career investigators*. Researchers who serve on CURE Epilepsy’s Scientific Advisory Council are ineligible to apply for or sponsor a grant for the duration of their term. International applicants are welcome. All materials must be submitted in English.
* Generally, early-career investigators are university faculty at the assistant professor level (or hold an equivalent position in a non-university research organization). Established investigators are university faculty at the associate professor level or above. Post-doctoral fellows may not apply for this award.
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Budget
Requests may be made for up to a total of $250,000 paid over 2 years. Funding requests may include salary support for the PI, technical staff and/or collaborators; supplies, animal costs, etc.; and travel to an epilepsy-related conference if the PI is presenting his/her CURE Epilepsy-funded research. Limited equipment purchases that are required to complete goals will be considered. Indirect costs are not supported.
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Key Activities and Dates
Activity Approximate Date Request for Proposals Monday, November 25, 2024 Letter of Intent Deadline Tuesday, January 7, 2025 Full Application Invitations Tuesday, February 18, 2025 Full Application Deadline Tuesday, March 25, 2025 Anticipated Award Announcement July 2025 Anticipated Project Start Date September 2025
Taking Flight Award
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Overview
The Taking Flight Award (1.5 years / $125,000) seeks to promote the careers of early-career investigators to allow them to develop an independent research focus.
NEW: The Airborne Award is intended to provide additional funding to Taking Flight grantees to help them transition to and succeed in independent research careers in epilepsy. The award will support outstanding Taking Flight grantees from the 2025 funding cycle by providing critical support during the first two years of their academic positions enabling them to conduct independent research so that they can be ready to competitively apply for larger grant awards such as an R01.
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Eligibility
You must fall into one of the following categories to be eligible for the Taking Flight Award:
- A postdoctoral fellow with a PhD, PsyD, PharmD, or equivalent and a minimum of two years postdoctoral experience at the time of submission
- A clinical fellow who is a Neurology Resident in his/her Neurology training and considering Epilepsy Fellowships
- Newly appointed faculty within one year of having completed postdoctoral training
- Clinician-researchers who are within two years of their faculty appointment
International applicants are welcome; you do not have to be a US citizen or working in the US to apply for this award. All materials must be submitted in English.
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Budget
Requests may be made for up to $125,000 for eighteen months. Funding requests may include salary support for the PI, technical staff and/or collaborators; supplies, animal costs, publication fees etc.; and travel to an epilepsy-related conference if the PI is presenting his/her CURE Epilepsy-funded research. Funds are not to be used to purchase equipment. Indirect costs are not supported.
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Key Activities and Dates
Activity Approximate Date Request for Proposals Monday, November 25, 2024 Letter of Intent Deadline Tuesday, January 7, 2025 Full Application Invitations Tuesday, February 18, 2025 Full Application Deadline Tuesday, March 25, 2025 Anticipated Award Announcement July 2025 Anticipated Project Start Date September 2025
Rare Epilepsy Partnership Award
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Overview
The Rare Epilepsy Partnership Award (1 year / $100,000) will support the development of necessary research tools, techniques, model systems, and data collection platforms to stimulate and accelerate research on rare epilepsies. Each award will be co-funded by CURE Epilepsy and one or more of the rare epilepsy advocacy groups (partners) identified in the Request For Proposals. Applications must focus on one or more of the specific rare epilepsies that are represented by each group as well as address CURE Epilepsy’s mission to cure epilepsy.
Gift Agreement for Rare Epilepsy Partners
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Eligibility
This award is available to both established and early-career investigators. Early career investigators must have a mentor committed to advising the applicant. A clearly articulated mentorship statement from the mentor must be submitted along with the application. See RFP for details.
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Budget
Funding requests must be itemized and based on specific, milestone-defined scientific aims. Requests may be made for up to a maximum of $100,000 paid over 1 year. CURE Epilepsy reserves the right to fund only select specific aims or stage funding of proposals based on the achievement of milestones. Budgets may include salary support for the Principal Investigator (PI), technical staff and/or co-PIs, supplies, animal costs, vendor costs, limited equipment cost, and travel to an epilepsy-related conference only if the PI is presenting his/her CURE Epilepsy-funded research. Indirect costs are not supported.
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Key Activities and Dates
Activity Approximate Date Request for Proposals Opens Tuesday, May 13, 2025 Letter of Intent Deadline Tuesday, June 10, 2025 Full Application Invitations Monday, July 28, 2025 Full Application Deadline Tuesday, September 2, 2025 Anticipated Awardee Notification December 22-31, 2025 Earliest Award Start Date Spring 2026
Catalyst Award
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Overview
The CURE Epilepsy Catalyst Award (2 years / $250,000) supports nimble development of data necessary to advance ideas toward larger commercialization funding opportunities and is not intended to replace those opportunities.
Please refer to the Request for Proposals for an overview of the priority areas, application instructions, and FAQs.
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Eligibility
This award is available to independent researchers at or above the level of Assistant Professor (or equivalent) at universities and non-academic research institutions, including small biotechnology companies, that seek to develop new interventions for epilepsy. International applicants are welcome to apply. Postdoctoral fellows may not apply for this award. All materials must be submitted in English.
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Budget
Requests may be made for up to a total of $250,000 paid over 2 years. Funding requests may include salary support for the PI, technical staff and/or collaborators, supplies, animal costs, etc., and travel to an epilepsy-related conference if the PI is presenting his/her CURE Epilepsy-funded research. Limited equipment purchases that are required to complete goals will be considered. Indirect costs are not supported.
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Key Activities and Dates
Activity Approximate Date Request for Proposals Opens Tuesday, May 13, 2025 Letter of Intent Deadline Tuesday, June 10, 2025 Full Application Invitations Monday, July 28, 2025 Full Application Deadline Tuesday, September 2, 2025 Anticipated Awardee Notification December 22-31, 2025 Earliest Award Start Date Spring 2026
GRANT PROCESS
1. VISION SETTING
CURE Epilepsy’s research vision is set by the CURE Epilepsy Board of Directors, Scientific Advisory Council, and CURE Epilepsy Research Team.
2. REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)
RFPs are born out of CURE Epilepsy’s Strategic Vision and outline the research topic areas and requirements for the grant year.
3. LETTER OF INTENT
LOIs are short letters from potential CURE Epilepsy grantees that succinctly and clearly describe their proposed research project and its relevance to CURE Epilepsy’s mission.
4. LOI REVIEW
LOIs are reviewed and scored by the Research Team and scientific peers by criteria outlined in the RFPs.
5. FULL PROPOSAL STAGE
Applicants whose LOIs are invited will submit full grant proposals that contain detailed scientific and budget information for the proposed CURE Epilepsy project.
6. FULL PROPOSAL REVIEW
Each full grant proposal is reviewed by members of CURE Epilepsy’s Lay Review Council (LRC) and three external scientific reviewers. The LRC is made up of people with epilepsy and the loved ones of people with epilepsy who have a special interest in finding a cure. Members of the LRC contribute to CURE Epilepsy’s grant review process by reading research proposals from a lay perspective, which helps ensure that the stakeholder point of view is critically represented in the grant review process.
Scientific reviewers are assembled for each grant mechanism and each grant review cycle. Applications are then discussed amongst the reviewers and CURE Epilepsy Research Team and scored.
7. RESEARCH COMMITTEE REVIEW
Applications are discussed with the CURE Epilepsy Research Committee, which is made up of CURE Epilepsy Board members and volunteers, to ensure alignment with CURE Epilepsy’s mission. Funding recommendations are then developed and presented to the CURE Epilepsy Board of Directors.
8. BOARD OF DIRECTORS APPROVAL
The CURE Epilepsy Board of Directors has final approval of all grants that are funded by CURE Epilepsy each cycle.
Epilepsy Research News
