CHICAGO, Ill. — CURE Epilepsy today announced the launch of Meet the Moment, a new rapid-response funding initiative designed to protect epilepsy research at a time of unprecedented disruption across the U.S. biomedical research ecosystem.
Through initial grants awarded to past CURE Epilepsy grantees, the initiative will provide immediate support to investigators whose work has been threatened by federal funding instability, operational barriers, and changing policies that are reshaping the scientific funding landscape.
Meet the Moment represents a strategic expansion of CURE Epilepsy’s research portfolio and is being launched in addition to the organization’s longstanding grant programs. The initiative was made possible through the extraordinary generosity of CURE Epilepsy’s Board of Directors, major donors, and industry partners, whose support has enabled the organization to respond quickly to emerging threats facing the research community.
Scientific progress depends on stability, continuity, and collaboration, yet recent changes to the federal biomedical research system, coupled with ongoing operational and ideological challenges, have created significant uncertainty for laboratories nationwide. Early-career investigators have been especially affected, facing declining funding, delayed grant support, restrictions on international collaboration, and reduced training opportunities as laboratories lose talent and programs close. Together, these pressures threaten both the next generation of scientists and the epilepsy discoveries that people urgently need.
“As the leading nonprofit funder of epilepsy research, CURE Epilepsy has both an opportunity and a responsibility to respond when scientific progress is at risk,” said Beth Dean, CEO. “Meet the Moment is about ensuring that exceptional researchers remain in the field, promising ideas continue to advance, and hope remains alive for the millions of people affected by epilepsy.”
Meet the Moment will distribute funding through two new grant mechanisms:
- Bridge to Breakthrough Grants: Four hundred thousand dollars in initial grants will provide essential support to early-career researchers as they establish independent laboratories. The inaugural cohort will focus on former CURE Epilepsy Taking Flight grantees with highly scored but unfunded NIH applications, helping them strengthen proposals, generate additional data, and remain competitive when reapplying for federal funding.
- Protecting Our Progress Grants: Two hundred thousand dollars in initial grants will provide emergency support to researchers facing immediate threats to their research programs due to changing federal policies. Funding may be used for staff salaries, laboratory supplies, or other justified expenses affected by delayed federal funding, limitations on collaboration, or other policy-related constraints, ensuring that critical research continues uninterrupted. The first cohort will focus on former CURE Epilepsy grantees.
Initial Bridge to Breakthrough awardees represent some of the most promising scientists in epilepsy research today, pursuing innovative approaches to understanding seizure networks, advancing neuromodulation therapies, uncovering the mechanisms underlying treatment-resistant epilepsy, and applying computational and engineering techniques to better understand brain activity.
Initial Awardees (Pending Contracting)
Additional awardees and project details will be announced on a rolling basis throughout 2026 as funding agreements are executed.
The new initiative was informed directly by CURE Epilepsy’s research community. Applications and community feedback revealed a growing number of investigators confronting difficult decisions about whether to scale back their laboratories, redirect their careers, or leave academic research altogether.
Individuals, foundations, and corporate partners interested in supporting the Meet the Moment campaign can email Alysha Biehl at Alysha.Biehl@CUREepilepsy.org CURE Epilepsy will continue to provide updates on fundraising progress,
