Apply for Grant Funding
The Fanconi Cancer Foundation (FCF) seeks to fund interdisciplinary and translational research efforts that will lead to rapid discovery and development of therapies or strategies that treat, control, or cure Fanconi anemia (FA). Research proposals must address one or more of our research priorities:
Top Priority: To define the pathogenesis of Fanconi associated cancers, and to develop strategies for prevention, early detection, treatment, and cure.
Other Priorities:
- Novel Therapies: To develop ex vivo and in vivo gene therapy and gene editing technologies for FA.
- Bone Marrow Failure: To identify factors predictive of bone marrow failure, myelodysplastic syndrome, and leukemia, and associated treatment for high-risk populations.
- Manifestations of FA: To understand, prevent, and treat systemic, inflammatory, and aging manifestations of FA, including but not limited to: Fanconi Anemia Neurological Syndrome (FANS), endocrine and fertility issues.
- Quality of Life: To identify practical and proactive management strategies that families and persons with FA can use to develop and maintain a high quality of life.
- Data Analytics: To use data analytics to identify biomarkers, hypotheses, risk predictions, and treatment for FA.
- Resource Sharing: To develop shared research resources and systems for allocation (i.e., tissue samples, cell lines, model systems, and data).
Current Funding Opportunities
FCF Research Grant Awards: The 2026 application period has closed. Proposals are under review, and applicants will hear directly from FCF after funding decisions are made. Details for the next application cycle will be posted here when available. Questions about FCF Research Grant Awards can be sent to grants@fanconi.org.
ACS–FCF Discovery Boost Grant: Applications are open for translational research focused on cancers associated with Fanconi anemia. The deadline is Dec. 1, 2026. Review eligibility, grant details and application instructions on the American Cancer Society website.
Interested in the work FCF has funded? Explore supported research.
Am I Eligible To Apply?
Researchers who hold a PhD, MD, or equivalent degree from both US and international academic, nonprofit, or for-profit institutions are invited to apply. Researchers previously funded by FCF, or those new to the FA field, including assistant, associate, and full professors, are all encouraged to apply.
FCF encourages early stage investigators – defined as an individual who has not received a FCF grant as a principal investigator OR is within their first five years of their first academic appointment at the level of Assistant Professor or the equivalent – to apply. FCF encourages early stage investigators to collaborate with senior investigators who have demonstrated scientific productivity either in the Fanconi anemia field or in fields of particular relevance to Fanconi anemia pathology and molecular pathogenesis.
Application Process
- Letter of Intent (LOI):
Investigators must submit an LOI using the designated form available here. LOIs must outline clear specific aims and relevance to FCF’s research priorities. All investigators mush adhere to the strict guidelines provided in the LOI template to be considered. Investigators collaborating across institutions and new investigators are encouraged to apply. Please refer to our Instructions for Scientific Reviewers for information on evaluation criteria. - Full Proposal Invitations:
Selected investigators will receive invitations to submit full proposals. Detailed instructions, including criteria for scientific review, will be provided at that time. - Full Proposal Submission:
Full proposals are due and must include milestone-based budgets. - Review and Selection:
Full proposals undergo external peer review, followed by evaluation by a selection committee that includes expert scientists and FA community representatives. The committee will recommend top proposals to FCF’s Board of Directors for final approval.
Additional Information
- Investigators are welcome to collaborate and submit multiple LOIs.
- The budget range for this cycle is $25,000 – $250,000 per proposal.
- Funding decisions will be communicated approximately 4 months after the full proposal submission deadline.
Please prepare your LOI using the official template. Please email us at grants@fanconi.org with any questions.
Frequently Asked Questions
FCF funds high-impact projects that have significant capacity to shift the current paradigms of our understanding of FA and clinical care for people with FA. FCF funds projects that typically would not be funded by the NIH or other federal agencies.
The letter of intent review process is approximately one month. The full proposal review process is approximately four months.
No.
Investigators will be notified regarding the status of their LOI; however, detailed feedback will not be provided for LOIs that are not selected for a full proposal.
No, but you will have a higher likelihood of receiving funding if preliminary data is included in your full proposal.
1-2 years using a milestone-based approach.
Investigators will be expected to organize their projects in a series of achievable milestones. These milestones must be coordinated with a specific budget. FCF will fund the project in installments based on whether pre-determined milestones are reached.
All funded investigators will be required to submit 6-month progress reports throughout the study period. FCF scientific staff will also perform routine follow up as needed.
$25,000 – $250,000.
Yes.
No.
RGAs can be used for both preclinical and clinical studies.
No.