Best Grants for Rare Diseases in Rhode Island

The FY26 Defense Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (DEPSCoR) aims to enhance research capabilities in eligible states by increasing the number of university researchers and institutions conducting relevant science and engineering research. Sponsored by the Department of Defense, this program will fund multiyear awards to promote research aligned with national security needs. Applications require a multi-stage submission process, emphasizing early registration and timely proposal submissions.

The NBRC Gareth B. Gish Memorial Postgraduate Education Recognition Award, offered by the American Respiratory Care Foundation, honors the legacy of Gareth B. Gish, a pioneer in respiratory care. This award supports respiratory therapists pursuing advanced degrees, providing up to $5,000 in funding, along with recognition, airfare, lodging, and Congress registration. Established in 1999, it seeks to nurture future leaders in the field, continuing Mr. Gish's commitment to education and excellence in respiratory care.

Respiratory therapists pursuing advanced degrees, including those serving rare or complex respiratory disease patients in Rhode Island, can receive up to US $5,000 for postgraduate education expenses. With a mission to promote respiratory health, American Respiratory Care Foundation also provides recognition, travel, lodging, and AARC Congress registration for awardees.

Researchers conducting respiratory care and airway management studies in Rhode Island can access support that covers travel, lodging, and registration to present at the AARC Congress. Grants from American Respiratory Care Foundation help respiratory diseases and systems researchers whose high-quality abstracts are accepted, with projects using bench, animal, or human models potentially eligible.

Researchers and graduate students conducting educational or credentialing studies in respiratory care can apply for grants up to US $5,000, including applicants in Rhode Island. Grants from American Respiratory Care Foundation support respiratory diseases and systems research, with awards also providing recognition, travel, lodging, and registration for the AARC Congress.

Nonprofit organizations conducting respiratory care research, including work relevant to rare respiratory diseases in Rhode Island, can apply for the American Respiratory Care Foundation’s Parker B. Francis Respiratory Research Grant, with awards up to US $10,000. Projects must meaningfully involve respiratory therapists or technicians, and principal investigators may be physicians or respiratory care practitioners.

Nonprofit organizations conducting respiratory care research, including work on respiratory diseases and systems, can apply for support from the American Respiratory Care Foundation. Focused on research involving respiratory therapists or technicians, these grants offer up to US $10,000 and may benefit Rhode Island projects studying respiratory conditions, management, or education, including rare respiratory diseases.

Early-career respiratory care researchers focusing on pediatric respiratory therapy can receive up to US $5,000 to support their first research projects and professional development. Grants from American Respiratory Care Foundation help rare and other respiratory disease investigators, including those in Rhode Island, fund mentoring, hands-on experience, and small equipment or supplies through the Smallwood Young Investigator Fellowship.

Health care professionals focused on respiratory diseases in Rhode Island can access an international fellowship that funds a 20-day U.S. visit for clinical observation, education, and conference attendance. The American Respiratory Care Foundation covers domestic lodging, meals, and local transportation while fellows explore respiratory care practice, training programs, and alternate care sites, which may benefit those serving rare respiratory conditions.

Biomedical, behavioral, and clinical science faculty seeking mentored career development to advance cardiovascular, pulmonary, hematologic, or sleep research can apply for NIH support, including in Rhode Island. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ National Institutes of Health offers up to US $130,000 for K01 awards to build research independence under experienced mentors.

Early-stage pulmonary fibrosis researchers in the U.S., including those in Rhode Island, can apply for Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation’s PFF Scholars awards of US $100,000 over two years to support mentored basic, translational, clinical, epidemiological, or health services research. Eligible applicants hold doctoral or professional degrees and junior academic appointments focused on interstitial lung disease.

Postdoctoral biomedical researchers conducting clinical trials in Rhode Island and other U.S. locations can receive career transition support to move from intramural to extramural institutions. The National Institutes of Health’s NHLBI K22 award funds a mentored intramural phase and a subsequent independent research phase, which may benefit respiratory and other disease-focused investigators.

Biomedical research institutions and early-career or senior scientists conducting leprosy research can apply for The New York Community Trust’s Heiser Program, offering US $87,500 - US $250,000 for projects such as diagnosis, transmission blocking, treatment, and surveillance. Rhode Island rare disease researchers focused on leprosy may be eligible within this U.S.-wide program.

Early-career clinical and scientific investigators conducting innovative sarcoidosis research at U.S. institutions, including those in Rhode Island, can receive US $150,000 over two years to support their compensation. With a mission to advance sarcoidosis research, Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research provides rare disease researchers with fellowship support to build skills, strengthen academic credentials, and improve care for sarcoidosis patients.

Early-career clinical researchers at academic or research institutions in low- and middle-income countries, including those studying respiratory and other diseases, can pursue mentored career development support through this award. Grants from the National Institutes of Health help build independent research careers over three to five years, which may benefit partners and collaborators in Rhode Island rare disease programs.

Early-career health researchers in eligible low- or middle-income countries can apply for the Emerging Global Leader Award to support mentored research and career development, with approximately US $140,000 available. Administered by the National Institutes of Health, this award may benefit investigators studying respiratory and other rare or complex diseases, including collaborations with Rhode Island partners.

With a mission to advance nonmalignant hematology research, the National Institutes of Health provides Rhode Island medical researchers and institutions with R01 funding for innovative basic and early translational studies. Projects may address blood and hematologic systems related to aging, diabetes, kidney, cardiovascular, respiratory, or digestive diseases, which may include certain rare disease contexts.

Small businesses developing technologies for rare heart, lung, blood, or sleep disorders that need federal regulatory approval can seek up to US $3,500,000 to advance Phase IIB commercialization work. With a mission to support biomedical innovation, National Institutes of Health provides Rhode Island respiratory and rare disease innovators with later-stage SBIR funding tied to prior Phase II awards.

Small business concerns developing heart, lung, blood, or sleep disorder technologies that require federal regulatory approval can seek later-stage R&D funding through this NIH NHLBI SBIR Phase IIB opportunity, including in Rhode Island. Grants from the National Institutes of Health help advance prior SBIR/STTR Phase II projects toward commercialization, with awards up to US $3,500,000 and emphasis on clinically relevant products and third-party investment.

The IRSS RIFM Special Award for Inhalation Toxicology offers a $500 prize for trainees contributing to inhalation toxicology research. Sponsored by the Society of Toxicology, this award encourages innovative evaluations of inhaled toxicants, exposure science advancements, and risk assessment research. Applicants must submit a one-page summary of their work and a pending abstract for presentation at the SOT Annual Meeting, alongside a mentor's support letter. This award aims to promote excellence in the field.

The Community Foundation of Shelby County

Our Mission

To inspire donor generosity and transform it into meaningful, lasting impact through charitable gifts.

Our Vision

To be the primary partner for donors who want to advance the community’s quality of life and capacity for excellence.

Heidi Norris Scholarship

Auglaize, Shelby or Mercer County residents majoring in Respiratory Therapy or a closely related field who are one year removed from high school, surpassed college freshman status and, have maintained a college GPA of not less than 2.5, and who are pursuing an Associate’s, Bachelor’s, or Master’s degree.

Selection based upon:

Financial need, academic ability, community and school service, and recommendations.

Awards

• One $1,500 scholarship

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) intends to release an Implementation of Findings From PCORI's Research Investments PCORI Funding Announcement (PFA) on Aug. 4, 2026, seeking to fund implementation projects that promote the uptake of peer-reviewed findings from specific PCORI-funded patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER) in the context of the body of related evidence. This PFA is an open competition opportunity for principal investigators to propose implementation projects that move evidence toward practical use in improving health care and health outcomes. Applicants may propose projects with budgets up to $1.8 million in total direct costs.

PCORI seeks to fund implementation projects that incorporate active, multicomponent strategies that will lead to uptake and integration of evidence generated by PCORI-funded research in practice settings. Implementation should target specific end users with a clear interest in — and ability to benefit from — the evidence. Proposed implementation projects will adapt findings as needed to facilitate uptake in the proposed settings and accomplish scale-up to reach larger numbers and/or scale-out to reach broader populations and settings. Applicants must demonstrate commitment and buy-in — including from leadership as well as frontline staff critical to the success of the project — from proposed implementation sites across multiple health systems, such that they provide a supportive context and infrastructure for undertaking the proposed project. In addition, projects should involve regional and national stakeholder organizations positioned to extend uptake in broader venues.  

Applications must be guided by an established conceptual model or framework and, where possible, by evidence regarding effective strategies for implementing evidence-based practices and interventions. Additionally, applications must include a rigorous evaluation plan that documents the successful execution of the implementation approach and the impact of the project on health care and health outcomes as feasible and appropriate within the project scope.

The Childhood Asthma in Urban Settings Clinical Research Network (CAUSE) aims to enhance asthma prevention and treatment in economically disadvantaged pediatric populations. Funded by the NIH, CAUSE supports multi-site clinical studies to identify innovative strategies and treatment targets for asthma. Utilizing systems biology, the network seeks to discover specific disease endotypes suitable for new therapeutic approaches, addressing the high burden of asthma in urban settings.

The Asthma and Allergic Diseases Cooperative Research Centers (AADCRC) program, supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), aims to enhance research on asthma and related allergic diseases. This initiative fosters multi-center, multidisciplinary research to explore disease mechanisms and treatment responses. By promoting clinical trials and observational studies, the AADCRC seeks to advance understanding and improve interventions for conditions such as asthma and food allergies, ultimately benefiting public health.

The US Flu Vaccine Effectiveness (VE) Network aims to enhance the effectiveness of vaccines against influenza and other respiratory pathogens, which are significant contributors to morbidity and mortality. This funding opportunity invites proposals for surveillance studies, including annual VE assessments, acute respiratory illness tracking, household transmission research, and immunogenicity studies. Applicants can apply for either Component A or B, with the option to include additional components based on their primary selection.

Quality Improvement Grant Request for Proposals

Optimizing Maternal RSV Immunization Delivery: A Systems-Based Quality Improvement Initiative to Improve Uptake, Equity, and Newborn Outcomes

Pfizer, in collaboration with the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM), is pleased to announce a competitive grant opportunity to support independent Quality Improvement (QI) initiatives focused on advancing maternal immunization, with a specific emphasis on Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccination during pregnancy.

This initiative builds upon insights generated from the Maternal Immunization Needs Assessment (MINA) project, a multi-stakeholder collaboration that identified persistent clinical, behavioral, and system-level gaps in the delivery and uptake of maternal vaccines.

We seek to fund projects that implement measurable, evidence-based interventions to improve real-world delivery of maternal RSV immunization across healthcare systems and care settings. Proposed initiatives should aim to optimize access, strengthen provider–patient communication training and tools, enhance care coordination, and address structural and behavioral barriers impacting vaccine uptake and equity.

Pfizer Global Medical Grants (GMG) supports the global healthcare community’s independent initiatives (e.g., research, quality improvement or education) to improve patient outcomes in areas of unmet medical need that are aligned with Pfizer’s medical and/or scientific strategies. Pfizer’s GMG competitive grant program involves a publicly posted Request for Proposal (RFP) that provides detail regarding a specific area of interest, sets timelines for review and approval, and uses an expert review panel (ERP) to make final grant decisions. Organizations are invited to submit an application addressing the specific gaps in clinical practice or care as outlined in the specific RFP.

For all QI grants, the applicant (and ultimately the grantee) will be solely responsible for the design, implementation, and conduct of the proposed initiative. Pfizer will have no involvement in project development, execution, or outcomes.