At a glance
This program funds early-career independent researchers, or established researchers moving into autism research, to do innovative autism studies or early-phase proof-of-principle clinical trials. Eligible applicants are U.S. Department of War organizations, including foreign and domestic, for-profit and nonprofit, and public or private organizations; the named principal investigator must meet the stated career-stage and degree limits and cannot be a graduate student or postdoctoral fellow. The program expects to fund about two awards, with total costs capped at $750,000 per award and a maximum project period of 3 years. Cost sharing is not required. Clinical trial projects with a pilot component must include community collaboration, and applications involving painful research on domestic cats or dogs are not supported except for military or service animals.
What it funds
Official description from grants.gov
Summary: The fiscal year 2026 (FY26) Autism Research Program (ARP) Career Development Award supports early-career, independent investigators and/or the transition of established investigators from other research fields to conduct innovative, high-impact ideas or early-phase, proof-of-principle clinical trials with the potential to have a major impact on autism. Distinctive Features: Applications are strongly encouraged to address one of the FY26 ARP Career Development Award Areas of Interest or provide justification that the proposed research addresses a critical problem, question, or need in autism. FY26 Career Development Award submissions with a pilot clinical trial component are required to include community collaborations to optimize research impact. Applications are expected to name at least one community partner (e.g., an Autistic individual or caregiver, representatives of community-based organizations) who will provide advice and consultation throughout the planning and implementation of the research project.
Who can apply
- Unrestricted