Research Funding Opportunities (Topic RFAs)

RFA: In Vitro Disease Modeling — T1D-on-a-Chip Platforms

Supports in vitro disease modeling for type 1 diabetes using chip-based systems and translational experimental platforms.

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

Breakthrough T1D — formerly JDRF, rebranded June 2024 — issued this FY26 RFA titled "In Vitro Disease Modeling: Type 1 Diabetes-on-a-Chip Platforms" to solicit development of microfluidic organ-on-a-chip or microphysiological systems that replicate T1D-relevant biology in vitro. The scientific rationale is that conventional 2D cell culture and animal models fail to capture the complex multicellular dynamics of T1D pathogenesis — including autoimmune destruction of beta cells and the insulin-secretion microenvironment — and that organ-on-a-chip platforms can close that gap to accelerate both disease understanding and therapy development.

The LOI deadline was January 28, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. ET, coinciding with Breakthrough T1D's concurrent FY26 RFA on vascularization strategies. A pre-application webinar was held January 15, 2026 at noon ET. Eligible applicants include academic institutions, research organizations, and nonprofits with research capacity; for-profit entities and individual investigators are not eligible. Award amounts and the timeline for invited full applications are contained in the governing RFA call document available on the Breakthrough T1D website. All submissions use the SmartSimple portal at breakthrought1d.smartsimple.us.

This solicitation is relevant to investigators working at the intersection of bioengineering, microfluidics, and diabetes biology. Breakthrough T1D's strategy emphasizes multidisciplinary collaboration — the organization convenes endocrinologists, surgeons, immunologists, and engineers — and organ-on-a-chip platforms represent a technology category that requires exactly this kind of cross-disciplinary expertise. Competitive applications would likely demonstrate a working prototype or proof-of-concept platform and articulate a clear roadmap for how the model will be used to answer specific T1D research questions or screen therapeutic candidates.