Research Funding Opportunities (Topic RFAs)

RFA: Translational Strategies to Define & Monitor Vascularization for Islet Therapies

Funds translational methods to define, monitor, and improve vascularization in islet-based diabetes therapies.

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

Breakthrough T1D — the former JDRF, rebranded in June 2024 — issued this FY26 RFA on "Translational Strategies to Define and Monitor Vascularization for Islet Therapies" as part of its ongoing investment in the scientific infrastructure required for successful beta cell replacement. Vascularization — the integration of transplanted islets into the host vasculature — is a key determinant of graft survival and functional engraftment; inadequate vascularization contributes to early graft failure. This solicitation targets investigators who can develop or apply translational methods to define vascularization endpoints and monitor them in the context of islet transplantation or replacement therapies for type 1 diabetes.

The LOI deadline was January 28, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. ET, sharing the same date as Breakthrough T1D's concurrent FY26 RFA on organ-on-a-chip platforms. A pre-application webinar was held January 13, 2026 at noon ET. Eligible applicants include academic institutions, research organizations, and nonprofits with research infrastructure; for-profit entities and individual applicants are not eligible. Award amounts and full-application timelines for LOI-invited investigators are specified in the RFA call document at the Breakthrough T1D website. Submissions go through the portal at breakthrought1d.smartsimple.us.

This RFA sits within Breakthrough T1D's cell therapy priority, which the organization defines as supporting beta cell replacement products that demonstrate sustained reductions in insulin requirements. Investigators in this track are expected to bridge preclinical vascularization models and clinically translatable monitoring tools. Strong applications would likely address imaging modalities, biomarker development, or functional assays that could eventually be used in clinical trials of islet or stem-cell-derived beta cell therapies.