CFF/NIH R01 Unfunded Award

CFF/NIH R01 Unfunded Award

Invests research teams and institutions for CFF NIH Unfunded Award in biotechnology and medical technology.

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation CFF/NIH R01 Unfunded Award provides bridge funding to CF researchers who have received a scored but unfunded NIH R01 application. To qualify, the applicant's R01 must have received a percentile score at or below the 40th percentile — indicating scientific merit without falling within the NIH payline. The award provides $125,000 per year for one year, with no indirect cost allowance. The intent is to sustain the applicant's laboratory while they revise and resubmit the R01 or pursue alternative federal funding.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the program's active window, which runs until November 30, 2026. After that date the program is scheduled to sunset; no continuation beyond 2026 has been announced. There is no set annual deadline — investigators may apply at any point during the open window after receiving their NIH score. Review is handled through the standard CFF academic grants process at awards.cff.org.

Eligibility requires that the applicant hold faculty status at an accredited academic institution and that the underlying NIH R01 addresses a topic relevant to cystic fibrosis. The program is specifically designed for the gap between NIH scoring and funding, and does not duplicate or compete with the Foundation's standard Research Grants or Pilot and Feasibility tracks. It is one of the more targeted mechanisms in the CFF portfolio, with a narrow prerequisite that limits eligibility to investigators who have already cleared peer review at NIH.