Career Development Award (Alan Laties Program)
Funds clinician researcher development programs focused on Friedreich ataxia careers.
⚠This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.
The Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB) Career Development Award — formally named the Alan Laties Career Development Program — provides five-year salary support for junior clinical faculty conducting research on inherited retinal degenerative diseases (IRD). The Foundation, established in 1971 and headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, has raised nearly $996 million to date, funding identification of more than 330 genes linked to retinal disease and launching over 50 clinical trials. The Career Development Award is one of the Foundation's core investigator-support mechanisms, designed to allow junior clinician-scientists to build a protected research career focused on retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, Usher syndrome, Stargardt disease, and related conditions affecting over 10 million Americans.
Each award provides $75,000 per year for five years, for a maximum total of $375,000 per recipient. Up to five awards are made per annual cycle. Eligible applicants must hold an M.D., D.O., O.D., or recognized foreign equivalent, and must be in their first, second, or third year of a junior faculty appointment at the time of application. Both domestic and foreign non-profit institutions are eligible host organizations. No letter of intent is required; applicants submit directly through the online portal at onlineapplicationportal.com/blindness/ using the Career Development Award Instructions, a Budget Template, and a Face Page. The FY26 application deadline was January 29, 2026; the FY27 cycle is expected in autumn 2026.
Because the award is limited to five recipients annually, competition is significant. The program's focus is narrow — inherited retinal degeneration research by clinical faculty — so applicants outside that specialty area will not qualify. Awardees must submit scientific progress reports and financial reports throughout the five-year funding period, and the Foundation explicitly encourages applications from underrepresented racial, ethnic, and gender groups as well as individuals with disabilities.
Laboratory and clinical research on inherited retinal degenerative diseases, conducted by junior clinical faculty in their first three years of appointment.
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