Disease Model Award
Funds disease-model development programs for IRD and AMD translational research.
⚠This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.
The Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB) Disease Model Award funds development and validation of innovative non-rodent disease models for inherited retinal diseases (IRD) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The Foundation, a US 501(c)(3) established in 1971, has raised nearly $996 million and supports over 113 research grants annually, including investigators at 90 U.S. institutions and labs in 16 countries. The Disease Model Award addresses a recognized gap in retinal disease research: the limited availability of clinically predictive non-rodent models. Eligible model types span in silico, in vitro, and in vivo approaches, provided they do not focus primarily on therapeutic development — proposals centered on treatment development are explicitly out of scope.
Awards range from $300,000 to $1,000,000 over three to five years, making this the Foundation's largest-range award and a suitable vehicle for ambitious model-development programs. Eligible applicants must hold a Ph.D., M.D., D.M.D., D.V.M., D.O., or equivalent doctoral degree and must hold a faculty position or equivalent at a non-profit or public/private institution such as a university, college, medical school, hospital, or research institute. For-profit companies are not eligible. The FY26 letter of intent deadline was October 16, 2025, and full applications by invitation were due March 5, 2026. The FY27 cycle is expected in mid-to-late 2026.
The two-stage process — LOI followed by invitation-only full application — means the LOI must clearly articulate why the proposed model is innovative, non-rodent, and specifically relevant to IRD or AMD pathophysiology. Because the award explicitly excludes therapeutic development as a primary aim, applicants whose projects straddle model development and drug screening should frame the model development work as the central scientific contribution. The Foundation hosted a Proposer's Day webinar in September 2025 for FY26 applicants; similar resources are expected ahead of the FY27 cycle.
Development, validation, or utilization of non-rodent disease models (in silico, in vitro, or in vivo) for inherited retinal diseases and AMD, excluding proposals primarily focused on therapeutics.
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