MRA Pilot Award
Funds high-risk melanoma proof-of-concept efforts through grants for high-impact experimental ideas.
Eligibility · United States, United Kingdom, Israel
⚠This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.
The Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA) is the world's largest private nonprofit funder of melanoma research, having invested more than $200 million across over 500 grant awards since its founding in 2007. The General RFP is MRA's flagship annual funding cycle, supporting pre-clinical, translational, and early clinical research with the potential to produce high-impact, near-term advances in melanoma prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment. The 2025-2026 cycle committed at least $11.5 million in new funding across four award categories: Pilot Awards, Young Investigator Awards, Team Science Awards, and Academic-Industry Partnership Awards.
Pilot Awards within the General RFP specifically fund high-risk, high-reward projects that test transformative concepts without requiring extensive preliminary data, establishing proof-of-concept to support future traditional funding applications. Dedicated sub-tracks exist for acral melanoma, uveal melanoma, UK-based researchers, and Israel-based researchers. Young Investigator Awards target scientists within five years of their first academic faculty appointment and require a mentorship commitment from a senior investigator. For the 2025-2026 cycle, Young Investigator and Pilot Award proposals were due November 6, 2025; Team Science letters of intent were due September 25, 2025, with full proposals invited by January 8, 2026. Funding decisions were expected in April 2026, with projects starting June 1, 2026. Submissions are made through the proposalCENTRAL portal by 11:59 pm Eastern Time.
Eligible applicants are academic institutions, universities, and research organizations based in the US, UK, and Israel; for-profit applicants and unaffiliated individuals are not eligible. The 2025-2026 cycle is fully closed; the 2026-2027 cycle is expected to be announced in summer or fall 2026. Competitive proposals directly address melanoma prevention, detection, diagnosis, or treatment; Pilot Award applications do not require a letter of intent, unlike the Team Science track. Scientific inquiries should be directed to science@curemelanoma.org.
High-risk, high-reward proof-of-concept melanoma research requiring minimal preliminary data, including acral and uveal melanoma sub-tracks, open to US, UK, and Israel institutions.
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