Individual Investigator Research Award

The Individual Investigator Research Award is Foundation Fighting Blindness's core hypothesis-driven research award for work on inherited retinal degenerative diseases and dry age-related macular degeneration. It is built to move promising investigator-led science toward treatments and cures, and it sits alongside the foundation's other disease-focused awards as a broader research pipeline rather than a one-off special call. The award level is about $100,000 a year for up to three years, for a total of roughly $300,000. Eligible applicants need a doctoral degree and a faculty position or equivalent at a domestic or foreign nonprofit organization, university, college, medical school, hospital, research institute, or laboratory. The process starts with a letter of intent, then moves to a full application by invitation only. The FY26 LOI deadline was 16 October 2025, and the full application deadline was 5 March 2026. This route fits investigators who can frame a focused scientific question and show why the work is likely to move the field toward treatment. It is especially strong for established lab leaders and clinician-scientists who can sustain a three-year program, and the foundation also signals encouragement for applications from underrepresented racial, ethnic, and gender groups and from people with disabilities.

Each grant below is a distinct funding opportunity with its own eligibility, scope, and deliverables.