Harvard Q-FASTR Therapeutics Acceleration Grants

Q-FASTR is Harvard Medical School’s translational therapeutics grant program, housed in the Q-FASTR center and aimed at moving early discoveries toward clinical or commercial development. It is limited to the HMS Quadrangle research community and is run as an annual internal competition. The program is explicitly built for early therapeutics work rather than open-ended discovery. The program offers Pilot Awards up to $100,000 in direct costs for one year and Development Awards up to $300,000 in direct costs for two years. About ten new awards are expected each cycle, and the process runs in two stages: pre-proposals first, then full proposals for a selected subset. In the 2026 cycle, funding starts July 1, indirect costs are capped at 20% for collaborating institutions, and travel is not permitted. Eligibility is specific: HMS Quadrangle faculty, HSCRB faculty, and certain LSP investigators can apply, provided the intellectual property is assigned to Harvard University or covered by the relevant Harvard-affiliate agreements. The strongest projects are therapeutics, diagnostics, screening technologies, and other commercializable platforms with a credible path beyond validation. The program rewards teams that can show effort, IP alignment, and a clear development plan rather than basic science alone.

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