⚡️ Funding Flash: August 2025

“Penn State’s time has come to unify and un-silo the life sciences with formal training and workforce experiences in one of the hottest areas of biology today,” said Seth Bordenstein, director of the OHMC, professor of biology and entomology and Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Chair in Microbiome Sciences. “With this award, the One Health Microbiome Center has set the highest standards for graduate training in the microbiome sciences, and we will lead the way in formalizing this vital field.”

The team aiming to expand the scientific understanding of nightmares includes principal investigator Patrick Drew, professor of engineering science and mechanics at Penn State; and co-principal investigators Nikki Crowley, associate professor of biology and of biomedical engineering, Huck Early Career Chair in Neurobiology and Neural Engineering and director of the Penn State Neuroscience Institute at University Park; and Nanyin Zhang, the Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Chair in Brain Imaging and professor of biomedical engineering, of electrical engineering and of engineering science and mechanics.

In FY 2026, this RFA solicits Standard Grants, Workshop Grants, and Food and Agricultural Science Enhancement (FASE) Grants, whereas project types solicited in this RFA are Research, Extension, Education, and Integrated Research, Education, and/or Extension projects. Funding opportunities available in:

The Mission of Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA) is a private nonprofit Foundation whose mission is to advance early stage, high-potential, basic scientific research. RCSA provides catalytic funding for research and sponsors conferences to support: An engaged community of early career faculty; Innovative ideas for basic research; Integration of research and science teaching; Interdisciplinary research; Building the academic leadership of the future through its Cottrell Scholars, RCSA Fellows and Scialog programs.

This is a new initiative that will fund high-risk/high-reward cross-disciplinary collaborations that integrate levels of scale, for example from genes to species to communities, from local to global processes, or across ecological and evolutionary time scales. The goal is to identify new, emerging breakthrough areas of ecology and evolution. Given the amount of funding ($20m over 5 years), this should be a coordinated interdisciplinary effort with larger groups of researchers, with diverse backgrounds and expertise, to tackle complex problems.

The Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies’ Fellowship Programmes provide a unique setting for researchers from all disciplines to fully focus on their projects within an international community. FRIAS fellowships are open to both early-career and senior researchers from Freiburg, Germany, and all over the world, supporting dedicated research time, interdisciplinary collaboration, and access to University of Freiburg resources. FRIAS offers the following fellowship opportunities:

Curious about intellectual property but don’t know where to start? Learn what intellectual property is, why it matters for your research, and how to take the first steps towards protecting your innovations.

Guest Lecture by Jonathan D’Silva, Attorney & Manager at MMI Intellectual Property and Associate Clinical Professor of Law at Penn State Law.

Invent Penn State is accepting applications for its virtual September cohort. The no-cost program helps researchers test a startup idea through customer interviews and educational programming on the lean startup methodology.

Have you received a grant which wasn't covered in the Funding Flash? Want to inform others about an upcoming workshop, seminar, fellowship, or funding source? Let us know by emailing [email protected].