Mathers Grant Awards Program

Mathers Grant Awards Program is sponsored by William M. Mathers Foundation. The Mathers Foundation invites applications for its grant awards program, which supports early-stage discoveries that drive innovation and lay the groundwork for future medical breakthroughs.

Research areas include immunology, microbiology, and infectious diseases.

How To Apply - The Mathers Foundation Applying for the Mathers Grant Awards Program Philip Kranzusch with Lab Staff The Mathers Grant application process involves several key steps, each requiring specific information and documentation to meet the Foundation’s requirements. If approved, grants are typically awarded within five to six months of LOI submission. All program-related activities must be managed through the portal .

Institutional nomination is required before submitting a Letter of Intent. Medical research universities and scientific institutions that are nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply. We prefer applicants to hold 501(c)(3) status, but it is not required.

Registration and Institutional Nominations are required at least two weeks before the current cycle’s due date. Applications include a project summary, related work, and a three-year budget describing major expense line items. All invited formal proposals must include a project summary, detailed scientific aims, and a budget justification for all project costs.

Medical research universities and scientific institutions that are nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply. We prefer applicants to hold 501(c)(3) status, but it is not required.

Institutions that directly support their own investigators Principal Investigators with their own fully equipped labs All levels of professorship Collaborative research projects with other U.S.-based organizations Institutions based outside the United States Institutions that do not employ their own investigators Private Foundations or third-party organizations that provide funding to other organizations Research Areas We Support Microbiology & Infectious Diseases Research Areas We Do Not Support Plant Biology (including plant microbiome) Agriculture and Herbicide Research Clinical Trials or Drug Discovery The list is not exhaustive and may be subject to change or interpretation by the Board.

Registration in the portal is required to access the Mathers Foundation grants application and instructions. All new registrations must be completed by the grant cycle registration due date . Returning applicants do not need to register again.

For the best user experience, we recommend using Google Chrome or Safari browsers. Image credit: Wendy Garrett Lab Staff The Mathers Foundation Grants Program is a limited competition, where eligible organizations may submit up to three (3) institute-nominated Letter of Inquiry (LOI) applications per grant cycle. The LOI application due dates can be found here .

Nominations must be submitted at least two weeks before the application due date. There are a total of seven fields that must be completed, some of which have character limits. Please note the Foundation does not provide feedback for declined LOIs.

Write the Project Summary so that a highly educated lay audience and a scientific review board can understand the project’s nature and scope. Collaborators should be mentioned in the summary, along with their contributions to the project. The Foundation’s required budget template is available within the portal and must be used for all Letters of Inquiry (LOIs).

The downloadable Excel file includes three tabs: Grant Budget, Budget Justification, and READ ME instructions. The Budget Justification tab is optional at the LOI stage. MANDATORY: Applications cannot be submitted unless the READ ME compliance section has been fully reviewed and acknowledged.

When uploading budget documents, applicants should select the “LOI Budget” document label. Applicants must enter the total requested budget for three (3) years, which may not exceed $600,000–$700,000, inclusive of up to 10% indirect costs (calculated by multiplying total direct costs by 0. 10 and adding that amount to the direct costs).

Refer to the Letter of Inquiry FAQs for additional guidance regarding allowable and non-allowable budget expenses. Include Experimental Aims and sub-aims. Write for a scientific audience (2,000-character limit, spaces are included).

Proof of Concept, Previous or Related Work Include proof of concept evidence/validation for the project. Include whether the evidence for the project is “preliminary”. Include whether proof of concept has been published in any scientific journals (2,000-character limit, spaces are included).

Provide a summary of your assessment of the project’s primary focus. Responses help the Foundation compare similar LOIs (examples of research areas of interest are available here ). There is no drop-down menu for this field.

Briefly describe your most impactful discoveries and/or best publications. This information does not have to be directly related to the proposed project (2,500-character limit, including spaces). Documents & Optional Supplementary Materials Policy- Documents and supplementary information uploaded to the portal during the submission process cannot be deleted by applicants.

Please contact support@mathersfoundation. org for assistance with removing documents if needed. Do not submit another LOI.

Please note that any requests to upload materials received after the current application deadline will not be approved or processed. Upload the completed Foundation-required Grant Budget template Biosketch Submission Guidelines Submit the new NIH Biographical Sketch (Common Forms with Supplement) for the PI and all collaborators.

Postdoctoral fellows and graduate students contributing 30% or more effort to the project must submit an NIH biosketch; if a biosketch is not available, a C. V. may be submitted instead.

( C. V. s may not exceed five (5) pages) The PI and collaborators must provide active and pending support using the Current and Pending (Other) Support Common Form.

Applicants must also provide a separate attachment listing completed research support from the past three (3) years, including the project title, funding source, project period, and the individual’s role on the project. Postdoctoral fellows and graduate students should list current and pending funding awarded directly to them (e.g., fellowships or training grants).

Do not include institutional support or funding provided through a PI’s research grant. Consultants must provide a biosketch, along with a description of their effort and role on the project. Other Support is not required.

Optional Supplementary Information Upload optional supplementary information as one or more additional documents in the Requested Documents section of the application. There is no limit to the number of optional supplementary documents you may upload.

Examples include, but are not limited to, budget justifications (optional for LOIs), references, proofs, collaborator information, biosketches, letters of support, additional comments, and figures. If a document does not correspond to one of the document labels available in the application portal, please upload it using the “Other Document” label.

Collaborators and Sub‑Awards: Collaborating institutions and sub‑awardees must be nonprofit or tax-exempt organizations, and the Foundation has no role in managing those arrangements. The proposal narrative, written for a scientific audience, must follow the required sections, be no longer than 7 pages, and include updated supplementary materials.

A detailed budget and budget justification, with a maximum amount of $700,000 over three years, are also required. Image credit: Deblina Sarkar Cover photo provided by Jimmy Day, courtesy of MIT Grant Timeline & Due Dates Grant schedules and submission deadlines are fixed annually. No exceptions will be made for late submissions.

Cycle Institutional Nominations Portal Registration LOI Application Invited Formal Please read through our FAQ’s for any questions you may have. What are the key institutional roles in the grant application process? The two primary institutional roles in the grant application process are the Principal Investigator (PI) and the Administrative Contact (AC).

Principal Investigator (PI): The lead researcher responsible for the proposed project and all scientific reporting. Administrative Contact (AC): The institution’s designated primary liaison to the foundation. This role may include individuals from Development, Foundation Relations, Sponsored Programs, or Grants Administration and is responsible for coordinating all institutional applications, including the nomination process.

Each organization has a single Administrative Contact, who serves as the AC for all applications. Additional roles that support the application process include: Signing Official (SO): The individual authorized to execute the grant agreement on behalf of the institution if funding is awarded. This role is only required after an award is made and does not need to be designated during the application process.

Additional Contact or Finance Officer: An individual who can be added to an application to view, edit, and help prepare the application. Individuals who need access to assist with an application but are not the institution’s designated AC should be added in this role. This role does not replace the institution’s designated Administrative Contact (AC).

Can individuals in junior faculty positions, such as Instructors, apply? Additionally, is there a requirement for candidates to have assigned lab space at their institution? We do not have a preference regarding the researcher’s experience or seniority, as long as they are independent investigators with fully functional and equipped labs.

What is the Institutional Nomination process? The nomination process has been updated: Nominees must be selected by the institution (current policy / no change) Each organization may submit up to three (3) applications per grant cycle (current policy / no change) . Instructions and the “New LOI” button are only visible to the Administrative Contact (AC).

Administrative Contact (AC) uses the “New LOI” button in the grantee portal to invite registered Principal Investigators (PIs) to apply . (this is a change) Once invited, the PI can access, prepare, and submit their application. (current policy / no change) AC can also edit and submit on behalf of the PI.

Registration deadline: Only registered PIs can be invited; registration must be completed before the deadline (see Grant Timeline ). The “New LOI” button will no longer be visible after the nomination and registration deadline passes, or once the organization has reached its limit of three (3) nominees per grant cycle.

Once the next grant cycle opens, the “New LOI” button will become visible again, and cycle-opening information will also be posted in the website banner. Registered Additional Contacts or Finance Officers are only needed if a grant is awarded.