Apply for a Grant

Please review all grant guidelines and frequently asked questions for additional award information and requirements.

The following steps will need to be taken in order to successfully submit your NEA research grant application for review:

1. If you are applying for an Engagement, Catalyst, or Eczema Champion grant, download and fill out the NEA research grant application in its entirety.
2. If you are applying for a Childhood Eczema Challenge Grant through NEA and PeDRA, download and fill out the NEA/PeDRA research grant application in its entirety.
3.  Submit your Research Grant Application via our APPLICATION PORTAL. Please fill out all the required fields in our online research grant intake form.   
4.  The application portal is where you can upload your application and any supporting documentation to NEA.
5.  You will be given an email confirmation when we receive your application. If you do not receive an email confirmation, please check your Junk folder.

Completed applications must be received by August 14, 2026 at 5 p.m. PDT. NO EXCEPTIONS can be made to this deadline.

Award notifications are anticipated after February 2nd, 2027.

Email [email protected] with any additional questions on this award or the award process.

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Requirements and Timeline

Proposals submitted for consideration of a NEA grant should adhere to the individual eligibility criteria and requirements for the grant type you are applying for. 

NEA will not support research involving human subjects or animals without prior receipt of Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) approval documentation. A copy of a current approval letter must be on file with NEA for the duration of the research award. 

NEA Research Grant submissions for 2026 open on May 12th and close on August 14th at 5:00pm PDT. There are no exceptions to this deadline. Grant awardee and rejection letters will be sent by February 2, 2027, and the award cycle will run from March 1, 2027 to March 1, 2028. 

Allowable Costs

Direct costs will be reviewed for consistency with the proposed methods and specific aims. Budgetary adjustments may be made by the review panel or NEA. Indirect costs are not allowed on NEA research grants. Any unused money must be returned to NEA.

NEA permits PI salary/fringe benefits except for Engagement Grant applications. Budget justifications must include the % effort associated with the requested salary support. Salary requests for Assistant Professors and above should not exceed the current allowable NIH salary cap. Salary support for PI’s at all other levels is limited to a maximum of 50% effort on any NEA grant. Stipend support for graduate student/assistants is not permitted on NEA research grants.

Please see individual award criteria for allowable direct costs and review answers to frequently asked questions. Email [email protected] for additional information.

Equipment

Requests for major equipment purchases (over $5,000/unit) are not generally considered. Equipment purchased using a NEA award is for the use of the PI and his/her collaborators. Title to equipment shall be vested in the institution with which the PI is associated. In the event NEA authorizes the transfer of a grant to another institution, equipment necessary for continuation of the research project purchased with the grant funds may be transferred to the new institution. Title to such equipment shall be vested in the new institution.

NEA Study Recruitment Services

If NEA recruitment support is requested for the proposed research, cost for these services must be included in grant budgets. Please contact [email protected] in advance of grant submission to determine the appropriate amount to include in the submitted budget.

Disbursement of Funds

Upon receipt of an executed grant agreement, funds will be disbursed by NEA directly to the sponsoring institution (i.e., the named institutional fiscal officer designated in the application), which in turn will be responsible for payment to the awardee. 

For Childhood Eczema Challenge, Catalyst, and Champion grant awards, NEA remits the full grant amount over three (3) installments: 25% at receipt of signed agreement, 25% when the interim report is received and 50% at grant conclusion coincident with the grant start date, and receipt and approval of Interim and Final Reports. For Engagement grants, full disbursement of the grant funds will be made at the onset of the grant award period.

Principal Investigators should coordinate with their host institutions and any Co-Investigators to ensure that payment is received and distributed as necessary.

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Applications received by the yearly deadlines will initially be reviewed for completeness, meeting of eligibility criteria, and alignment with NEA’s research priorities. Incomplete or ineligible applications will be returned to the submitter without further review. 

 Submitted applications that are complete and meet all eligibility criteria will undergo Committee peer review using current National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant scoring criteria (e.g., significance, approach, innovation, investigator, environment), on a scale of 1 (highest) to 9 (lowest).

Direct costs will be reviewed for consistency with the proposed methods and specific aims and overlap with any current or pending funding project support from other entities. Budgetary adjustments may be made by the review panel or NEA.   

Recommended grants from the peer review process are put forward for NEA Board of Directors approval (and the PeDRA Board of Directors for the Childhood Eczema Challenge Grant).

An award or declination letter will be sent to the applicant advising him/her of funding or non-funding. A summary of the peer review committee’s deliberations will be provided to the applicant. Applications that are not funded may be revised and resubmitted in the next funding cycle. Resubmitted applications will require the same level of detail and compete on an equal basis with all other new applications.

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If you receive a grant from NEA, you are required to keep us informed of your research progress and award expenditures using the reporting forms listed below. Interim reporting forms are due within 30 days of the midpoint of the grant. The final scientific report is due within 30 days of the endpoint of the grant, and the final accounting report within 60 days.

You can download the various reporting forms here:

Interim Scientific Report

Interim Accounting Report

Final Scientific Report

Final Financial Report

No-Cost Extension Request

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Does my project require IRB approval or IACUC approval at the time of submission?

No, IRB or IACUC can be pending at the time of grant submission but must be approved before award distribution.

Does NEA fund both international and U.S. applicants?

Yes, all NEA research grants are open to all applicants regardless of citizenship or location.

Does NEA have a policy on funding multiple projects from the same lab?

There is no specific policy. However, due to the competitive nature of the awards, it is unlikely that NEA will fund two individuals from the same lab.

How long is the funding period for research grants?

The standard NEA award cycle is one year.

What if I need an extension?

A single no-cost extension may be permitted for Catalyst, Champion and Childhood Eczema Challenge grants.
Please email [email protected]
for additional information required for these requests.

Who should the letters of support come from?

If the applicant is a post-doctoral fellow or comparable, a letter of support from the applicant’s immediate supervisor must be provided.
For Assistant Professors, this letter should come from the department chair.

I am applying for a Catalyst Grant and have an NIH R01 application pending. If I receive the R01, what would happen to my NEA grant?

You do not have to relinquish your NEA Catalyst award should you receive an R01. However, depending on the start date of your R01, the NEA grant may not be permitted to receive a no-cost extension.

Is there a limit on the number of proposals I can submit?

We can accommodate only one proposal per applicant per grant category.

Can I apply simultaneously for an Engagement Grant award and a Catalyst Grant?

Yes, you may submit separate proposals simultaneously for these grants. However, please be aware you are only able to receive funding for one NEA award during any funding cycle.

The grant application requests the signature of an authorized administrative official. Who should this signatory be?

The authorized administrative official is the individual in your grants office who handles or oversees the disbursement of grant funds awarded to your department or institution.
This would be the same person identified on the face page of an NIH grant.

Will applicants receive critiques or feedback for their proposals?

NEA will provide a summary of reviewer comments for all awards upon request.

Can I apply as a company?

While NEA does not accept grant proposals from companies directly, proposals from academic collaborators of companies are allowed to investigate the science or mechanism for a candidate therapeutic approach, drug delivery model or related studies.

Is there a communications embargo period for awarded grants?

Yes. The embargo period ends when NEA has notified all awardees. Until all grant awardees are publicly announced by NEA, recipients may not announce awards on social media, websites, other public forums, at public gatherings or to the media.

What is a Competitive Renewal?

A Competitive Renewal is only available for Champion grants and is a resubmission of the same project (including any updated data from year one) to obtain another year of funding.
The application will be reviewed alongside all new Champion grant applications.