Microbiome Collective Research Grants

Geographic Scope: Multi-institutional, national/international collaboration

Focus Areas:

• Root causes of food allergies
• Immune-driven gut diseases
• Microbiome research and mechanisms
• Diagnostics development
• Treatment development
• Prevention strategies
• Advanced in vitro models and immune profiling
• Early detection
• Clinical trials

Priority Areas (5):

1. Advanced in vitro models and immune profiling
2. Early detection methods
3. Clinical trials
4. New diagnostics for food allergies
5. Prevention and treatment strategies

Program Description:
First-of-its-kind, multimillion-dollar, multi-institution framework creating a shared research infrastructure where teams share data and co-develop hypotheses tested from bottom-up (controlled lab studies) and top-down (human trials). This approach aims to overcome reproducibility crises that plagued previous microbiome research and accelerate translation of findings into patient tools.

Eligibility:

• Research institutions
• Collaborative projects preferred
• Projects that can be replicated across multiple sites
• Projects with potential for quick translation into patient care

Built on Breakthrough Results:
FAF has funded multiple successful microbiome research projects including:

• Diet-Microbiome Interactions to Predict Food Allergy Severity and Treatment Response (UC San Francisco - Dr. Susan Lynch)
• First-in-human fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) trial showing 40% of participants increased peanut tolerance (Boston Children's Hospital - Drs. Rima Rachid & Talal Chatila)
• Engineering Probiotics to Build Food Tolerance (UC Berkeley & MSK Cancer Center - Drs. Carlotta Ronda & Chrysothemis Brown)
• A Synbiotic for the Prevention of Food Allergies (Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering - Dr. Cathryn Nagler)
• Decoding the Gut: How Microbes and Metabolites Shape Food Allergy Treatments (Boston Children's Hospital)

What They Fund:
Research proposals focused on developing new diagnostics, treatments, and prevention strategies for food allergies

What They Prioritize:

• Collaborative projects
• Multi-site replicable projects
• Projects with rapid translation potential into patient care

How to Apply

1. Wait for Request for Proposals (RFP) to be released (announced for "coming weeks" as of November 2025)
2. Submit research proposal through RFP process

Note: Specific application details, deadlines, and procedures were not yet available at time of extraction. Check website for RFP announcement.