Young Investigator Award (YIA)

CTF's longest running award program that provides two-year salary support to early-career NF researchers to help them become established as independent NF investigators.

Focus Area: Neurofibromatosis (NF) research

Geographic Scope: International (no citizenship requirement)

Target Applicants:

• Senior doctoral students pursuing MD, Ph.D., or equivalent degree
• Postdoctoral fellows with no more than 7 years past completion of their first doctoral degree

Eligibility Requirements:

• Applicant must be a graduate student pursuing an MD, Ph.D., or equivalent degree OR a postdoctoral fellow with no more than 7 years past completion of their first doctoral degree
• Applicant must be affiliated with the laboratory of a senior researcher who is the applicant's research sponsor
• Applicant must commit to the minimum effort requirements as outlined in the YIA Guidelines
• Only one YIA application per laboratory per year will be funded
• An individual may not receive more than one postdoctoral YIA in their career
• No citizenship requirements

Mission: CTF acts as a 'seed funder' to support early-career researchers and early-stage NF research as a 'seeding mechanism' to help researchers secure larger grants from NIH and CDMRP NFRP

Award Start Date: July 1, 2026

Program Leadership:

• Dr. Andrea "Andi" McClatchey (Program Chair) - Poitras Family Professor of Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School
• Dr. Helen Morrison (Program Chair) - Professor Neurobiology of Aging at Friedrich Schiller University, Jena
• Dr. Eduard "Edu" Serra (Program Chair) - Researcher at Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), Barcelona, Spain

Young Investigator Award (YIA) Application Process

Application Timeline:

Application Steps:
1. Log into Proposal Central as an Applicant
2. Click on Grants Opportunities
3. Filter by Children's Tumor Foundation OR type foundation name in Search box
4. Access the YIA Letter of Intent form
5. Submit LOI by December 2, 2025 at 4:00 p.m. ET

Required Materials:

Contact for Questions: Proposal Central at [email protected]