Research & Grants

Current Funding Opportunities—Pathway to Stop Diabetes

Pathway to Stop Diabetes® (2024): Call for Nominations  

Pathway to Stop Diabetes® has a simple, yet revolutionary goal: to find scientists at the peak of their creativity and provide them with the flexibility and resources they need on the road to breakthrough discoveries. We attract and retain brilliant scientists in diabetes. Our three areas of focus—awarding research grants, providing access to scientific and career mentoring from leading diabetes researchers, and creating a diabetes think tank—are each key components of a unique formula to cultivate the next generation of leaders, whose discoveries will stop diabetes and its burdens once and for all.  

To accelerate the research needed to stop this deadly disease, the American Diabetes Association’s bold transformational initiative, Pathway to Stop Diabetes®, is inspiring a new generation of diabetes researchers. Pathway provides crucial support to individuals focusing on innovative ideas and transformational approaches that will lead to ground-breaking discoveries in diabetes prevention, management, and cures. We are building a human pathway to tackle the toughest questions in diabetes by driving research innovations through 1:1 mentorship and the creation of a brain trust in diabetes. 

This call for nominations will prioritize translational applications that move knowledge and discovery gained from basic research to its eventual translation into patient and population benefit. The ideal applicant will propose innovative research that will be an important step towards the eventual goal of improving the lives of people at risk of diabetes or living with the disease—and the pathway to this impact is clear. Our vision is to create a pathway to launch the next generation of trailblazers in diabetes research. 

Starting in 2024, ADA will accept up to two (2) nominations per institution with one (1) nomination spanning basic through preclinical research and one (1) nomination spanning clinical through public health research. 

For more information on this funding opportunity, please refer to the Pathway to Stop Diabetes: Call for Nominations document

Launch Date Application Submission Deadline Award Notification Date Earliest Award Start Date 
Friday April 5, 2024 Wednesday, July 17 , 2024 Monday, December 2, 2024 Wednesday, January 1, 2025 

Initiator Award (INI) 

Award Term: Up to 7 years 

Applicant Type: Postdoctoral Fellow 

Maximum Funding: Up to $100,000 USD per year in Phase 1, Up to $325,000 USD per year in Phase 2 

Indirect Costs: Up to 10% of direct costs in Phase 1, Up to 30% of direct costs in Phase 2 

Principal Investigator Percent Effort Required: 75–100% effort in Phase 1, 50–75% effort in Phase 2 

Citizenship: Authorized to work in U.S. or U.S. possessions 

Application Submission Deadline:  Wednesday, July 17, 2024 at 5:00 pm, ET 

Initiator Award Description: This two-phased award is designed to support the transition of scientists from mentored training to independent research faculty. 

Applicant Eligibility: Eligible applicants must currently be in research training positions (post-doctoral fellow, research fellowship) and have no more than seven years of research training following terminal doctoral degree. Applicants cannot concurrently hold an NIH K99/R00 grant. Candidates must be identified through institutional nomination; applications will be accepted only from individuals with the appropriate institution support. 

Funding Support: Initiator Awards provide two distinct phases of research support: Phase 1 provides up to two (2) years of support for mentored training at a maximum of $100,000 USD per year (including 10% indirect costs). Phase 2 provides up to five (5) years of support for independent research at a maximum of $325,000 USD per year (including 30% indirect costs). The overall total combined support for Phase 1 and Phase 2 is $1,625,000 USD. 

Open a New Initiator Application     Access an In-Progress Initiator Application

Accelerator Award (ACE) 

Award Term: Up to 5 years 

Applicant Type: Early Career Faculty 

Maximum Requested Budget: $325,000 USD per year 

Indirect Costs: Up to 30% of direct costs 

Principal Investigator Percent Effort Required: 25–50% effort. 

Citizenship: Authorized to work in U.S. or U.S. possessions 

Application Submission Deadline:  Wednesday, July 17, 2024 at 5:00 pm, ET

Accelerator Award Description: This award is designed to support exceptional, independent early-career researchers who have distinguished themselves as promising investigators and are in the beginning stages of establishing successful, sustainable diabetes research programs. 

Applicant Eligibility: Awards are available to early-career diabetes investigators proposing innovative and ambitious diabetes-related research programs. Applicants must hold faculty positions and have demonstrated independent productivity in diabetes research. Applicants may currently hold independent NIH funding (K, U or R awards, including an initial R01/U01) but must not have applied for (regardless of outcome), or received, an R01/U01 renewal or a second R01/U01 award. Candidates must be identified through institutional nomination; applications will be accepted only from individuals with the appropriate institution support. 

Funding Support: Accelerator Awards provide research support of up to $325,000 USD per year (including 30% indirect costs) over five (5) years for a maximum total of $1,625,000 USD. 

Open a New Accelerator Application     Access an In-Progress Accelerator Application

Pathway to Stop Diabetes®: Application Materials   

Initiator Award Forms 

Accelerator Award Forms 

ADA Grant Policies & Stipulations:  

Questions? 

Please contact Research Programs staff at grantquestions@diabetes.org.