The Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases is pleased to launch the Fixel Discovery Awards, a pilot funding opportunity designed to accelerate innovative research and foster collaboration across the institute’s five core disease areas.
Unlike previous disease-specific funding mechanisms, the Fixel Discovery Awards support research within a single disease area or across multiple neurological conditions. The program is designed to encourage collaborations that generate meaningful preliminary data, advance scientific discovery and position investigators for future external funding opportunities.
Applications may focus on a single Fixel disease category or may propose cross-disease discovery across two or more categories, including ALS and other related neuromuscular disorders; Alzheimer’s, dementia and other related memory disorders; concussion and other types of traumatic brain injury; multiple sclerosis and other neuroimmune disorders; and Parkinson’s disease, dystonia and other related movement disorders. Projects may also explore shared mechanisms, methods, technologies, biomarkers, patient populations, care models, data platforms or other approaches relevant to multiple Fixel disease areas.
The Fixel Discovery Awards reflect the institute’s commitment to advancing discovery through collaboration, innovation and research that improves the lives of individuals living with neurological disease.
Applications open
June 15, 2026
Due date
July 31, 2026
Award amount
Up to $100,000
Project period
24 months
Application details
Projects should be designed for completion within a 24-month period. Awards of up to $100,000 may be requested. Priority will be given to projects that generate preliminary data, foster collaboration and position investigators for future external funding opportunities.
Disease areas
• ALS and other related neuromuscular disorders
• Alzheimer’s, dementia, and other related memory disorders
• Concussion and other types of traumatic brain injury
• Multiple Sclerosis and other neuroimmune disorders
• Parkinson’s, dystonia, and other related movement disorders
Purpose of the award
• Advance discovery in one or more Fixel disease areas.
• Generate preliminary data for future NIH, DoD, foundation, industry, or other peer-reviewed external funding.
• Encourage collaboration across departments, colleges, disciplines, laboratories, clinical programs, disease areas, or methodological approaches.
• Support innovative, high-risk/high-impact ideas that may not yet be ready for traditional external funding.
• Strengthen Fixel’s role as a collaborative clinical-research institute focused on complex neurological diseases.
Funding priorities
• Cross-college or cross-departmental research teams.
• Multi-PI or complex collaborative study designs.
• Integration of clinical, translational, basic science, computational, data science, engineering, rehabilitation, population health, or community-engaged methods.
• Meaningful partnership funding, cost share, matching funds, in-kind support, or leveraged resources from departments, colleges, centers, foundations, philanthropy, industry, or other sources.
• Strong potential to lead to subsequent external peer-reviewed funding.
• Clear relevance to one or more Fixel disease categories.
• Potential to create new research infrastructure, pilot data, methods, models, tools, cohorts, or partnerships that can benefit future Fixel research.
Key dates
June 15, 2026
Applications open
July 31, 2026
Applications close
September 15, 2026
Award Notification
September 22, 2026
Acceptance Deadline
October 1, 2026
Anticipated Project Start Date
September 30, 2028
Anticipated Project End Date
Application Details
Eligibility
Applicants must meet one of the following criteria:
- Full-time University of Florida faculty member.
- Postdoctoral researcher, fellow or trainee with a UF faculty mentor.
- Fixel Institute member or investigator whose project aligns with the Fixel mission and one or more Fixel disease areas.
Multi-PI applications are encouraged. Projects involving investigators from multiple departments, colleges, centers, institutes or clinical programs are strongly encouraged.
Disease Area Alignment
Projects may focus on a single disease area or address questions spanning multiple neurological conditions.
Eligible disease areas include:
- ALS and other related neuromuscular disorders
- Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and memory disorders
- Concussion and traumatic brain injury
- Multiple sclerosis and other neuroimmune disorders
- Parkinson’s disease, dystonia and movement disorders
Cross-disease proposals examining shared mechanisms, technologies, biomarkers, patient populations or care models are encouraged.
Funding Priorities
Priority consideration will be given to projects that demonstrate:
- Relevance to one or more Fixel disease areas
- Strong potential for future external funding
- Cross-college or cross-departmental collaboration
- Multi-PI study design
- Innovative or high-impact approaches
- Partnership funding or leveraged resources
- Creation of new tools, datasets, methods or infrastructure
Award Details
Maximum Award Amount: Up to $100,000
Project Period: 24 months
Projects should be designed for completion within the two-year funding period and include realistic milestones and measurable outcomes.
Funding may support pilot projects, preliminary data generation, collaborative studies, infrastructure development and other research activities that advance neurological discovery.
Allowable Expenses
Funding may be used for:
- Publication costs related to project findings
- Research personnel support
- Fellow, trainee and postdoctoral support
- Materials and laboratory supplies
- Core facility services
- Biostatistics and data analysis
- Imaging and sequencing services
- Participant-related research expenses
- Small project-specific equipment
Partnership Funding & Leveraged Support
Projects that incorporate additional support may receive priority consideration.
Examples include:
- Departmental contributions
- College cost-share
- Foundation funding
- Philanthropic support
- Industry partnerships
- Shared equipment access
- Existing data resources
- Staff or infrastructure support
Applicants should clearly describe all leveraged resources and explain how they strengthen the proposed project.
Review Criteria
Applications will be evaluated based on:
- Contribution to Fixel’s research ecosystem
- Alignment with the Fixel mission
- Scientific merit and innovation
- Potential impact
- Strength of collaboration
- Potential for future external funding
- Feasibility and project design
- Investigator qualifications
- Budget appropriateness
Required Application Materials
Applicants must submit:
- Research Proposal PDF
- Specific Aims (1 page)
- Research Strategy (3 pages)
- Team & Collaboration Plan
- Milestones & Timeline
- Future Funding Plan
- Budget & Budget Justification
- NIH-Style Biosketches
- Optional Partnership Documentation
Reporting Requirements
Awardees will be required to provide:
- Mid-project progress report
- Final project report
- Publications and presentations resulting from the award
- External funding applications submitted
- External funding awarded
- Research outcomes and milestones achieved
Additional impact reporting may be requested after project completion.
