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CF Foundation NIH K-Boost Award

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation seeks to attract and develop junior faculty who will establish research careers in cystic fibrosis. The primary purpose of the K-Boost Award is to provide supplemental funding to qualified and promising scientists early in their faculty careers who have obtained K funding (e.g., K08, K23, K25) from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in areas that reflect the Foundation's research priority areas.

During the term of the award, awardees will focus their research efforts on topics directly related to Foundation research priorities. The goal of this program is to provide supplemental support for research costs or additional salary support for key personnel to NIH K awards that meet these criteria. The supplement will support research that emphasizes either basic or clinical areas relevant to the Foundation's mission.

Funding Amount:

Funding of up to $50,000 per year may be requested (indirect costs are not allowable). Funding may be requested for up to five (5) years to coincide with the associated active NIH K Award.

AI Based Application Success Predictor

1. Direct relevance to Cystic Fibrosis (CF) pathophysiology or patient care

Proposals must address CF-relevant biology (airway defense, CFTR dysfunction, mucus clearance, infection, inflammation, etc.) or CF-specific clinical/therapeutic issues.

For “Path to a Cure” (PTAC) grants, emphasis should be on CFTR gene repair/replacement, gene therapy, cell-based therapy, or other disease-modifying strategies.

Predictor: The more tightly your project maps to CF’s unique biology or unmet needs, the more competitive it is.

2. Hypothesis-driven research with solid preliminary data

For Research Grants, applications must be hypothesis-driven and present sufficient preliminary data to justify CFF support.

Tools, reagents, or methods may be funded if they enable CF research — but still require a clear rationale and feasibility data.

Predictor: Strong pilot data significantly boosts confidence in feasibility and increases chances of funding.

3. Clear, focused aims and realistic scope/duration

CFF’s typical Research Grant offers up to US $150,000/year + 12% indirect costs, for up to three years.

Clinical Research Awards may be shorter (or multi-center, with higher budgets), but still require feasible aims within the timeline.

Predictor: Oversized or overly ambitious proposals are penalized — a tight, achievable 2–3 aim structure is preferred.

4. Alignment with CFF’s strategic priorities

CFF periodically outlines key research priorities, including (but not limited to):

Gene repair / cell-based therapies / CFTR-targeted approaches (via PTAC)

Improving treatment for infections and complications in CF lungs

Addressing extrapulmonary complications (GI, liver, pancreas, nutrition, endocrine, bone disease) and co-morbidities including mental-health, diabetic complications, bone disease, CF-related diabetes (CFRD), etc.

Lung transplant, graft rejection, and transplant-related complications in CF patients.

Predictor: Proposals that explicitly align with one of these priority areas stand out.

5. If clinical research — access to CF patient cohorts or appropriate clinical resources

Clinical Research Awards require that the applicant demonstrate access to sufficient numbers of CF patients and suitable controls.

For multi-center clinical studies, larger funding (up to $350,000/yr) is possible, provided infrastructure and collaboration are in place.

Predictor: Without clear patient access or clinic infrastructure, clinical/translational proposals are weak.

6. Investigator track record and institution support (for independent PIs)

CFF requires independent investigators (not still in fellowship) for standard Research Grants.

For fellowship or early-career mechanisms (Postdoc, Clinical Fellowship, etc.), a strong mentorship plan and institutional support are important.

Predictor: Established productivity (for mid/senior grants) or a strong mentorship + training plan (for junior grants) enhances credibility.

7. Well-justified budget and efficient use of funds

Given the modest-to-moderate funding levels, reviewers expect:

A reasonable and well-justified budget relative to scope

Clear planning for how the funds will be used (personnel, reagents, assays, clinical coordination)

Avoidance of overly expensive or low-yield components

Predictor: Lean, efficient budgets that deliver maximum value — especially in pilot grants — are favored.

8. Path toward broader impact or future funding

For many CFF-funded projects, the expectation is that they generate data usable for larger future grants (NIH, multi-center trials, commercial drug development).

For PTAC or translational projects: a plausible pathway toward therapy development, CFTR repair, or broad patient benefit.

Predictor: Applications that present a realistic “next-step” — not just one-off findings — are more appealing.

9. Innovative or under-investigated approaches (especially for unmet CF needs)

CFF is particularly interested in:

Gene- and cell-based therapies for patients not helped by current modulators

Regeneration of lung epithelia, repair of airway damage, microbiome-based therapy, alternative approaches to CFTR correction, etc.

Addressing complications beyond lungs — liver, GI, pancreas, endocrine, bone disease, mental health, transplant complications, etc.

Predictor: Novel ideas targeting gaps in current CF care — especially for hard-to-treat or under-served patient subgroups — tend to get priority.

⚠️ Common Pitfalls / What Reviewers Implicitly Penalize

Projects with weak or missing preliminary data (unless clearly justified as exploratory).

Overambitious scope that cannot realistically be completed within funding period.

Lack of clear CF patient access or clinical translation plan for human studies.

Broad, vague aims without clear hypotheses or measurable endpoints.

Budgets that request excessive or unjustified resources.

Studies that do not align with CF-specific biology or CFF’s stated priorities.

Specialties

Clinical Trials

Eligibility Requirements

U.S. residents and U.S. permanent residents are welcome to apply.

Eligible Countries:

United States

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: 4550 Montgomery Ave. Suite 1100 N Bethesda, MD 20814

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