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Mathers Grant Awards Program

Mathers (G.Harold and Leila Y.) Foundation

The Mathers Grant application process involves several key steps, each requiring specific information and documentation to meet the Foundation’s requirements. If approved, grants are typically awarded within five to six months of LOI submission. All program-related activities must be managed through the portal.

LOI Application

The Mathers Foundation Grants Program is a limited competition, where eligible organizations may submit up to three (3) institute-nominated Letter of Inquiry (LOI) applications per grant cycle. The LOI application due dates can be found here. Nominations must be submitted at least two weeks before the application due date. There are a total of seven fields that must be completed, some of which have character limits.

Please note the Foundation does not provide feedback for declined LOIs.

Required Information:

Title of Project

Enter the project title.

Project Summary

Write the Project Summary so that a highly educated lay audience and a scientific review board can understand the project’s nature and scope.
Collaborators should be mentioned in the summary, along with their contributions to the project.

Total Requested Budget

The Foundation’s required budget template is available within the portal and must be used for all Letters of Inquiry (LOIs). The downloadable Excel file includes three tabs: Grant Budget, Budget Justification, and READ ME instructions. The Budget Justification tab is optional at the LOI stage.
MANDATORY: Applications cannot be submitted unless the READ ME compliance section has been fully reviewed and acknowledged.
When uploading budget documents, applicants should select the “LOI Budget” document label.
Applicants must enter the total requested budget for three (3) years, which may not exceed $600,000–$700,000, inclusive of up to 10% indirect costs (calculated by multiplying total direct costs by 0.10 and adding that amount to the direct costs).
Refer to the Letter of Inquiry FAQs for additional guidance regarding allowable and non-allowable budget expenses.

Project Aims

Include Experimental Aims and sub-aims.
Write for a scientific audience (2,000-character limit, spaces are included).

Proof of Concept, Previous or Related Work

Include proof of concept evidence/validation for the project.
Include whether the evidence for the project is “preliminary”.
Include whether proof of concept has been published in any scientific journals (2,000-character limit, spaces are included).

Category of Research

Provide a summary of your assessment of the project’s primary focus.
Responses help the Foundation compare similar LOIs (examples of research areas of interest are available here). There is no drop-down menu for this field.

Discoveries/Publications

Briefly describe your most impactful discoveries and/or best publications.
This information does not have to be directly related to the proposed project (2,500-character limit, including spaces).

Documents

Documents & Optional Supplementary Materials Policy- Documents and supplementary information uploaded to the portal during the submission process cannot be deleted by applicants. Please contact support@mathersfoundation.org for assistance with removing documents if needed. Do not submit another LOI.

Please note that any requests to upload materials received after the current application deadline will not be approved or processed.

Upload the completed Foundation-required Grant Budget template

Biosketch Submission Guidelines

Submit the new NIH Biographical Sketch (Common Forms with Supplement) for the PI and all collaborators.
Postdoctoral fellows and graduate students contributing 30% or more effort to the project must submit an NIH biosketch; if a biosketch is not available, a C.V. may be submitted instead. (C.V.s may not exceed five (5) pages)
The PI and collaborators must provide active and pending support using the Current and Pending (Other) Support Common Form. Applicants must also provide a separate attachment listing completed research support from the past three (3) years, including the project title, funding source, project period, and the individual’s role on the project.
Postdoctoral fellows and graduate students should list current and pending funding awarded directly to them (e.g., fellowships or training grants). Do not include institutional support or funding provided through a PI’s research grant.
Consultants must provide a biosketch, along with a description of their effort and role on the project. Other Support is not required.

Optional Supplementary Information

Upload optional supplementary information as one or more additional documents in the Requested Documents section of the application. There is no limit to the number of optional supplementary documents you may upload.

Examples include, but are not limited to, budget justifications (optional for LOIs), references, proofs, collaborator information, biosketches, letters of support, additional comments, and figures. If a document does not correspond to one of the document labels available in the application portal, please upload it using the “Other Document” label.

Collaborators and Sub‑Awards: Collaborating institutions and sub‑awardees must be nonprofit or tax-exempt organizations, and the Foundation has no role in managing those arrangements.

AI Based Application Success Predictor

1. Innovation and high-risk, high-reward science (Highest Predictor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

This is the defining feature of Mathers Foundation funding.

Competitive proposals should:

Address fundamental biological questions
Challenge existing paradigms
Explore bold, transformative ideas
Demonstrate originality
Have the potential for major scientific breakthroughs

Projects that are innovative yet grounded in a compelling scientific rationale are especially competitive.

2. Strong scientific merit with published proof of concept (Highest Predictor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

The Foundation explicitly states that reviewers seek projects with:

Strong scientific merit
Established published proof of concept
Preliminary validation
High-quality supporting evidence

Applicants should demonstrate that the proposed idea is supported by credible prior findings while extending into a novel research direction.

3. Basic science with translational potential (Highest Predictor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

Mathers primarily funds basic science, but projects should have the potential to eventually improve human health.

Highly competitive areas include:

Immunology
Cancer biology
Genetics
Genomics
Neuroscience
Stem cell biology
Microbiome research
Structural biology
Cellular physiology
Microbiology and infectious diseases

Projects should explain how fundamental discoveries could ultimately translate into clinical benefit, even though direct clinical research is not funded.

4. Novel research that is not already federally funded (Highest Predictor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

A distinctive review criterion is that preference is given to projects that:

Have not received federal funding
May be too innovative or exploratory for traditional federal agencies
Require seed funding to generate preliminary data

The Foundation favors research that fills a funding gap rather than duplicating existing federally supported work.

5. Strong feasibility and rigorous experimental design (Very High Predictor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

Competitive proposals include:

Clearly defined aims
Robust methodology
Appropriate experimental design
Realistic milestones
Feasible three-year work plan
Sound statistical approach where applicable

Even bold, high-risk projects must demonstrate a credible strategy for execution.

6. Outstanding investigator and laboratory capability (Very High Predictor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

Applicants should demonstrate:

Independence as investigators
A fully functional and equipped laboratory
Strong publication record
Expertise in the proposed field
Institutional support

Investigators must be capable of independently conducting the proposed research.

7. Potential to generate future major funding (Very High Predictor ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

Mathers funding is intended as seed funding for transformative science.

Competitive projects should:

Generate preliminary data
Enable future NIH or equivalent funding
Launch new research directions
Open emerging areas of investigation

Projects with long-term scientific potential are strongly favored.

8. Alignment with Foundation-supported scientific fields (High Predictor ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆)

The strongest applications fall within areas the Foundation regularly supports, including:

Immunology
Microbiome
Cancer biology
Neuroscience
Genetics
Genomics
Structural biology
Stem cell biology
Cellular physiology
Microbiology

Projects outside these core life-science disciplines are less likely to be competitive.

9. Appropriate scope, budget, and resource justification (High Predictor ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆)

Competitive proposals present:

Realistic three-year timelines
Well-justified budgets
Appropriate personnel costs
Efficient use of resources
No requests for major capital equipment

Budgets should focus on supporting the research itself rather than infrastructure.

10. New scientific directions with transformative impact (High Predictor ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆)

The Foundation favors proposals that:

Open entirely new areas of investigation
Move beyond incremental advances
Offer paradigm-shifting concepts
Have the potential to reshape future biomedical research

Renewal or continuation projects are generally less competitive unless they pursue substantially new directions.

Specialties

Cell Biology

Genetics & Genomics

Infectious Diseases

Neurosciences

Data Science

Immunology

Microbiology

Public Health

Eligibility Requirements

Medical research universities and scientific institutions that are nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply. We prefer applicants to hold 501(c)(3) status, but it is not required.

Eligible for Funding

Institutions that directly support their own investigators
Principal Investigators with their own fully equipped labs
All levels of professorship
Collaborative research projects with other U.S.-based organizations

Ineligible for Funding

Institutions based outside the United States
Institutions that do not employ their own investigators
Private Foundations or third-party organizations that provide funding to other organizations
Grants to individuals

Eligible Countries:

United States

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: Mathers (G.Harold and Leila Y.) Foundation

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: 800 Westchester Avenue Suite S-618 Rye Brook, New York 10573

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