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Process Development Grant

Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies

The AABB Foundation Process Development Grant supports projects that develop, implement, validate and scale processes, tools, technologies, and operational models.

Applications should propose innovative approaches that enhance efficiency, quality, accessibility or decision support to advance transfusion medicine and biotherapies for patients and donors.

Applications for 2027 AABB Foundation Process Development Grants are being accepted through Dec. 1.

Project Areas

The Process Development Grant does not fund basic research. Project areas can include, but are not limited to:

Operational process improvement
Product development and manufacturing
Quality control and assurance
Laboratory operations and safety
Blood collection and processing
Donor recruitment and retention
Information technology and informatics
Inventory management

Examples of previously funded projects:

GMP manufacturing process development supporting IND-enabling cell therapy work
Digital decision-support tools for disaster preparedness and operational resilience

Selection Process

A committee of expert reviewers appointed by the AABB Foundation will make funding recommendations, subject to final approval by the AABB Foundation Board of Directors. Applicants will not receive written critiques after review.

Selected recipients receive up to $100,000, paid in full, to support their proposed project over a one-year grant period. As a condition of accepting the award, recipients are expected to present updates or results at an AABB Annual Meeting or other AABB Foundation forum and must agree to attend.

Key Dates and Deadlines

The application submission deadline is 11:59 p.m. ET, Dec. 1.
Applicants are typically notified of funding decisions in June of the following year, and grant funds are disbursed in July. Applicants will not receive written critiques after review.
A final project report is due within 60 days after the grant end date.

AI Based Application Success Predictor

The AABB Foundation publishes explicit evaluation criteria for its Early-Career Scientific Research Grants. The predictors below distinguish those official criteria from additional practical factors that can strengthen an application.

Predictor	Importance	Explanation
Scientific merit	Very High	Strong scientific rationale, clear hypothesis, and high-quality research design.
Relevance to transfusion medicine and biotherapies	Very High	Direct alignment with blood banking, transfusion medicine, cellular therapies, or related sciences.
Potential impact	Very High	Potential to improve patient outcomes, donor safety, blood availability, or transfusion practices.
Likelihood of meaningful data	Very High	Realistic aims and methods likely to generate useful, interpretable research findings.
Innovation and originality	Very High	Novel research questions, techniques, technologies, or approaches.
Future funding potential	High	Potential to generate preliminary evidence for larger independent research grants.
Early-career investigator eligibility	Very High	Applicant meets the Foundation's early-career requirements and is progressing toward research independence.
Research feasibility	High	Appropriate timeline, facilities, methods, resources, and achievable objectives.
Investigator qualifications	High	Relevant qualifications and experience in transfusion medicine, hematology, medical technology, or biotherapies.
Institutional research support	High	Suitable academic or research environment and access to necessary facilities.
Application completeness	High	Complete documentation, adherence to application instructions, and a well-integrated research proposal.
Priority for new projects and first-time applicants	High	The Foundation gives priority to innovative new projects and emphasizes first-time applicants who meet eligibility requirements.

The Foundation explicitly identifies scientific merit, relevance and impact, scope appropriateness, meaningful data, and future funding potential as selection criteria.

www.aabb.org

2. Major funding programs

Program	Purpose	Funding
Early-Career Scientific Research Grant	Original investigator-initiated research in blood banking, transfusion medicine, and biotherapies	Up to $100,000
Process Development Grant	Innovative processes, tools, technologies, and operational models to improve efficiency, quality, safety, and accessibility	Up to $100,000
Foundation Award for Innovative Research	Recognizes important contributions resulting from AABB Foundation-funded research	$1,000 honorarium

www.aabb.org+2

3. Important eligibility and review details

International applicants: Early-Career Scientific Research Grants are open to eligible applicants worldwide; U.S. citizenship is not required.

Career stage: Applicants generally must have completed their terminal research degree or medical residency, whichever is later, within the previous 10 years and must not have received a substantial research grant such as an NIH R01.

Review process: The Scientific Research Grants Review Committee uses the NIH 9-point scoring system.

Selection: Approximately the six highest-scoring proposals are recommended to the Foundation Board for approval.

Resubmissions: Applicants who are unsuccessful may resubmit a strengthened application if they remain eligible, subject to the Foundation's resubmission limits.

www.aabb.org

2027 grant cycle open

The 2027 Early-Career Scientific Research and Process Development Grant applications are open through December 1, 2026.

www.aabb.org+2

4. Historical funding information

Total grants awarded: More than $12 million.

Researchers supported: More than 200 investigators.

Research grant program history: Since 1983.

Overall application success rate: Not publicly specified. The Foundation reports that approximately six highest-scoring proposals are recommended for approval, but does not provide a corresponding total application count in the cited information.

www.aabb.org+1

5. Excel-ready entry

Previous Success Predictors:

Scientific merit, strong research rationale, relevance to blood banking and transfusion medicine, impact on patient outcomes and donor safety, innovation and originality, likelihood of generating meaningful research data, future independent funding potential, early-career investigator eligibility, investigator qualifications, research feasibility, institutional support, complete application documentation, and alignment with AABB Foundation funding priorities.

Database classification: Non-Profit / Non-Governmental Professional and Research Funding Organization.

Specialties

Hematology

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants can be a doctor (MD, PhD, or equivalent), medical technologist preferably with an advanced degree, or any transfusion medicine or biotherapies professional.
Applicants must be affiliated with an academic institution, research institution or other non-commercial organization.
AABB membership is not required.

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: 4550 Montgomery Avenue Suite 700, North Tower Bethesda, MD 20814 301.907.6977

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