Osteopathic Research Incubator Grants

About this program

The American Osteopathic Foundation (AOF) offers Osteopathic Research Incubator Grants—up to five seed awards of $1,000–$5,000 for 12–18 month proof-of-concept, pilot, or feasibility studies that advance osteopathic medicine and prepare investigators for larger grants. Applicants must be osteopathic medical students, residents, or fellows with current AOA membership (students may register for complimentary membership), must not have prior federal, AOA, or AOF research funding, and may receive the grant only once; each applicant must identify a DO mentor with significant osteopathic research experience who provides a signed letter of recommendation and mentoring commitment. Required materials include the online application, mentor letter, CV/biosketch, abstract/summary, detailed research plan with impact statement, budget using the provided template (no indirect costs or investigator salary), timeline, proof of AOA membership, and IRB approval if human subjects are involved; awards are paid 75% at agreement and 25% upon satisfactory final report, and recipients are expected to disseminate results.