Research grants

March of Dimes research investments are vital to our mission.
Research funding is available through three categories of grants.
Interested candidates can submit their proposal.

March of Dimes research grants

When Franklin D. Roosevelt founded the March of Dimes in 1938, he chose research to be one of the cornerstones of the effort to defeat polio. Seventeen years and more than $25 million in research later, the polio vaccine was declared safe and highly effective.

Today, our research investments are vital to the March of Dimes mission to prevent birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. The three grant categories, general March of Dimes Research Grants, Prematurity Research Initiative (PRI) and Basil O’Connor Starter Scholar Research Awards (BOC) are summarized below.

General research grants
The portfolio funds many different areas of research on topics related to our mission to prevent birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. These investigations include — but are not limited to — basic biological processes of development, genetics, clinical studies, studies of reproductive health, environmental toxicology, and studies in social and behavioral sciences that focus on factors contributing to adverse pregnancy outcomes, and on consequences of birth defects and prematurity.

Prematurity Research Initiative
The (PRI) is a special program dedicated to grant support for projects related to causes of prematurity. Initiated as part of the March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign, these projects aim to provide new insight into the large, and increasing, proportion of premature births in which the causes, and the means of prevention, remain unknown.

Basil O’Connor Starter Scholar Research Awards
The (BOC) are funded in a program specifically designed to support scientists just embarking on their independent research careers. Created in 1973 and named for the first March of Dimes chairman and president, this program provides funding to young investigators to start their own research projects on topics related to the March of Dimes mission.

See also: (PDF, 102kb), (PDF, 147kb), (PDF, 127kb), (PDF, 149kb), Apply for a research grant