Competition

* Unless explicitly noted, all times indicated for deadlines are for the appropriate NL timezone (NST or NDT)

The Weston Family Foundation aims to catalyze and scale science-based approaches to significantly improve the health and well-being of Canadians. The Foundation takes a leadership role in tackling large problems that are under-addressed by supporting research that is particularly relevant to the health of Canadians and that empowers Canadians to improve their health and wellbeing. 

The Foundation, through the Weston Brain Institute, is pleased to announce the re-launch of the Rapid Response program with a focus on biomarkers. The Rapid Response 2026: Biomarkers program provides early-stage seed funding to support high-risk, high-reward translational research aimed at accelerating the validation to clinical implementation of biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases of aging (NDAs). 

Seven projects were awarded through the Rapid Response 2025 program. To learn more about these projects, click here. 

Eligible projects should: 

• Be translational/applied research that can accelerate the validation to clinical implementation of biological, functional, and digital biomarkers for NDAs, with a preference for, but not limited to, enabling early detection and timely and accurate diagnosis of dementia.

  • Biomarkers must address unmet needs in the staging, prognosis, diagnosis, monitoring of disease progression, and differentiation of NDAs.    

  • Projects should enable the development of biomarkers from the validation stage forward.  

• Prioritize approaches that are scalable, minimally invasive, and feasible for implementation across diverse settings.  

• Have preliminary data to support the rationale, hypothesis, and feasibility of the project. 

Funding available per project: Up to $300,000 over 18-24 months. 

Important dates: 

• Program Information Webinar (session 1): February 3, 2026, at 1pm ET – Register here  

• Program Information Webinar (session 2): February 17, 2026, at 1pm ET – Register here  

• Letter of Intent deadline: March 17, 2026, at 2pm ET 

• Award announcement: November 2026 

In addition to the external funding agency’s submission procedures, this opportunity must also be submitted for Departmental, HSS Faculty, and Research Initiatives and Services (RIS) institutional reviews and approvals via Memorial's Researcher Portal (RP). In order to facilitate the HSS Faculty’s administrative review, please ensure "Heather C. O'Brien (Grants Facilitator)" and “Matthew Milner (Grants Facilitator)” are added as "Team Members" on your RP file. 

In accordance with University-wide approval protocols, all tabs of the RP file must be completed, the completed application must be uploaded to the “Attachments” tab, all supporting documentation including support for cash and in-kind commitments and/or letters of support must also be uploaded, and “Submit” must be pressed prior to the HSS internal deadline listed below. HSS cannot guarantee completion of an administrative review for application files that are incomplete and/or are submitted after the HSS deadline. For more detailed submission instructions and information, please consult the HSS Research Support Services website.

If you plan to apply to this competition or other research funding opportunities (as either PI or CI), e-mail an HSS Grants Facilitator, Heather C. O’Brien (HSSResearchAdmin@mun.ca or 864-8603) or Matthew Milner (HSSResearchGrants@mun.ca or 864-8050), to notify the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of your intent to apply. E-mailing the intent to apply as early as possible will help to facilitate an efficient review. A Grants Facilitator can answer any questions you may have about internal or external submission procedures and may also be able to help with proposal development.