Michelson Grant Details

Up to $50 million in grant funding is available through the Michelson Grants in Reproductive Biology. Multiple multi-year grants are available for promising research in pursuit of non-surgical sterilization products or technologies for use in dogs and cats.

Since the announcement of the Michelson Prize & Grants in October 2008, Found Animals has received tremendous response from the scientific community, including over 100 letters of intent (LOIs) for the Michelson Grants. Based on the high quality of these LOIs, the Foundation has invited more than 35 investigators to submit full grant applications.

To date, seven grant proposals have been approved for funding, totaling $3.5 million in grants. Recent grantees include-

Philippa Marrack, PhD at National Jewish Health who has commenced work on a $732,900 four year project entitled “Use of Recombinant Feline Ferpesvirus-1 (FHV-1), Expressing Fertility Antigens, to Induce Infertility in Cats.” and
Ralph Meyer, PhD at the University of Pennsylvania, who is the recipient of a $577,381 grant entitled “Targeting Poly(ADP-Ribose) Metabolism for Development of a Nonsurgical Sterilant.”

Check back for additional grant announcements in the coming months.

The Michelson Prize & Grants is featured in the article entitled "A Cure for Euthanasia?" in Science Magazine. Read the full story.

Grant Application Process
Investigators wishing to be considered for grant funding are required to submit a brief letter of intent. Found Animals accepts LOIs on an ongoing basis. It must contain:

Proposed approach for developing a single dose non-surgical sterilant
The rationale for proposing this approach
An overview of required research (budget estimates not required)

LOIs must not exceed two typed pages, have ¾ inch margins, and use 11 point Arial or Helvetica font. Include investigators’ names, institution, address, phone, e-mail, and a title describing the work proposed. Found Animals reserves the right to decline LOIs which do not conform to these guidelines.
LOIs must be sent as an attachment to an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
If the LOI is approved, investigators will be invited to submit a full grant application. Please do not submit a full proposal unless invited by Found Animals Foundation.

Proposed research is not required to generate results which meet all of the Prize criteria in order to be funded. However, strong preference will be given to projects with the potential to produce a Prize winning product or technology. In order to be considered for the Michelson Grants in Reproductive Biology, a proposed project must pursue a technology, mechanism, or pathway representing an innovative approach to non-surgical sterilization.

Grant applications will be reviewed by Found Animals and their scientific advisors. Final decisions regarding grant funding will be at the sole discretion of the Foundation.

Grant recipients will be eligible to make Prize claims in the event that their research generates a product or technology that meets all of the Prize criteria.

Guidelines
All animal research performed for the Michelson Grants in Reproductive Biology must conform to Found Animals' standards for humane treatment of animal subjects. Animal guidelines are available here.

Found Animals expects exclusive commercialization rights in the area of interest of the Foundation for products that develop from Michelson Grants-funded research. The Foundation intends to pursue further development and commercialization activities as needed to bring the products or technology developed via the Michelson Grants in Reproductive Biology to market for use in cats and dogs.

The Michelson Prize & Grants in Reproductive Biology are international programs and are open to any entity.

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