The Fisher Center Impact Award (FCIA) aims to support research projects that focus on improving the understanding of human illness, patient outcomes, or public health in North America. The award is open exclusively to full-time Johns Hopkins faculty and is designed for experienced investigators to expand on previous Fisher-funded projects or new proposals related to the Center's dedicated topic areas. Past Fisher Center award funding is not required. The goals of the FCIA are:

• To promote research by awarding funds to support projects focused on clinical or translational research in one or more of THREE topic areas:
  • Environmental infectious diseases, which include human disease-causing agents found in ecological environments such as air, soil, and water; vector-borne or zoonotic diseases; and those found in built environments like homes, hospitals, and communities
  • Antimicrobial resistance
  • Post-infectious conditions such as long COVID or persistent symptoms after Lyme disease treatment (PTLD) or following mononucleosis infection
• To provide expertise, resources, and mentorship opportunities for pilot or clinical studies with a relative lack of traditional funding mechanisms
• To promote novel, cross-disciplinary, collaborative clinical research among schools at Johns Hopkins University and with non-Johns Hopkins research partners

Basic laboratory research proposals will not be reviewed. Laboratory-based research will only be considered if it is directly related to clinical or translational research. International projects may be considered only if relevant to North American healthcare and if the work cannot be readily performed domestically. Any full-time faculty member from Johns Hopkins University, including the Schools of Medicine, Public Health, Nursing, Engineering, Business, Arts and Sciences, and Applied Physics Lab, may apply and act as principal investigator. Eligible applicants must hold a terminal degree (MD, DO, PhD, PharmD, DVM, or equivalent), and faculty appointments must be in place at the time of application.

Application Timeline

Letter of Intent Deadline: Monday, November 2, 2026 | 11:59pm (New for 2027: LOIs will be required for all submissions)
Application Deadline: Friday, November 20, 2026 | 11:59pm
Award Notice: On or before Friday, March 5, 2027
Release of Funds: April 6 - April 30, 2027

A Letter of Intent (LOI) is not required, but is encouraged if unsure if the research topic fits the criteria

2026 FCIA LOI

Submit LOI via email to [email protected] before 11:59 pm on November 3, 2025

To apply for the Fisher Center Impact Award (36 months, $250,000)

1. Submit all documents via email to [email protected] before 11:59pm on November 21, 2025
2. Save all documents as individual files; do not combine documents
3. The complete FCIA application package is composed of the following:

• FCIA Application Form 2026
• Research Protocol: Abstract, background, objectives, methods, timeline, proposal benefits, endnotes
• Biosketch, Curriculum Vitae, or resume (saved as individual files) for:
  • Principal investigator
  • Co-investigator(s)
  • All individuals listed on the project Study Team
• Optional, but encouraged: Letters of support from collaborators and research partners (saved as individual files)
• FCIA Budget Template 2026
• Written justification of salary requests exceeding 70% of the monetary award, if necessary

Fisher Center Impact Past Awardees