Seed Grants Program

Ten Arizona research teams earn $100K seed grants

Each year, the Flinn Foundation funds about 10 research teams affiliated with an Arizona university, research institution, or health-care system that are advancing new products or services addressing significant clinical needs.

The Flinn Foundation Seed Grants to Promote Translational Research Program awardees each receive a $100,000 grant over 18 months, plus programmatic benefits. At the end of the grant period, the most successful projects may receive up to an additional $100,000 over the following year.

Each supported team will use the 18-month grant period to de-risk its product/process, refine its design, and/or acquire key validation data and stakeholder feedback—and secure, or have a well-defined plan to secure new sources of funding to advance toward positive patient impact.

The Flinn Foundation announced the 2025 awardees in January.

Key Dates

August 1, 2024: Application opens
August 1, 2024: Live launch event at Venture Cafe Phoenix 
August 8, 2024: Information session
August 22, 2024: Virtual office hours
September 19, 2024: Virtual office hours
September 26, 2024: Application deadline (5 p.m.)
Mid-December 2024: Awardees notified

Background

In 2002, the Flinn Foundation commissioned creation of Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap, the long-term strategic plan to advance Arizona’s bioscience sector. The plan, updated in 2014, includes five overarching goals.

The Roadmap’s second goal is “to increase the ability of research-performing institutions to turn bench research results into improved disease and illness prevention, detection, and treatment.”

The Seed Grants to Promote Translational Research Program helps the state reach this goal by funding research projects that focus on creating new products and services to benefit patients.

The most recent awardees—three from Arizona State University and seven from the University of Arizona—were announced in January 2025. The Tom and Catherine Culley Charitable Trust contributed $100,000 to support a cancer-specific project. 

Since 2013, the Flinn Foundation has awarded 83 seed grants totaling about $9.5 million. 

Contact

For more information about the program or application process, contact Mary O’Reilly, Ph.D., Flinn Foundation Vice President, Bioscience Research Programs.

“This grant was integral for acquiring preliminary data for the project, and we’ve benefited so much from the amazing community of awardees and the Flinn team.”

Julianne Holloway, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator, Arizona State University in partnership with Mayo Clinic: “Designing biomimetic fibrous scaffolds with spatially controlled mineralization for augmenting rotator-cuff repair”