2025 Open Calls
Name of charity: Breakthrough Cancer Research
Type of call:Expressions of Interest
Link to call here
Charity contact: Dr Frances Drummond/Olivia Kitau
Duration of projects and funding available: 12-36 months, up to €300,000
Closing date for receipt of EOIs: 15th August 2025 at 1pm – Now Closed
Closing date for full applications: Late November 2025
Focus of call: Breakthrough Cancer Research invite applications that align with our mission to support research with the potential to lead to significant improvements in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Specifically:
- Research must have the potential to be translational and/or applied, with outcomes that can directly benefit individuals diagnosed with cancer. For example, basic and translational research, including lab science, as well as bioinformatics, AI and big data projects, with a high potential of moving more quickly and efficiently into practice or clinical studies.
- Eligible research includes but is not limited to: Early detection research (e.g. lab-based studies, bioinformatics, AI, big data projects); drug validation in pre-clinical animal models; studies that test drugs in pre-clinical settings followed by phase 1 clinical trials.
- Cancer sites within the scope of this call: brain, liver, stomach, lung, ovarian, and early-onset colorectal only.
- Applications must demonstrate systematic evidence of need.
- Meaningful and active Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) is essential.
Name of charity: Cystinosis Ireland
Type of call: Expressions of Interest
Link to call here
Charity contact: Tracey McCauley (tracey.mccauley@cystinosis.ie)
Duration of projects and funding available: 24-36 months, €200,000
Closing date for receipt of EOIs: 11th August 2025 – now closed
Closing date for full applications: Late October 2025
Focus of call: Focus on one of our priority areas. Cystinosis Ireland’s research funding priorities have been identified as:
- Finding new treatments
- Improvements to the side effect issues of the current treatment
- Muscle weakness and bone issues
- Ocular issues
- Eating and appetite
- Models of care in transitioning between child and adult medical settings
- Social impact of living with a rare disease
- Fertility issues
- Research into particular issues arising in adulthood
We are open to having a talk if a researcher has other ideas.
Name of charity: Fighting Blindness
Type of call: Expressions of Interest
Link to call here
Charity contact: Shannon Lee (research@fightingblindness.ie)
Duration of projects and funding available: 12 to 36 months, maximum funding available is €300,000
Closing date for receipt of EOIs: 1st September 2025 @ 5pm – now closed
Closing date for full applications: Mid-November 2025
Focus of call: Fighting Blindness are inviting original, internationally competitive proposals relevant to the research priorities of Fighting Blindness and align with one or more of the following research areas (within IRDs and/or AMD. Applications in diabetic retinopathy will also be considered):
- Gene-agnostic therapeutics
- Elucidating common pathogenic pathways that drive retinal degeneration.
Name of Charity: Epilepsy Ireland
Type of call: Expressions of Interest
Link to call here
Charity contact: Grace Hallinan, Research Officer, ghallinan@epilepsy.ie
Duration of projects and funding available: €80,000 per annum in total, maximum of 3 years
Closing date for receipt of EOIs: September 26th 2025 – now closed
Closing date for full applications: November 2025
Focus of call: Epilepsy related research projects. Key priorities outlined on apply for funding page on website.
Name of Charity: Muscular Dystrophy Ireland
Type of Call: Expressions of Interest
Link to call here
Charity contact: Dympna Mulroy (mdiresearch@mdi.ie)
Duration of projects and funding available: €140,000, for projects of 12-24 months
Closing date for receipt of EOIs: 10th September 2025 – now closed
Closing date for full applications: 25th November 2025
Focus of call: Muscular Dystrophy Ireland (MDI) supports research on muscular dystrophies and associated neuromuscular conditions. As such, proposals submitted to this call should have a clear and direct relevance to one or more of these conditions.
We invite expressions of interest for projects that align with MDI’s Research Strategy, which can be viewed here.
Themes include:
- Research into the diagnostic process, new treatments, and therapies
- Health and well-being management – (for example, exercise/fatigue/pain/psychological wellbeing)
- Care pathways for neuromuscular conditions.
- Psychosocial and practical support for families living with neuromuscular conditions
- Assistive and smart technology solutions
- The role of the multidisciplinary team in adult neuromuscular services in Ireland
Name of Charity: Irish Cancer Society
Type of Call: Expressions of Interest
Link to call here
Charity contact: Serena Foo (sfoo@irishcancer.ie)
Duration of projects and funding available: €300,000 for projects of 12-36 months
Closing date for receipt of EOIs: 3pm 3rd September 2025 – now closed
Closing date for full applications: TBC
Focus of call: Translational Biomedical Research – Cancers of Unmet Needs addressing one (or more) of our strategic priorities below:
1) cancers in which there are significant challenges in terms of outcome (i.e., metastatic cancers, rare cancers, poor response or poor outcome cancers)
2) cancers affecting children, adolescents and young adults
3) research which seeks to improve outcomes and treatments amongst traditionally underserved communities
Name of Charity: Parkinson’s Ireland
Type of Call: Expressions of Interest
Link to call here
Charity contact: Lisa Wynne (lisa@parkinsons.ie)
Duration of projects and funding available: €200,000, for projects of 12-36 months
Closing date for receipt of EOIs: 5th September 2025 – now closed
Closing date for full applications: TBC
Focus of call: Priorities for Parkinson’s Ireland call are:
- Mental health and Parkinson’s disease
- Public awareness of Parkinson’s disease
- Role of AI/telemedicine in Parkinson’s disease
- Role of gut microbiome in Parkinson’s disease
- Psychosocial aspects of Parkinson’s disease (to include cognitive/behavioural effects, employment, education, quality of life, etc.)
- Lifestyle behaviour in Parkinson’s disease (to include exercise, sleep)
Name of Charity: The Alzheimer Society of Ireland
Type of Call: Expressions of Interest
Link to call here
Charity contact: Dr Diane O’Doherty (research@alzheimer.ie)
Duration of projects and funding available: €240,000, for projects of 24 months
Closing date for receipt of EOIs: 12th September 2025 – now closed
Closing date for full applications: 25th November 2025 at 1pm
Focus of call: The Alzheimer Society of Ireland is committed to supporting Irish dementia research, and we now invite applications that are in line with our missoin and vision, and focused on improving utcomes for people living with dementia and/or their families. The research must be novel and provide knowledge and/or tangible outputs that can enhance the ASI’s ability to support people living with dementia and/or their families.
Name of Charity: The Irish Thoracic Society
Type of Call: Expressions of Interest
Link to call here
Charity contact: Orla Veale (orla.veale@irishthoracicsociety.com)
Duration of projects and funding available: €100,000, for projects of 24 months
Closing date for receipt of EOIs: 15th September 2025- now closed
Closing date for full applications: 24th November 2025
Focus of call: The Irish Thoracic Society are inviting research proposals that support the Irish Thoracic Society’s Research Mission of facilitating high quality research that will support the care of patients (adult and paediatric) and contribute to knowledge around the causes, diagnosis, and treatment of respiratory conditions.