Fast Grants Program

Eligibility

Researchers at any career stage across academic institutions worldwide are eligible. We particularly welcome:

• Early-career faculty
• Postdoctoral scholars
• Graduate students
• Undergraduates (with faculty sponsorship; $25K tier only)

Applicants must be affiliated with an institution eligible to receive a charitable gift from a US private foundation:

• US institutions: any 501(c)(3) public charity in good standing — universities, non-profit research institutes, academic medical centers, qualifying hospitals; state or federal government instrumentalities (e.g., state university research foundations) are eligible.
• Non-US institutions: must be a foreign equivalent — confirmed via active equivalency determination (NGOsource, etc.) or received via a US-based fiscal sponsor that is itself a 501(c)(3). If you're unsure, indicate this on your application — your sponsored programs office can usually answer in a single email.
• For-profit companies, individual researchers receiving funds personally, and OFAC-sanctioned institutions are not eligible.

Summary

Fast Grants are lightweight, fast-turnaround gifts for researchers who want to explore an idea at the intersection of AI and health — but lack the seed capital to try. We’ve heard that scientists cannot easily buy compute, model-training credits, dataset access, or coding-agent tokens through traditional grants. 

Fast Grants from the Biswas Family Foundation close that gap.

We welcome projects aligned with the two research pillars described below, but we are also happy to fund projects that look nothing like these — as long as they fit the spirit of the Fast Grants Program.

Pillar 1 — AI-Driven Diagnostics and Prediction

• Computational cardiology and stroke prevention
• AI-enabled diagnostics that drop cost and raise frequency
• AI for metabolic disease
• Cancer early detection (especially open-source multi-cancer early detection)
• Medical forecasting and multimodal risk

Pillar 2 — Personalized Therapeutics and Autonomous Research

• Phage therapy and AI-designed therapeutics
• Personalized cancer immunotherapy
• AI scientists and autonomous research
• AI epidemiology at scale

For globally deployable diagnostics or open-source platforms, we particularly value applications that include a path toward CE marking or WHO prequalification.

Important Deadlines:

Cycle 1 opens  May 15, 2026

Cycle 1 deadline  June 15, 2026 | 11:59pm PT

Cycle 1 decision July 1, 2026

Cycle 1 funded ~ August 1, 2026

Cycle 2 deadline December 15, 2026 | 11:59pm PT

Cycle 2 decision ~ January 1, 2027

Cycle 2 funded  ~ February 1, 2027

Applications received between deadlines carry over to the next deadline — there is no closed window.

Overhead

Indirect costs capped at 15%

Application deadlines

RSO detailed review deadline

RSO final internal review deadline

Program application deadline

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Principal Investigators: Complete a Research Management System (RMS) record, including a copy of your complete application, and submit this for approvals in RMS.

Postdocs, students, and trainees: For fellowships and externally-sponsored research training awards or opportunities, you must complete the Research Funding Application Approval (RFAA) Trainee PDF form, and submit it, along with a complete copy of the application, to Research Services at rsotrainee@ucalgary.ca. Trainees should not use RMS at this time.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via either RMS or the RFAA Trainee form, in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process.

RESOURCES

Reminder: The sooner the researcher engages with Research Services, the more help we can be!

Contact the following Research Service units for support with:

Projects Involving Indigenous Research:

Support with incorporating wise practices in Indigenous research, community engagement, and Indigenous data management is available through the Indigenous Research Support Team (IRST).

Applicants can reach out by email to IRST at IRST@ucalgary.ca in advance of the RSO internal deadline. For more information about IRST, please visit the IRST webpage.

Knowledge Mobilization, Research Impact Assessment, DORA:

Support for knowledge mobilization/engagement/translation, community partnerships, research impact, responsible research assessment (DORA), and open science, is available through the Knowledge to Impact team.

Applicants can reach out by email to the KI team at knowledge.impact@ucalgary.ca.

For more information and access to resource archives, please visit the KI team webpage.

Research Data Management:

For information on research data management plans, processes, or best practices for your research program, please contact research.data@ucalgary.ca.

EDI in Research:

RSO can provide resources and support to research teams on the integration of equitable and inclusive practices in research design and research practice.

Contact edi.rso@ucalgary.ca for more information.

Research Security:

The Research Security Division is available to ensure researchers adhere to research security guidelines and policies, including the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships (NSGRP) and the policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC).

Visit the Research Security website to learn more or contact researchsecurity@ucalgary.ca.

Pre-Award Submissions:
RMS: Creating a Pre-Award Application