Portal Launched to Accelerate and Improve Biomedical Research Funding

A new website launched in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will provide new funding opportunities for scientific projects and present an alternative option to the traditional government grant mechanisms.

In an effort to further scientific advancement, NIH and Leidos (Reston, VA, USA), a health, national security and engineering solutions company, now provide the portal OnPAR – Online Partnership to Accelerate Research. OnPAR represents a new funding paradigm that provides a second opportunity for promising unfunded NIH research proposals. Leidos developed the OnPAR processes and website and will manage the overall program.

There is currently a surplus of high-quality biomedical research applications that merit funding through alternative sources. Through the OnPAR public-private partnership, exceptional applications that were not originally funded by NIH will be matched for potential funding with a participating organization's specialized area of interest.

"OnPAR presents another avenue to fund important biomedical research," said Jim Pannucci, Leidos Director, Life Sciences, "The program will revolutionize the scientific funding environment and foster more discoveries at a faster pace to benefit and improve global health."

Research projects will be considered and funded by OnPAR funding organization members based on their specific research priority areas and requirements. For the pilot project, funding organization members include: Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma Research Foundation, Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Children's Tumor Foundation, JDRF, Melanoma Research Alliance, National Alopecia Areata Foundation, and Parent Project Muscular Distropy. These foundations were selected to span different disease areas and varied foundation sizes.

As the program progresses, OnPAR plans to increase its membership to include additional foundations, pharmaceutical companies, and other life sciences funding organizations across varied disease areas. Leidos also foresees expanding the program globally.

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