2026 – AEA Edward Arditte Community Seed Grant Program

 

Funded by the Autoimmune Encephalitis Alliance, Inc. (AE Alliance)

IMPORTANT DATES

Call for Applications Announced: January 09, 2026

Application Deadline:  April 3, 2026

Award Notification: June 2026

 

The AE Alliance is pleased to announce the call for applications for the 2026 AEA Edward Arditte Community Seed Grant Program.  This is our sixth annual AEA Community Seed Grant Program to support research focused on the diagnosis, management, and outcomes of individuals with autoimmune encephalitis (AE).  Click here to learn more about Edward Arditte and his involvement in the AE Alliance and our commitment to funding AE research.

For the 2026 AEA Edward Arditte Community Seed Grant Program we will award $10,000 grant(s).  While applications pertaining to clinical, basic, and/or translational research will be considered, proposed studies must have direct implications for patients with AE.

REQUIRED COMPONENTS

• Application (four pages maximum), including background, specific aims, impact/relevance, research plan, supporting preliminary data/figures, expected outcome for ONE year project and a budget overview (formal budget not required).  Explicitly discuss the implications that the study will have for patients with AE.
• References are not included in the four page limit.
• Submission Cover Page (Click to download – AEA Edward Arditte Community Seed Grant Cover Page_2026)
• Applicant’s NIH Biosketch
• Mentor’s NIH Biosketch (if the applicant is a student, trainee, post-doc, and/or junior faculty)

Submit all application documents (as PDFs) prior to the deadline by email to: research@aealliance.org.  (NOTE:  Documents not submitted as PDFs will be returned for re-submission.)

 

REVIEW PROCESS

Applications will be reviewed by the AE Alliance Special Grants Review Committee, which includes members of the Research Sub-Committee of the AE Alliance’s Medical Advisory Board. Applications will be scored based on their scientific rigor, impact, and alignment with the AE Alliance Mission (as noted above). Committee members with a potential conflict of interest with the applicant or project will recuse themselves from the review of that application. Following the review of all applications, the committee will make a recommendation to the Board of Directors of the AE Alliance, which will have the final approval for funding.

 

EXPECTATIONS OF AEA COMMUNITY SEED GRANT RECIPIENTS

Communication with Seed Grant Funders (The AEA Community):

• Introduction Post: Provide photo & brief written interview to introduce researcher(s) and project to the AEA Community (video if possible).
• Presentation of Project:  All grant recipients present at an AEA Community event via Zoom and/or a AEA Provider Education Session via Zoom.

Project Duration: The project duration is no longer than 12 months (i.e. Project Start Date: August 01, 2026 – Project End Date: August 01, 2027)

Reporting: Recipients must submit a final report to AE Alliance no later than 30 days following the end of the award period. While realize your project may not be complete, the Final Report is required at AEA Community Seed Grant Project End Date.

Manuscripts: All manuscripts (including meeting abstracts and research papers in review) that result from this research project are to be submitted to the AE Alliance once they are accepted for publication. Publications should acknowledge support with the phrase: This project was financially supported by the Autoimmune Encephalitis Alliance.

To learn more about previous seed grant recipients, their projects and final reports, visit the AEA Blog and Filter By: AEA Community Seed Grant.

 

CONTACT INFORMATION
Meg Poe, Executive Director

Email: research@aealliance.org

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CLICK HERE AND MEET ALL SEED GRANT RECIPIENTS.