Andrew John Anderson Pediatric Rare Disease Grant Program

The Florida Department of Health administers the Andrew John Anderson Pediatric Rare Disease Grant Program with guidance from the Rare Disease Advisory Council, which was created under section 381.99, Florida Statutes. The grant program itself is established under section 381.991, Florida Statutes, and is intended to advance research and cures for pediatric rare diseases through a competitive, peer-reviewed grant process. Program goals include significantly expanding pediatric rare disease research capacity in Florida, investigating novel approaches to rare disease research and therapeutics, and reducing research silos by encouraging partnerships with nontraditional partners. The Department gives priority to proposals that reduce mortality and morbidity among pediatric rare disease patients, improve screening accuracy and detection in high-risk groups, or establish consortia to work collaboratively on pediatric rare diseases. Applicants must select an appropriate grant category. Consortium grants support partnerships among clinical, basic, and underrepresented research institutions or centers, with the lead organization responsible for substantive scientific, programmatic, financial, and administrative functions. Discovery Science grants support fundamental theoretical or experimental investigation, including qualifying bioinformatics, medical imaging, and genomics projects. High-Risk, High-Reward Discovery Science supports bold or unconventional hypotheses and cutting-edge methodologies with the potential for major advances in pediatric rare disease knowledge or treatment. Equipment grants support infrastructure and research equipment that advances current and future pediatric rare disease research capability. Maximum awards, including direct and indirect costs, are $500,000 for Consortium projects for up to 36 months, $500,000 for Discovery Science projects for up to 36 months, $300,000 for High-Risk, High-Reward Discovery Science projects for up to 36 months, and $100,000 for Equipment projects for up to 12 months. Awards remain subject to available legislative appropriations and spending authority. Eligible applicants under the Eligibility section are universities or established research institutes in Florida. An established research institute is defined as a Florida nonprofit covered under Chapter 617, Florida Statutes, with a physical location in Florida, a scientific, biomedical, or biotechnological research or development purpose, and legal registration with the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations. All grant-funded activities, effort, and expenditures generally must occur in Florida, although the Department may allow an essential service outside Florida when it is available only outside the state and represents less than 10 percent of the award. Each proposal must identify one Corresponding Principal Investigator who is employed by the applicant institution and is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Non-U.S. citizens may participate as collaborators or research team members. Proposed research must focus on a non-cancer pediatric rare disease, and scientific, financial, or effort overlap with other projects is prohibited. The FOA does not state a required applicant cost share or matching contribution. Applications require a Letter of Intent before submission of the full proposal. A complete application must be submitted through the Biomedical Research Program online system and must contain all required fields and components. These include general project information, a general audience abstract, scientific abstract, health impact narrative, pediatric rare disease relatedness narrative, collaborator information, biographical sketches, a research or project plan, a budget template, a detailed budget narrative, and a Work Plan containing activities, timelines, responsible personnel, measurable outcomes, performance metrics, and evaluation methods. Additional materials are required when applicable for consultants, human subjects, vertebrate animals, recombinant DNA, survey instruments, Department-owned data, and other project-specific matters. Required signature pages must be uploaded in the designated sections, and application documents must comply with the specified PDF, font, page, margin, and file-size requirements. Appendices are not allowed, and applications submitted after the deadline are not considered. Budgets must contain allowable, reasonable, necessary, and project-specific costs. Permitted direct costs include salaries subject to applicable limits, fringe benefits, supplies, qualifying equipment, laboratory services, patient and animal care, consortium or contractual costs, approved domestic travel, and research participant incentives when applicable. Consultant costs may not exceed 10 percent of the total budget. Indirect costs may not exceed 15 percent of requested direct costs. Disallowed expenditures include Florida Department of Health personnel salaries, construction or renovation, international travel, vehicles, entertainment, employment subsidies, dues or membership fees, lobbying, meals outside allowable travel costs, malpractice insurance premiums, and specified legal or immigration-processing expenses. Subcontracts require pre-approval and must be justified in the Budget Narrative. Applications first undergo administrative review for timeliness, eligibility, completeness, and possible scientific or budgetary overlap. Eligible applications then receive peer review by reviewers with relevant scientific and methodological expertise who are located outside Florida and are not associated with Florida-based public or private life-sciences entities. Overall impact is assessed using significance, investigators, innovation, approach, environment, and health impact, along with the strength of the project's pediatric rare disease relationship, budget concerns, and protections for human or animal subjects when applicable. The Department and the Rare Disease Advisory Council subsequently consider peer-review results, available funding, and program goals and preferences when developing funding recommendations for the State Surgeon General. Funding decisions are final, and successful applicants and their Principal Investigators receive written notification by email. For this competition, the required Letter of Intent was due by noon Eastern Time on January 27, 2026, and full applications were due by noon Eastern Time on March 3, 2026. The application system was anticipated to open February 2, 2026, while emailed program questions were due January 15, 2026 and answers were scheduled for posting by January 16, 2026. The FOA identifies an award period of July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026, while the funding table permits project durations of up to 36 months for several categories. Funded grantees must execute non-negotiable Terms and Conditions, provide required institutional approvals when applicable, submit quarterly progress summaries and expenditure reports, and provide annual financial reports. Grantees may also be required to respond to Department information requests for five years following the grant period. General FOA and programmatic questions are directed to research@flhealth.gov or 850-245-4585, while online application help is available through Help.FLDOH@orau.org.

Align the proposal directly with one or more stated research priorities; make a compelling case for pediatric rare disease relatedness and Florida health impact; address significance, investigators, innovation, approach, environment, and health impact; ensure the project has no scientific, financial, or effort overlap; use realistic, time-bound, quantifiable Work Plan outcomes; justify every budget item and observe the 15% indirect-cost and 10% consultant-cost caps; submit early and verify completeness, accuracy, readability, signatures, PDF formatting, and required uploads before the deadline.