Sponsor

Weston Family Foundation, through the Weston Brain Institute

For More Information

Applicants may refer to the Application Guidelines [1].

Additionally, an informational webinar is being held on February 17, 2026 from 1:00-2:00pm EST. Applicants must register [2] to attend.

Description

The Weston Family Foundation aims to catalyze and scale science-based approaches to significantly improve the health and well-being of Canadians. The Foundation takes a leadership role in tackling large problems that are under-addressed by supporting research that is particularly relevant to the health of Canadians and that empowers Canadians to improve their health and wellbeing. 

The Foundation, through the Weston Brain Institute, is pleased to announce the re-launch of the Rapid Response program with a focus on biomarkers. The Rapid Response 2026: Biomarkers program provides early-stage seed funding to support high-risk, high-reward translational research aimed at accelerating the validation to clinical implementation of biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases of aging (NDAs). 

Eligibility

Eligible projects should: 

• Be translational/applied research that can accelerate the validation to clinical implementation of biological, functional, and digital biomarkers for NDAs, with a preference for, but not limited to, enabling early detection and timely and accurate diagnosis of dementia.
  • Biomarkers must address unmet needs in the staging, prognosis, diagnosis, monitoring of disease progression and differentiation of NDAs.
  • Projects should enable the development of biomarkers from the validation stage forward.
• Prioritize approaches that are scalable, minimally invasive and feasible for implementation across diverse settings.
• Have preliminary data to support the rationale, hypothesis and feasibility of the project. 

Funding Availability

Up to $300,000 over 18-24 months

Indirect Costs

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