Research
Every breakthrough starts as an unproven idea. The NationalPancreas Foundation (NPF) funds that idea — and the early-career investigatorbehind it — across every disease of the pancreas
For more than two decades, NPF has invested in pancreaticdisease research from two directions — funding the earliest science andtraining the physicians who carry it forward.
$50,000 or more over one year to help early-career investigators generate the pilot data they need to compete for majorfederal funding. Since 2010, NPF has:
▪ Funded 130+ projects totaling more than $5 million
▪ Supported researchers at 45 institutions nationwide
▪ Backed work across every disease of the pancreas, from cancerand pancreatitis to pediatric conditions
A 2.5-day live symposium pairing GI, pediatric, surgery, andoncology fellows with world-leading pancreas mentors.
▪ Now in its 21st year, shaping generations of pancreatologists
▪ Alumni have gone on to become faculty, Fellows Symposiumspeakers, NPF grant recipients, and NPF board members
NPF’s annual Request for Applications is open to early-career investigators, including fellows and junior faculty, at accredited institutions worldwide. It funds novel, early-stage research on any pancreatic disease, from cancer to acute, chronic, hereditary, and pediatric pancreatitis, and welcomes proposals with limited preliminary data.
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A follow-up survey of NPF Research Seed Grant recipients from 2010–2023 confirms what the awardee record already shows: this is a program built for leverage, not just funding.
of recipients said NPF funding led to a successful follow-on grant application
published peer-reviewed findings from their NPF-funded work.
continued pancreas-related research after their NPF award
Dr. Melena Bellin was funded in 2012 and again in
2017 — she is now a recognized leader in TPIAT and endocrine research and has
returned to help govern the Foundation. Dr. Andrew Rhim, funded in 2010 at Penn
and again in 2015 at Michigan, built a body of work on earlier disease detection. A
single seed grant, given early enough, is often the first foothold of a twenty-year
career.
The only nonprofit dedicated to all diseases of the pancreas — advancing research, education, and patient care.
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