The Facial Pain Research Foundation (FPRF) is committed to funding the best research to develop treatments and cures and/or advance the understanding of Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN) and other Neuropathic Facial Pain conditions.
We are initiating the Fall 2026 FPRF Call for Proposals. We accept proposals up to $250,000 total over two years from academic researchers and clinicians, from biotechs and pharma, from other non-profits, and other applicants with the skills and ability to carry out the research that will impact those living with TN and other Neuropathic Facial Pain conditions. Per the FPRF Bylaws, we do not cover indirect expenses. Up to 10% of the budget may be allocated to direct administrative expenses.
The Call for Proposals will follow a two-stage process. Stage One will ask for a Letter of Intent, which must be submitted via email to info@facingfacialpain.org by Friday October 23, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time. The Letter of Intent form can be downloaded here. Instructions for completing and submitting the Letter of Intent are embedded in the form.
All Letter of Intent submitters will receive a response from the FPRF, whether invited to submit a full grant or not.
Stage Two is a Full Grant Application, which will be requested from applicants based on the quality and relevance of their proposed research as described in the Letter of Intent. Those invitations will be sent no later than Friday November 6, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time. Full Grants must be submitted via email to info@facingfacialpain.org by Friday December 4, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time.
The FPRF Scientific Advisory Board will review the Full Grants, and the FPRF will select as many grants as funding will allow based on their quality and relevance to pursuing treatments and cures for the facial pain conditions supported by the FPRF. All Full Grant submitters will receive a response from the FPRF in early January 2027, whether selected for funding or not.
The FPRF accepts both clinical and preclinical proposals, and we are particularly interested in research that will translate as quickly as possible to those impacted by TN and other Neuropathic Facial Pain conditions.
Here are the current FPRF research priorities:
- Clinical trials testing new or repurposed therapeutics for TN
- Preclinical research moving new or repurposed therapeutics for TN to or through the IND-enabling stage
- New or improved cellular or animal models of TN
- New understanding of the etiology and/or genetics of TN
- Improvements in imaging or other diagnostic tools to help improve the accuracy and/or speed of diagnosis of TN and other Neuropathic Facial Pain conditions
- Clinical trials testing new or repurposed therapeutics for other Neuropathic Facial Pain conditions
- Preclinical research in other Neuropathic Facial Pain conditions, as long as that research:
1. Shares a strong mechanistic link to TN, or
2. Is part of a grant that also includes TN research, or
3. Produces tools reusable for TN (e.g., biomarkers, diagnostics, targets), or
4. Is pursued as a partnership with another academic, non-profit or for-profit partner with significant disease expertise in the other Neuropathic Facial Pain condition