Project Lighthouse Research Grants (2026 - 2027)
We are living in transformational times. Several forces have aligned to make digital health transformation inevitable: AI systems have matured to meaningfully support diagnosis and clinical decision-making; electronic health records and telemedicine are now widely adopted; pharmaceutical innovation is accelerating; and the rise of wearables and home-based sensors is giving patients continuous insight into their own health. Together, these forces are reshaping modern medicine.
Project Lighthouse is a cohort-based acceleration initiative designed to help exceptional Stanford investigators move ambitious AI-enabled biomedical discoveries toward real-world scientific and clinical impact. In addition to flexible funding, awardees will benefit from tailored translational support, AI compute and technical resources, interdisciplinary collaboration, and connections to relevant clinical, industry, and investment partners.
To realize this potential, researchers need funding models that match the pace of innovation. High-impact AI-enabled research often requires rapid iteration, interdisciplinary collaboration, specialized compute and data resources, and the flexibility to pursue unexpected opportunities as they emerge. Yet many funding mechanisms are too slow or too narrowly scoped to support this mode of innovation.
Project Lighthouse was created to help bridge this gap.
The Stanford Center for Digital Health invites proposals for highly innovative research at the intersection of AI and biomedicine. We seek creative investigators pursuing bold ideas with the potential to transform biology, medicine, and healthcare. All proposed projects must have a clear AI and biomedicine focus.
This award is intended to serve as a first step in launching impactful projects. Throughout the year, awardees will have tailored opportunities to engage with our community and advisors. Projects that demonstrate strong progress and alignment with our priority areas may be eligible for additional follow-on funding.
We are excited to announce the first round of Project Lighthouse Research Grants, which will provide one-year awards of $250,000 per investigator, including:
● $200,000 in unrestricted research support.
● $50,000 Lighthouse Innovation Fellow Award, which may be allocated as a salary supplement
This funding is intentionally flexible, enabling investigators to pursue ambitious ideas, rapidly adapt as science evolves, recruit specialized talent, access computational and technical resources, prototype and validate new approaches, advance regulatory and deployment pathways, and build strategic partnerships.
Submission Guidelines
Proposals are due by August 17, 2026, at 11:59pm PDT. Award recipients will be notified in late August. Please submit using the Apply button below.
Selection Criteria
We will support exceptional junior investigators pursuing high-risk, high-reward research at the intersection of AI and biomedical science. Selection will prioritize investigators with demonstrated scientific excellence, innovation, and a clear pathway toward impact, and the extent to which the applicant would benefit from Lighthouse resources, translational infrastructure and the broader balance of the Lighthouse cohort.
Key Dates
● Rolling Application deadline: August 17, 2026
● Award start date: September 2026
- Stanford faculty with UTL, MCL, NTLR and CE faculty* appointments
- Instructors and Clinical Instructors are also eligible
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Postdoctoral scholars (clinical and non-clinical) are required to include a PI eligible faculty member as co-PI on the application.
*CE faculty PI waivers are not needed for internal funding opportunities.
Awardees will be asked to present at the Annual Venture Showcase and Stanford Center for Digital Health Annual Symposium and are expected to attend at least four events per year. These include opportunities such as workshops, researcher meetings, and gatherings that facilitate collaboration with our affiliated faculty and industry partners. Recipients will also be asked to provide a mid-year and final report summarizing research progress, use of funds, publications, new grant applications, and conference presentations.
$250,000 one-year grants per investigator, including flexible research support and the Lighthouse Innovation Fellow Award, with the possibility of an additional second year renewal.
