Migraine Competitive Grant Program: Migraine and Women's Health

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LOI Deadline: May 5, 2026

Full Proposal Deadline (by invitation): August 28, 2026

 

Pfizer and the American Headache Society (AHS) are offering grants for quality improvement and research projects focused on migraine and women's health, aimed at advancing scientific understanding, improving patient outcomes, and addressing gaps in care for women disproportionately affected by this neurological disease.

 

Overview

  • Individual projects requesting up to $200,000 USD total over 2 years (Page 2)
  • Estimated total available budget: $500,000 USD (Page 4)
  • Award includes direct costs, institutional overhead (capped at 28%), and indirect costs (Page 4)
  • Two-step review process: LOI submission followed by invitation for full proposal (Page 7)
  • AHS Expert Review Panel makes final grant decisions (Page 7)
  • Grantees join community of practice with shared knowledge and tools (Page 1)
  • Projects expected to produce measurable outcomes and tools that can be shared widely (Page 3)

 

Priority Areas

  • Menstrual Migraine: Screening and diagnosis within women's health or primary care settings (Page 3)
  • CGRP and Hormonal Fluctuations: Relationship between CGRP and reproductive hormonal fluctuations (e.g., estrogen) (Page 3)
  • Hormonal Impact Across Lifespan: Role of hormonal fluctuations in onset, frequency, and severity of migraine across women's lifespan including menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause (Page 3)
  • Sex-Specific Risk Factors: Identification and mitigation of sex-specific risk factors for migraine in women (Page 3)
  • Disease Burden: Disproportionate burden of disease among women and impact on quality of life, including comorbidities (Page 3)
  • Health Disparities: Disparities in migraine care and outcomes among diverse groups of women, including racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic factors (Page 3)

 

Eligibility & Requirements

  • Geographic scope: United States only (Page 2, Page 3)
  • Eligible applicants: Medical, dental, nursing, allied health, and pharmacy professional schools; healthcare institutions (large and small); professional organizations; other entities with healthcare improvement mission (Page 3)
  • Organizations only – not individuals or independent medical practice groups (Page 3)
  • Project Lead/PI must be employee or contractor of requesting organization (Page 3)
  • Requesting organization must be legally able to receive funding directly from Pfizer Inc. (Page 3)
  • Applicant must be Project Lead/PI or authorized designee (Page 3)
  • Collaborations within and between institutions encouraged – all partners must have relevant role (Page 3)
  • Multi-disciplinary collaborations encouraged when appropriate (Page 4)
  • LOI must not exceed 2 pages when formatted (1" margins, Times New Roman, 11-point minimum font) (Page 7)
  • Project Categories Accepted:
    • Quality Improvement Only: Interventions focused on improving care delivery, patient education, access to treatment, and health equity; priority given to system-based changes (Page 4)
    • Research Only: Pre-clinical (pathophysiology and sex-specific mechanisms), clinical (diagnosis, treatment effectiveness, comorbidities, real-world outcomes), or non-clinical (analyses of patterns, outcomes, risk factors, disparities) (Page 4)
    • Quality Improvement + Research: Combined research and QI phases (Page 4)
  • Out of Scope: Head-to-head comparator studies, studies specifically evaluating Pfizer drugs, placebo-controlled studies, projects evaluating efficacy of therapeutic/diagnostic agents (Page 4)
  • Pfizer cannot be involved in project development, conduct, or monitoring (Page 1)
  • ISR grant requests cannot be submitted for studies already commenced without original Pfizer support (Page 1, Page 11)
  • No funding for capital purchases (infrastructure, equipment, software licenses, technology, buildings) – equipment hire/leasing acceptable (Page 10, Page 12)
  • Cannot use grant funds to purchase Pfizer therapeutic agents (Page 10, Page 12)

 

Timeline

  • RFP Release: March 9, 2026 (Page 5)
  • LOI Submission Deadline: May 5, 2026, 23:59 EST (Page 5)
  • LOI Decision Notification: June 30, 2026 (Page 5)
  • Full Proposal Submission Deadline (by invitation only): August 28, 2026, 23:59 EST (Page 5)
  • Full Proposal Decision Notification: October 30, 2026 (Page 5)
  • Anticipated Project Start: December 2026 or after (Page 5)
  • Anticipated Project End: December 2028 or after (Page 5)
  • Note: Grant funding distributed following fully executed agreement and submission of final protocol, IRB/IEC approval documentation, and regulatory approval if applicable (Page 4)

 

How to Submit:

  • Go to www.cybergrants.com/pfizer/loi and sign in (first-time users click "Create your password") (Page 4, Page 5, Page 6)
  • Click "Start A New LOI Application" button
  • Complete all required sections of online application
  • For Quality Improvement Only:
    • Select Project Type: Quality Improvement (Page 4)
    • Select Primary Area of Interest: Pain – Migraine – LOI (Page 4)
    • Select Competitive Grant Program Name: 2026 IM US AHS Women's Health QI RES (Page 4)
  • For Research Only:
    • Select Project Type: General Research OR Investigator Sponsored Research (Page 5)
    • Select Primary Area of Interest: Pain – Migraine – LOI (Page 5)
    • Select Competitive Grant Program Name: 2026 IM US AHS Women's Health QI RES (Page 5)
  • For Quality Improvement + Research:
    • Select Project Type: General Research OR Investigator Sponsored Research (Page 6)
    • Select Primary Area of Interest: Pain – Migraine – LOI (Page 6)
    • Select Competitive Grant Program Name: 2026 IM US AHS Women's Health QI RES (Page 6)
  • LOI must include: Goals and objectives, assessment of need, target audience, project design and methods, innovation, evaluation and outcomes, anticipated timeline, organization detail, budget detail (total amount only at LOI stage), and additional information (Pages 9-12)
  • For Research Projects, also include: Project plan or proposal and initial study protocol (Page 12)
  • For Early-Career Applicants: Include letter(s) of support from mentor(s) and collaborators (Page 11)
  • Applications submitted after deadline will not be reviewed (Page 5)
  • Only accepted LOIs will be invited to submit full proposals (Page 5)
  • For technical difficulties, click "Technical Questions" link in CyberGrants
  • For questions regarding RFP, contact AHS Program Manager Melissa Baldwin (mbaldwin@talley.com) and Pfizer Grant Officer Sue Lee (sue.lee@pfizer.com) with subject line "Headache and Migraine in Women's Health Grant Program – 2026" (Page 6)

 

Please note: Full RFP is attached in the "More Information" section of this page. Faculty and researchers interested in applying for these opportunities based on technologies developed or disclosed at Vanderbilt must submit their proposals through the CTTC.