The program focus is on biomedical research, given that animal use in this area far exceeds that in safety testing and scientific education.

It is anticipated that the winning projects will be those involving new disease models, new applications of existing models, or new or modified techniques (as in monoclonal antibody production). Prize winners will be chosen with the aid of a scientific advisory committee.

The competitions are open to researchers in any job sectors (e.g., industry, academia, and government) in the U.S. (only).

The AiR Challenge Grants will be $20,000 each, intended to provide seed funding for promising avenues of research. Pre-proposals will be accepted through October 5, 2017. Up to five grants will be awarded in February, 2018.

In a later phase, launching in 2018, an AiR Challenge Prize will award up to $350,000 to a single awardee who presents a research plan that is most likely to succeed in having an impact on a biomedical research field and an impact on replacing animal use.

Read more here:
http://www.ardf-online.org/air-challenge.html