Who funds bacterial research?

We count 607 funded bacterial projects, active between 2019 and 2034, from 8 funders. The most came from EU · ERC (162 projects), EU · MSCA (112 projects) and Wellcome (90 projects). The median award is $1.6M, across the 573 of 607 projects that list an amount.

Funded projects

607

Funders

8

Median award

$1.6M

Open calls now

2

Top funders of bacterial research

Projects whose title or summary mentions bacterial. Median award: of the projects that list an amount, in US dollars; “—” when fewer than 3 do.

Open bacterial funding calls

2 open calls mention bacterial today.

• TECHNOLOGY LICENSING OPPORTUNITY: Bacterial Lipid Nanodiscs Platform
  Department of EnergyNot specifiedDeadline: December 15, 2026 ·
• Plant Biotic Interactions
  U.S. National Science FoundationNot specifiedDeadline: Rolling (no fixed deadline listed)

Forecast: announced, not open yet

1 forecast call on bacterial. Funders publish forecasts before a call opens; you can't apply to these yet, and dates can change.

• ForecastDHQP Global NOFO
  Centers for Disease Control - NCEZIDNot specifiedExpected to open March 21, 2027

Funded bacterial projects

A sample, latest start first, at most three per program.

• Shared resistance: the hidden contribution of commensals to pathogen antimicrobial resistance
  Wellcome · £1,674,184 · ends 2034
• Enigmatic bacterial sphingolipids; elucidating their biosynthesis, transport and function within the host.
  Wellcome · £5,000,000 · ends 2034
• Decoding inter-species PICI transfer to understand bacterial evolution and design next-generation antibacterial therapies.
  Wellcome · £2,754,059 · ends 2033
• CAREER: Investigating the dynamic interplay between DNA methylation and bacterial evolution
  NSF · BIO · $1,347,897 · ends 2031
• Research Infrastructure: Robust software infrastructure for bioBakery microbial community analyses in diverse environments
  NSF · BIO · $1,732,918 · ends 2031
• CAREER: Marine Fungi and Carbon Processing in the Ocean
  NSF · GEO · $952,731 · ends 2031
• De novo molecular design to understand and overcome bacterial pathogens
  UKRI · MRC · £2,186,623 · ends 2031
• CAREER: Decoding active and passive mechanisms driving bacterial chromosome dynamics
  NSF · BIO · $939,029 · ends 2031
• When do phages shape microbial communities? Assessing how changes in abiotic and biotic conditions impact the importance of phage
  UKRI · NERC · £825,627 · ends 2031
• Running Rings Round Resistance: Chemical Biology Approaches to Cyclic Antimicrobial Peptide-Lipid Recognition
  UKRI · EPSRC · £2,862,925 · ends 2031

How we count

Funded projects come from public award records (NIH RePORTER, NSF, EU CORDIS, UKRI Gateway to Research, Wellcome, the Gates Foundation, DOE, NASA and USDA NIFA) whose title or summary matches “bacteria or bacterial”. NIH lists each budget year separately; one project counts once. Amounts are as the funder lists them; medians use only projects that list one, in US dollars. Open calls and forecasts are from our listings of October 28, 2026. A project can mention a topic without being mainly about it, so treat the counts as a guide to who funds the area.