Who funds surgical research?

We count 184 funded surgical projects, active between 2019 and 2033, from 7 funders. The most came from EU · ERC (44 projects), EU · MSCA (40 projects) and EU · Health (20 projects). The median award is $2.1M, across the 177 of 184 projects that list an amount.

Funded projects

184

Funders

7

Median award

$2.1M

Open calls now

7

Top funders of surgical research

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

Open surgical funding calls

7 open calls mention surgical today.

• DARPA Surgical Competition (DSC) Second Industry Day
  DARPANot specifiedDeadline: November 2, 2026 ·
• Breaking Ground: The First Curative, Durable, Non-Surgical Therapy for Endometriosis
  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – ARPA-H (SBIR/STTR)Not specifiedDeadline: September 30, 2027 ·
• Mechanisms that Impact Cancer Risk after Bariatric Surgery (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)
  National Institutes of HealthUp to $500,000Deadline: January 7, 2028 ·
  Real odds: About 1 in 8 funded (13% · NIH R01-equivalent grants, all NIH institutes, FY2025)
• Mechanisms that Impact Cancer Risk after Bariatric Surgery (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
  National Institutes of HealthNot specifiedDeadline: January 7, 2028 ·
  Real odds: About 1 in 9 funded (11% · NIH R21 (exploratory/developmental), all NIH institutes, FY2025)
• BRAIN Initiative: Exploratory Research Opportunities Using Invasive Neural Recording and Stimulating Technologies in the Human Brain (R61 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
  National Institutes of HealthUp to $700,000Deadline: February 11, 2027 ·
• Grants for Early Medical/Surgical Specialists' Transition to Aging Research (GEMSSTAR) (R03 Clinical Trial Optional)
  National Institutes of HealthUp to $125,000Deadline: July 16, 2028 ·
• NINDS Efficacy and Exploratory Clinical Trials (UG3/UH3 - Clinical Trial Required)
  National Institutes of HealthNot specifiedDeadline: March 9, 2029 ·

Real odds

• About 1 in 8 funded · 13% · NIH R01-equivalent grants, all NIH institutes, FY2025 · NIH Data Book, report 29
• About 1 in 9 funded · 11% · NIH R21 (exploratory/developmental), all NIH institutes, FY2025 · NIH Data Book, report 202

Published success rates for the programs behind the open calls above: the share of applications the funder funded, program-wide, not for this topic.

Funded surgical projects

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

• Unlocking new targets to combat antimicrobial resistance through chemical biology
  Wellcome · £2,130,784 · ends 2033
• Understanding the neural mechanisms of anhedonia in epilepsy and its response to epilepsy surgery and neural stimulation
  Wellcome · £1,963,660 · ends 2032
• Leveraging the metabolic vulnerabilities of macrophages in pancreatic cancer
  Wellcome · £1,191,781 · ends 2030
• Improving suicide risk identification after bariatric surgery: A mixed methods approach
  NIH · NIMH · $3,173,148 · ends 2030
• Minimally Invasive Neuroendoscopic Ultra-Early Targeted ICH Evacuation (MINUTE) Trial
  NIH · NINDS · $3,658,757 · ends 2030
• Cardioscopically-guided Valve Repair in the Beating Heart
  NIH · NHLBI · $3,489,051 · ends 2030
• EVOLVE-MR: Extending Valve-Surgery Outcomes from Landmark Trials to Varied Everyday Patients with Mitral Regurgitation
  NIH · NHLBI · $3,605,083 · ends 2030
• Developing the digital architecture required to facilitate high quality children’s surgical research from within the NHS SDE network
  UKRI · MRC · £3,188,910 · ends 2030
• Modern commercial pigs have been bred to produce more piglets each year
  USDA · $650,000 · ends 2030
• Minimizing ICU Neurological Dysfunction with Dexmedetomidine-induced Sleep (MINDDS II)
  NIH · NIA · $3,779,978 · ends 2029

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 “surgery or surgical”. 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.