Boehringer opens 2026 equine research award proposals
Bottom line
Boehringer Ingelheim is now accepting proposals for its 2026 Advancement in Equine Research Awards, continuing a program that has focused on equine infectious disease for 16 years. The company says it will provide five $15,000 awards to researchers in North America whose projects aim to improve the diagnosis, treatment, or understanding of equine infectious diseases. Eligible applicants include veterinarians, diagnosticians, researchers, animal scientists, and equine practitioners in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with preferential consideration for two awards going to residents or DVM/VMD graduate students if their proposals are judged meritorious. Proposals are due September 15, and projects must be designed for completion within 12 months. (animalhealth.boehringer-ingelheim.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this is a modest but practical source of funding in an area that remains clinically relevant, especially as equine practitioners continue managing endemic and outbreak-prone infectious diseases. The program’s emphasis on applied research, independent peer review, and presentation-oriented outcomes suggests Boehringer is looking for projects that can move quickly from investigation to field use, whether in diagnostics, treatment approaches, or disease management. The long run of the awards, launched in 2011, also signals sustained industry backing for equine infectious disease research at a time when external funding can be hard to secure. (animalhealth.boehringer-ingelheim.com)
What to watch: Watch for the September 15 submission deadline and, afterward, for recipient announcements tied to upcoming equine professional meetings or Boehringer communications. (animalhealth.boehringer-ingelheim.com)
Key facts
- Company
- Boehringer Ingelheim
- Program
- 2026 Advancement in Equine Research Awards
- Focus
- Equine infectious disease research
- Awards available
- Five
- Award amount
- $15,000 each
- Eligible applicants
- Veterinarians, diagnosticians, researchers, animal scientists, and equine practitioners in the United States, Canada, and Mexico
- Student preference
- Two awards may go to residents or DVM/VMD graduate students if meritorious
- Deadline
- September 15
- Project timeline
- Completion within 12 months
Boehringer Ingelheim has opened submissions for the 2026 Advancement in Equine Research Awards, a recurring grant program aimed at equine infectious disease research. According to the company’s equine research awards page, five awards of $15,000 each will be available to support projects that advance the diagnosis, treatment, and understanding of infectious diseases in horses. Proposals are due September 15. (animalhealth.boehringer-ingelheim.com)
The 2026 call continues a long-running industry-supported research program that Boehringer says began in 2011. Last year’s call, covered by EquiManagement in August 2025, described the 2025 cycle as the 15th year of the awards and said nearly $900,000 had been awarded to date. The new cycle is framed as the 16th year, which fits that timeline and shows the company has kept this funding stream active even as equine infectious disease priorities continue to shift with field conditions and emerging evidence. (equimanagement.com)
This year’s eligibility criteria are broad. Boehringer says veterinarians, diagnosticians, public and private researchers, animal scientists, and equine veterinary practitioners in the United States, Canada, and Mexico may apply. Residents and DVM/VMD graduate students will receive preferential consideration for two of the five grants if their proposals have adequate merit. The company also says projects must have clear relevance to equine infectious disease, include a timeline with completion within 12 months of initial funding, and be suitable for eventual presentation at meetings such as AAEP or ACVIM. (animalhealth.boehringer-ingelheim.com)
The submission requirements suggest Boehringer is prioritizing practical, tightly scoped studies over exploratory work without a near-term endpoint. Proposal instructions limit the main document to eight pages, require a non-technical summary, and specify that overhead and indirect costs will not be covered. Graduate student support, hourly student labor, and postdoctoral support are allowed, but equipment purchases over $500 are excluded, aside from disposable items. That structure tends to favor focused clinical or translational projects that can produce usable findings relatively quickly. This is an inference based on the award rules and funding limits. (animalhealth.boehringer-ingelheim.com)
Boehringer also emphasizes that proposals are reviewed by an independent board rather than by the sponsoring company. The company’s awards page says selection is based on probability of successful completion, potential impact on the equine industry, originality, and scientific quality. Listed review board members include well-known equine clinicians and researchers such as Tom Divers, Heather Knych, Nathan Slovis, and Julie Wilson, underscoring an attempt to position the awards as peer-reviewed and professionally credible. (animalhealth.boehringer-ingelheim.com)
Industry reaction in the available materials is mostly limited to company statements, but the framing is consistent across Boehringer and trade coverage. In the 2025 announcement, Steve Grubbs, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, Boehringer’s equine technical manager, said the program has been “invaluable in advancing what we know about infectious disease,” reflecting the company’s effort to tie the awards to real-world knowledge gains rather than brand visibility alone. While that’s promotional language, the sustained annual structure and continued trade press pickup suggest the awards have become an established part of the equine research calendar. (equimanagement.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, especially those in equine practice, academia, diagnostics, and residency training, this program represents one of the more accessible targeted funding opportunities for infectious disease work in horses. The award size is unlikely to support large, multi-year programs, but it can help generate pilot data, support resident and graduate research, or move a clinically relevant question toward publication and conference presentation. In a field where infectious disease challenges can range from respiratory pathogens to biosecurity and outbreak response, small grants like these can influence what evidence becomes available to practitioners over the next one to two years. (animalhealth.boehringer-ingelheim.com)
What to watch: The next key date is September 15, 2026, when proposals are due; after that, veterinary professionals should watch for Boehringer’s recipient announcement and for resulting abstracts or presentations at major equine meetings, which will be the clearest signal of where current infectious disease research priorities are heading. (animalhealth.boehringer-ingelheim.com)