The Pfizer Independent Medical Education Competitive Grant Program – Development of Healthcare Professionals with Advanced Expertise in Preventive Strategies in Pediatric Infectious Diseases supports independent medical education initiatives aimed at advancing preventive strategies in the field of pediatric infectious diseases in Japan.

Overview

This grant program is designed to develop healthcare professionals—including physicians, pharmacists, and nurses—with advanced expertise in epidemiological trends and both domestic and international vaccination strategies, including maternal immunization. The goal is to enable these professionals to lead the nationwide implementation of evidence-based infectious disease prevention strategies. The program focuses on advancing and enhancing the quality of preventive strategies in pediatric infectious diseases in Japan by fostering experts who can understand the latest scientific evidence and effectively translate and disseminate this knowledge into clinical practice and community healthcare at a national scale.

Research Areas and Activities

The primary area of interest is Vaccines (Pediatric Infectious Diseases), specifically including Pneumococcal disease, Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection, and COVID-19 infection. Projects should focus on improving the quality of infectious disease prevention systems in the pediatric field by developing individuals with advanced expertise who can systematically understand and integrate the latest scientific evidence, including epidemiological trends, vaccine effectiveness and safety, challenges in vaccine prevention, and the evolution of domestic and international guidelines.

Expected educational formats include, but are not limited to:

• Independent symposia linked to academic congresses
• Educational sessions and continuous learning materials (e.g., digital resources)
• Peer-to-peer educational forums (e.g., specialized training programs, workshops, and practice-based programs)

Projects evaluating the efficacy of therapeutic or diagnostic agents will not be considered.

Eligibility

Geographic Scope: Japan

Applicant Eligibility Criteria:

• The following may apply: medical, dental, nursing, allied health, and/or pharmacy professional schools; healthcare institutions (both large and small); professional organizations/medical societies; medical education companies; and other entities with a mission related to healthcare professional education and/or healthcare improvement.
• Only organizations are eligible to receive grants, not individuals or medical practice groups.
• If the project involves multiple departments or institutions, all must have a relevant role, and the requesting organization must have a key role.
• The applicant must be the project/program lead or an authorized designee.
• The project/program lead must be an employee or contractor of the requesting organization.
• The requesting organization must be legally able to receive award funding directly from Pfizer International LLC.
• For projects offering continuing education credit, the requesting organization must be accredited.

Target Audience: Healthcare professionals including physicians, pharmacists, and nurses; not restricted to pediatric infectious disease specialists. Also includes healthcare professionals in infectious disease control within local governments.

Funding and Benefits

Funding Range: Individual projects requesting up to 30,000,000 JPY will be considered.

Project Length: Maximum project length is 2 years.

Award amounts include direct costs, institutional overhead costs (capped at 28% per Pfizer policy), and indirect costs.

Deadline and Timeline

• RFP Release Date: 26 JUN 2026
• Submission Deadline: 15 SEP 2026 (23:59 Eastern Standard Time)
• Anticipated Grant Award Notification: 28 OCT 2026
• Anticipated Project Start Date: 1 JAN 2027
• Anticipated Project End Date: 31 DEC 2028

Applications submitted after the due date will not be reviewed.

Application Process

Applications must be submitted via the online portal. A new online application system will be introduced in mid-August. The login URL for the new system and detailed application procedures will be provided through an update to this RFP on or after mid-August.

Submission requirements include completing all required sections of the online application and uploading a project proposal. The proposal should address the following sections: Goals and Objectives, Assessment of Need for the Project, Target Audience, Project Design and Methods, Innovation, Evaluation and Outcomes, Dissemination Plan, Anticipated Project Timeline, Additional Information, Organization Detail, and Budget Detail.

Grant requests are reviewed by Pfizer Medical to make final grant decisions. All applicants will be notified via email. If the grant is approved, the institution will be required to enter into a written grant agreement with Pfizer.

Questions regarding this RFP should be directed in writing to the Grant Officer, Akihiro Kamina, at meg.japan@pfizer.com with the subject line “Development of Healthcare Professionals with Advanced Expertise in Preventive Strategies in Pediatric Infectious Diseases.”