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The American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA) Research Fund is a vital initiative aimed at driving research in the field of mosquito control and related topics. As a nonprofit organization dedicated to public health enhancement through mosquito suppression, AMCA recognizes the critical role that research plays in developing innovative tools and strategies. With the ultimate goal of protecting the public from mosquito-borne diseases and discomfort, the AMCA Research Fund invites new pre-proposals each year.

The AMCA Research Fund is devoted to funding research that will lead to new tools and strategies for mosquito surveillance and control and ultimately protect the public from mosquito-borne disease and discomfort from mosquito bites.

Annual Proposal Process

Each year, AMCA publishes a Research Fund request for proposals including goals, priority areas, official timelines, criteria, funding details, and requirements.

The general timeline for each year is as follows:

  • Annual RFP Published – Early April
  • Pre-Proposals Due – Mid-June
  • Notification for Full Proposal Requests – August
  • Full Proposals Due – Mid-September
  • Awardees Notified – December 1st
  • Funding Awarded – By January 15th

AMCA Research Fund 2026 Call for Pre-Proposals

The American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA) Research Fund invites new pre-proposals for research on predictive modeling, exposure assessment, and mitigation strategies to evaluate the risks of various mosquito control approaches and provide guidance on minimizing those risks. Funding is available for projects in the calendar year 2026.

AMCA® is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing leadership, information, and education to enhance public health and quality of life through the suppression of mosquitoes.

Focus for 2026

This year’s AMCA Research Fund will prioritize research that advances risk assessment and management strategies for mosquito control operations. The goal is to support research that enables pesticide applicators, mosquito control districts, and industries involved in risk management to make informed decisions that reduce unintended environmental or public health impacts. Research proposals should emphasize practical applications and field validation, demonstrating how findings can improve operational efficiency, safety, and effectiveness.

Potential Research Topics of Interest:

We encourage pre-proposals that address one or more of the following subtopics:

  • Prediction and/or assessment of environmental risks associated with various mosquito control methods (e.g., adulticide applications, larvicide treatments, habitat modification) to humans and/or nontarget organisms
  • Decision support tools that help districts and applicators choose the safest and most effective mosquito control strategies
  • New technologies, formulations, techniques, and mitigation strategies that reduce non-target effects while maintaining control efficacy
  • Improved methodologies for assessing applicator exposure risks and strategies to mitigate occupational hazards
  • Rapid field-based or lab-based tools to monitor pesticide residues in water, soil, and air

Priority Considerations

  • Collaborative projects: proposals that involve partnerships with mosquito control districts, regulatory agencies, or industry stakeholders will be prioritized.
  • Field applicability: studies should have a semi-field or field component to demonstrate real-world viability.
  • Innovation: research integrating artificial intelligence, remote sensing, novel chemical formulations, or other nontraditional approaches for improved risk management is encouraged.

Submission Guidelines

Pre-proposals must be submitted using the pre-proposal form found here.

The deadline for submission is June 13th, 2025 and procedures for full proposals (if selected for future submission) will be provided to select groups after review.

For further information, contact Megan MacNee, Rebecca Heinig, or Edmund Norris.

We look forward to receiving innovative proposals that will advance our understanding of risk assessment and mitigation in mosquito control and contribute to safer, more effective practices for the industry.

Eligibility

The AMCA Research Fund will consider pre-proposals from public and private universities, mosquito abatement districts, qualified private research institutions, independent researchers, and small companies.

Early career researchers including those at the Assistant Professor rank, Post Docs, PhD candidates, and researchers at local, county, state, and federal government institutions with fewer than 10 years on the job are especially encouraged to apply.

Graduate students working to obtain a Master’s degree are also eligible to apply.

No more than 2 pre-proposals per researcher per grant cycle will be accepted.

Principal Investigators and pre-proposals must be from or directly affiliated with institutions based within the United States; i.e., AMCARF funds can only be disbursed to US institutions.

Conflict of Interest

Members of the AMCA Board of Directors, the AMCA Science and Technology Committee Chair (Jennifer Henke), and the AMCA Research Fund Subcommittee Chair (Edmund Norris) are ineligible to participate as principal or co-principal investigators.

We ask that you review your connection and working relationship with these individuals at the time of submitting your pre-proposal. A relationship will not preclude you from consideration. Should a relationship be indicated, the Director or Chair will be asked to verify that they are not involved in the proposed project. For the purposes of this policy, a relationship includes previous or ongoing scientific collaborations that involve financial contributions; official mentor/mentee relationships; and employer/employee relationships.

Criteria

Pre-proposals will be evaluated on their scientific merit and relevance to the outlined priority areas.

Pre-proposals are reviewed by a committee appointed by the AMCA Board of Directors that will consist of at least three leaders in the mosquito and vector control industry, three district personnel, three university personnel, and three government (local, state, federal) public health personnel.

All pre-proposals must conform to local, state, and federal regulations including those governing the use of humans and non-human animals in scientific research and all environmental regulations.

Pre-proposals will be reviewed from 13 June 2025 to 31 July 2025.  Principal Investigators of proposals selected for a full proposal will be notified on 01 August 2025.  Full proposals from selected pre-proposals will be due by 13 September 2025 with notification of award by 01 December 2025.

Principal Investigators for those projects selected for full proposals will be provided guidance on the requirements of a full proposal.

Funding

Funding will be provided to awardees by 13 January 2026, and awardees will be publicly announced at the 2026 AMCA Annual Meeting in Portland, OR and published in the Annual Meeting Program.

Funding awarded may be up to $55,000 per one year of a project; however, preference will be given to projects that request less than $55,000.

Funds should be spent within 12 months of the award date; unspent funds will be revoked and replaced into the AMCARF pool for the next funding cycle. Requests for extension beyond 12 months must be submitted to the AMCARF no later than 1 month before the expiration date.

AMCARF does not make multi-year funding commitments. However, AMCARF will make a single-year commitment for a multi-year project. For multi-year projects, the year for which support is being requested must be indicated (e.g., “Year 2 of a 3-year project”).

AMCARF is committed to funding small projects and cannot fund university or government overhead costs or administrative fees.

Reporting

AMCARF awardees are expected to attend, actively participate in, and conduct an oral presentation at the AMCA Annual Meeting to promote the impact of their research and AMCARF’s role in that research. Depending on the number of AMCARF-funded projects, an AMCARF Research Symposium may be scheduled. At a minimum, oral presentations of AMCARF-funded research will be slotted in the relevant sessions and specifically marked as AMCARF research in the AMCA Annual Meeting program.

Specific details on funding for attending the AMCA Annual Meeting must be included in the budget.

A Progress Report will be required to be submitted by 30 July 2026.

An Annual Report will be required to be submitted by 18 December 2026.

More information on AMCARF

Find the 2024-2025 AMCA Policies & Procedures here.

Read the AMCARF Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) here.

AMCA Research Fund 2025 Awardee

Norah Saarman, “Efficient, low-cost, identification of Culex mosquito vectors of West Nile Virus using computervision based AI tools” Utah State University

Find all AMCA Research Fund Awardees here and their annual reports here.

Contribute to the AMCA Research Fund

2025 AMCARF AWARDEES CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE AMCARF ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED! 

The AMCA Research Fund is currently accepting contributions for future research on mosquito control and related topics. 

Contributions can be made online or by check payable to:

AMCA Research Fund
One Capitol Mall, Suite 800
Sacramento, CA  95814

AMCA WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING CONTRIBUTORS (SINCE FEBRUARY 23, 2018):

  • ADAPCO
  • Animas Mosquito Control District
  • Anonymous Contribution
  • Canyon County Mosquito Abatement District
  • Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District
  • Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control District
  • Michigan Mosquito Control Association
  • Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District
  • Schools First Federal Credit Union
  • Valent BioSciences