Student Health Tech Grant Initiative

In honor of Maleiha's memory, the Maleiha Carino Foundation is expanding how we support the next generation of cancer innovators. The Student Health Tech Grant Initiative is a new chapter in that mission, moving from individual scholarships toward funding the ideas students are building to fight this disease directly.

Starting this fall, MCF is offering $1,000 grants to students at any academic level, undergraduate, graduate, or PhD — who are developing health technology with a clear connection to cancer care or cancer patients. Grants are non-equity and come with no strings attached; our only goal is to help promising student founders move their ideas forward.

• Currently enrolled students at accredited universities
• Any academic level: undergraduate, graduate, or PhD
• Working on a health tech project with a clear, articulable connection to cancer care or cancer patients (broader health innovation projects may be considered as a secondary category)
• Demonstrated commitment to advancing the project

• Cancer relevance — a real, specific connection to cancer care or cancer patients
• Founder motivation — genuine, personal commitment to the problem
• Feasibility — a clear, realistic plan for what the grant will fund
• Innovation — a distinct, thoughtful approach to the problem

• $1,000 total award
• 50% disbursed upfront upon selection
• 50% disbursed on a reimbursement basis, following a 6-month check-in
• No equity, no ownership stake — MCF's only ask is recognition as a supporter
• Eligible expenses: API/software costs, cloud hosting, domain and subscription costs, and similar costs that directly advance deployment of the project

1. Join the interest list now — be the first to know when applications open.
2. Applications open September 1, 2026 — a short written application plus a 1–2 minute founder video (about 20–30 minutes total).
3. Applications close November 30, 2026.
4. Decisions announced mid-January 2027.

Whether you're just starting to sketch an idea or already have something built, we want to hear from you. If you know a student building something in this space, share this page with them.