Researchers from across the U.S. and Canada are invited to submit their innovative ideas to be considered for the 2026 Egg Industry Center (EIC) Grant Award Program. On average, researchers making the full proposal stage have a more than 50% chance of having their project funded. Emailed pre-proposals will be accepted through Friday, December 4, 2026. Submission details can be found in the Egg Industry Center's Request For Proposal.
EIC's 2026 high-priority research areas of interest are:
Dust mitigation strategies for cage-free housing specific to new technologies or improved management and control of current industry ventilation systems.
Design of BMPs for whole house nitrogen depopulation.
Biological proof that commercial eggshells are not an environmental contaminate, or novel ways to make use of eggshells in an environmentally acceptable manner.
Investigation across various commercial laying hen genetic strains for the impact and role of lighting in Cage-free environments including impacts of lighting source, type, color, and level to achieve optimum production parameters focused on body weight gain for pullets, feather retention, and reduction of floor eggs or feather pecking in laying hen flocks.
Development/Evaluation of approaches to reduce/ultimately eliminate Ascaridia galli from commercial poultry flocks and their environment with emphasis on practical environmental control through elimination of roundworm eggs or interruption of flock-to-flock transmission.
Determination of potential changes in Salmonella enteritis, via whole genome sequencing, based on positive farm samples from past outbreaks.
The EIC Research Grant Program is open to researchers in various disciplines that affect egg production. This research is crucial to providing trusted scientific answers that help ensure eggs and their high-quality protein remains available for a growing population.
The Egg Industry Center is committed to helping the research community: 1) provide scientific solutions to help egg farmers so they can better serve their customers and consumers, and 2) tell the story of how the research that has been completed can impact the egg industry. For questions on EIC's grant program, please reach out to eic@iastate.edu.