Non-dilutive funding for life science startups
Get funded. Get back to the science.
Your in-house grants team, without the hire. We're a PhD-led grant consultancy that builds a funding strategy around your science and your goals, then works alongside you from first draft to final submission. Over $50 million won in federal and foundation grants, including NIH, NSF, and SBIR/STTR awards.
Funding Strategy · Grant Writing · Application review · Submission management
Trusted by innovators in life science and health
You didn't start a company to write grants at night.
You spend all day at the bench, in investor meetings, running the company. Then you sit down after hours to face a 40-page federal proposal. The rules keep changing...so do the forms. The deadlines keep moving. And unlike university researchers, you don't have a grants office behind you to catch any of it.
That's the gap BrainWaves fills. We track the rules, handle the forms, and write alongside you, so every application goes in compliant and competitive. Nothing slips, and your nights are yours again (for more science, obviously).
What Working With Us Looks Like
Strategy Comes First
We start with your science, your stage, and your goals, then build a funding plan around the grants worth your time.
You Work With Me
Not an account manager, and not whoever is free that week. I lead every client engagement myself, with a lean team of PhD scientists and grant specialists working through me.
End-to-end Support
Strategy, writing, budgets, compliance, and submission, all under one roof. We're with you for this whole journey.
How We Work Together
Grant Retainer
Your grants team, cycle after cycle.
We build your funding pipeline and keep it moving: finding the right opportunities, setting the strategy, writing, and submitting.
Best for: companies planning several grants a year.
Full-Service Proposals
One grant, done right.
Complete development of a single application, from strategy and narrative through budgets, forms, and submission.
Best for: a specific opportunity with a deadline in sight.
Strategy & Co-Writing
Expert guidance while you drive.
Strategy sessions, help choosing the right grants, and hands-on editing of the draft you write.
Best for: teams who want to write it themselves with an expert in their corner.
MOST POPULAR
Meet the Founder
Hi, I'm Melanie Das
I love grants.
(I know. Most scientists would sooner defrost the minus -80.)
In my view, a grant is the one document in science where you get to describe the best-case scenario. I built BrainWaves Consulting so life science startups could write theirs with a scientist beside them.
When you work with us, you work with me.
What Clients Say
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
You're so proactive, always thinking five steps ahead.
JOE N.
PROGRAM Director
at Nonprofit
You just get it. Our ideas, our audiences, everything.
Bella F.
CEO/Co-Founder at Health Startup
Your writing is spot on. It's like I wrote it myself.
Jane R.
Senior Scientist at Biotech Company
You have a real talent for finding and writing grants.
AMY F.
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AT UNIVERSITY
Thoughts on funding, science & strategy
From The Funding Beat
Helping science and health organizations secure funding to accelerate their impact.
2261 Market Street PMB 86866,
San Francisco, CA 94114
© 2026 Brainwaves Consulting, LLC
Services
Grant Strategy
Let's get strategic about your funding game plan.
I'll help you assess readiness, choose the right mechanisms, and position your innovation or program for impact. Let's assemble your tailored playbook so you can raise funds with intention.
Grant Prospecting
Think of me as your grant matchmaker.
I'll deliver a curated list of active grant opportunities that align with your mission, so you can prioritize your time on best-fit grants.
Pitch Decks
Seeking investors, strategic partners, or philanthropic funder support?
I'll develop a custom pitch deck that communicates your mission, impact, and growth potential.
Other Funding Assets
Need to diversify your funding strategy?
I can help you create donor appeals, investor one-pagers, corporate sponsorship proposals, and other fundraising materials that help tell your story with confidence to a wide range of funders.
Client testimonials
"You just get it. Our ideas, our audiences, everything."
Bella F.
CEO/Co-Founder
at Health Startup
“You have a real talent for finding and writing grants!"
Amy F.
Associate Professor
at University
“Your writing is spot on. It's like I wrote it myself.”
Jane R.
Senior Scientist
at Biotech Company
"You're so proactive, always thinking five steps ahead."
Joe N.
Program Director
at Nonprofit