RFA – Pediatric Sarcomas

CLOSED

REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS: PEDIATRIC SARCOMAS

The Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation (SWCRF), Alan B. Slifka Foundation (ABSF) and Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) are pleased to issue a joint Request for Applications (RFA) for collaborative applications focused on fusion-positive pediatric sarcomas. Projects must involve collaboration between two research groups — one in North America and one in Israel — with different but complementary expertise. Proposals must justify the partnership through synergistic scientific aims. One successful collaborative project will be awarded $150,000 per year for two years, or a total of $300,000, with each university-based research group receiving $75,000 per year ($150,000 ). 

Proposals will be prioritized for funding based on their potential to contribute to understanding, preventing and effectively treating pediatric sarcomas, with an emphasis on Ewing sarcoma.  

Appropriate research topics will include, but are not limited to:

  • Metastatic disease and how to prevent or treat metastasis
  • Relapsed disease and how to prevent metastasis
  • The Ewing oncoprotein EWS/FLI and its roles in tumor development
  • Discovery of new pathways, targets and biomarkers for diagnosis and treatment
  • Development of improved technologies for delivery of therapies to tumor cells

Long-Term Goals

Recipients of these awards are encouraged to develop collaborations that extend beyond the original team and terms of the grant and form a community of investigators committed to:

Collaboration

  • Sharing of research materials, reagents and/or core resources
  • Joint publications
  • Development of program project grants (P01s) and/or collaborative R01s
  • Development of new research projects that enhance other programs funded by SWCRF, ABSF and ICRF.

Communication

  • Presentation at the annual Connective Tissue Oncology Society (CTOS) meeting
  • Interactions at the annual SWCRF Scientific Review Meeting

RFA Guidelines

Projects must involve a collaborative partnership formed by two research groups, one in North America and one in Israel. Each group must be represented by a Principal Investigator (PI) responsible for the research proposed and carried out by that group.

Proposals must justify the partnership between the North American and Israeli PIs and their research groups through synergistic scientific aims that reflect the different but complementary expertise of the collaborating laboratories.

A collaborative partnership may apply for funding for two years totaling $300,000 ($75,000/PI/year for years 1 and 2).

Indirect costs:  The North American-based PI may request indirect costs up to 10% of direct award costs. The Israeli PI may not request indirect costs or use funding from this RFA for institutional overhead or any other indirect costs. 

To encourage applications from highly-qualified Israeli investigators, applications for this program will be accepted from investigators simultaneously applying for other specific categories of ICRF grants (Professorships, Project Grants, Acceleration Grants), and from investigators currently funded by specific categories of ICRF grants (Project Grants, Acceleration Grants, Career Development Awards). However, investigators may not hold two different ICRF grants at the same time, and successful applicants with other ICRF funding will be required to forfeit that other funding when this new funding initiates.

Letters of Intent (LOIs):

To streamline the application and review process, potential applicants must submit a one-page structured letter of intent (LOI). LOIs will be reviewed by a panel of experts from SWCRF, ABSF and ICRF, and selected proposals will be invited to submit a full application.  

Submit LOIs by 5 pm EDT on June 1, 2023 to Wylie Tene at [email protected].

Letter of Intent format  (Arial 11 pt., 0.5 inch border):

  • Proposal Title
  • Name, Title and Institution of both Pis, one based in North America and the other in Israel
  • Background, Significance and Synergy between collaborating investigators
  • Key preliminary data
  • Hypothesis
  • Specific Aims
  • Novelty and Innovation
  • Specific Aims
  • Potential Translational Impact for Pediatric Sarcomas

Proposal Review and Funding

Invitations for full proposals and funding decisions will be made by peer review comprised of scientific advisors from the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation, Israel Cancer Research Fund and the Alan B. Slifka Foundation. Reporting requirements and the budget process will be described at the time of announcement of the awards.

Timeline

Submit LOI by:                                                      June 1, 2023, 5 pm EDT

Invitations for Full Application by:                       July 1, 2023

Full application due by:                                        Sep. 28, 2023, 5 pm EDT

Funding decision by:                                            Nov 30, 2023

Funding begins                                                     Jan 1, 2024

Questions?  Email Wylie Tene ([email protected]); Ellen Rubin ([email protected]); or Allison Sole ([email protected]).

About the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation (SWCRF)

The Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation (SWCRF), founded in 1975, is a non-profit organization dedicated to conducting basic, translational, and clinical research with the goal of developing effective targeted treatments for cancer. The SWCRF supports research in leading institutions in the United States, Canada, China, Europe, and Israel; fosters collaborations; trains scientists; and organizes international conferences to develop novel approaches to prevent and treat cancer. SWCRF develops research programs as an “Institution Without WallsÔ” that spans institutions and disciplines and supports investigators who are best able to attack specific cancer-related problems. To date, the SWCRF has awarded more than $100 million to more than 200 investigators.     

About the Alan B. Slifka Foundation (ABSF)

Founded in 1965, the Alan B. Slifka Foundation is a private family foundation dedicated to the pursuit of inclusion, diversity, peace and healing. Among the Slifka Foundation’s priorities is funding research into less toxic, more effective, and potentially curative therapies for a variety of cancers and especially for connective tissue cancers, known as sarcomas, that disproportionately impact children and young adults.

About the Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF)

The Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) is currently the largest nongovernmental source of funding for cancer research in Israel.  It was established in 1975 by a group of scientists, physicians, and philanthropists in the United States and Canada to support groundbreaking cancer research in Israel. To date, ICRF has provided almost $90 million in funding for over 2,700 grants to support innovative cancer researchers from leading institutions throughout Israel. ICRF-funded scientists have been instrumental in the development of the transformational, FDA-approved drugs Gleevec®, Doxil®, and Velcade®, and include the first two Israeli Nobel Prize Laureates in Chemistry. ICRF grantees continue to make major breakthroughs and are at the forefront of cancer discoveries in nanomedicine, immunotherapy, stem cell research and targeted therapies. For more information, visit https://www.icrfonline.org.