RFA – Aging & Cancer Research with The Israel Cancer Research Fund

CLOSED

REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS: AGING AND CANCER

The Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation (SWCRF) and The Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) are pleased to issue a joint Request for Applications (RFA) for collaborative proposals to focus on Aging and Cancer. Projects must involve collaboration between two research groups – one in the U.S. and one in Israel - with different, but complementary expertise. Proposals must justify the partnership through synergistic scientific aims.

Two collaborative projects will be funded. Each of these projects will be awarded $200,000 per year for two years, or a total of $400,000, with each research group receiving $100,000 per year ($200,000 total). Successful projects may be eligible for a third year of funding at the level of $100,000 ($50,000 per research group).

Proposals will be prioritized for funding based on their potential to contribute to understanding, prevention and effective treatment of aging-associated cancer. Appropriate research topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Senolytics, anti-inflammatory agents, and specific targets to enhance healthy longevity and diminish cancer incidence
  • Impact of the aged microenvironment on the immune system, tumor progression, therapy response, and recurrent disease
  • Biomarkers to evaluate aging and cancer risk such as clonal hematopoiesis, epigenetics patterns, DNA repair, mutations, and telomeres
  • Approaches to limit therapy-associated cancer in older individuals and to establish how aging affects the response to treatment for cancer

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 SWCRF/ICRF programs

Communication

  • Interactions at the annual SWCRF Scientific Review Meeting
  • Subgroup meetings at other meetings, such as AACR

RFA Guidelines

Projects must involve collaborative partnerships formed by two research groups, one in the U.S. 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 US and Israeli PI’s and their research groups through synergistic scientific aims that reflect the different but complementary expertise of the collaborating laboratories.

Each collaborative partnership may apply for funding for two years totaling $400,000 ($100,000/PI/year for years 1 and 2). A third year of funding, at $100,000 per year ($50,000/PI/year), may be awarded contingent upon reported progress.

Indirect costs:  The US-based PI may request indirect costs up to 10% of direct award costs. The Israeli PI may not request indirect costs nor use funding from this RFA for institutional overhead or any other indirect costs. 

ICRF and SWCRF do not typically allow investigators to simultaneously apply for or hold two ICRF or SWCRF grants at the same time.  However, to encourage applications from highly-qualified Israeli investigators, applications for this program will be accepted from investigators simultaneously applying for 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). Note that successful applicants currently supported by other ICRF funding will be required to forfeit that funding when this new funding initiates.

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 and ICRF, and selected proposals will be invited to submit a full application. Funding decisions will be based on peer review by a committee representing the SWCRF Scientific Advisory Board and ICRF.

Timeline:

Submit one-page letter of intent (Arial 11 pt. 0.5-inch margin, using the outline below)   March 15, 2023

Invitations for Full Application                                                                                                April 17, 2023

Full application due                                                                                                                 June 15, 2023

Funding decision                                                                                                                     July 31, 2023

Funding begins                                                                                                                        September 1, 2023

Those invited to submit full applications - send to: [email protected]

 

Letter of Intent format (1 page, Arial 11 pt, 0.5 inch border):

  • Proposal Title
  • Background and Significance
  • Key preliminary data
  • Hypothesis
  • Specific Aims
  • Novelty and innovation
  • Potential Translational Impact for cancer and aging

Submit all inquiries to [email protected] and [email protected]

About the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation

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. SWCRF funds research in leading institutions in the United States, Canada, China, and Israel; fosters collaborations; trains scientists; and organizes international conferences to develop novel approaches to prevent and treat cancer. SWCRF develops research programs in the form of an “Institution Without WallsÔ” that spans institutions and disciplines and seeks to identify investigators who can best attack specific problems related to cancer. To date, the SWCRF has awarded more than $100 million to more than 200 investigators.

About the Israel Cancer Research Fund

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.