Apply For A Research Grant

– REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS –

PEDIATRIC SARCOMAS

The Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF), Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation (SWCRF), and Alan B. Slifka Foundation (ABSF) are pleased to issue a joint Request for Applications (RFA) for collaborative proposals 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 total). 

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

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.

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 ICRF, SWCRF and ABSF, 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.

To View, Save, or Print the full RFA Guidelines, click here

Letters of intent must be submitted via email by 5pm EDT on May 1, 2023 to Wylie Tene at
[email protected] in accordance with the instructions contained in the RFA Guidelines.

ICRF’S ONLINE APPLICATION SYSTEM IS NOW CLOSED FOR THE 2023-2024 FUNDING YEAR.

The application submission deadline for the regular grant categories was:
Thursday, January 5, 2023, 11:59PM EST.

We expect to open the online application system again in the Fall for the 2024-2025 funding year.

Please note:

  • This online application system was instituted in 2020. If you created a user account prior to 2020, it no longer exists and you will need to create a new one.
  • Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) supports basic, translational, and clinical cancer research. All research must be conducted in Israel, except in the case of clearly-identified, international collaborative grants. To apply for an ICRF grant, an investigator must be a citizen of Israel (proof of Israeli citizenship must be furnished upon request).
  • ICRF has decided to pause funding of new Postdoctoral Fellowships in 2023. Neither new or revised applications in this grant category will be accepted or evaluated.  Funding will be continued for researchers previously awarded Postdoctoral Fellowships (2022 and earlier).
  • ICRF does not typically allow investigators to simultaneously apply for or hold two ICRF grants.  However, to encourage Research Professorship grant applications from highly-qualified investigators, ICRF will now permit the submission of an application for a Research Professorship simultaneously with an application for initial funding or renewal of an ICRF Project Grant or Acceleration Grant.  Investigators not previously funded by ICRF are also welcomed to apply for Research Professorship grants.  Successful Research Professorship grant applicants will, however, have to forfeit other ICRF grants they may hold upon acceptance of the Research Professorship.

To View, Save, or Print the most recent General Policies Governing ICRF Grants, Click Here

Details on the ICRF grant categories that are open for new applications for the 2023-2024 funding year are listed below:

RESEARCH PROFESSORSHIP GRANTS

ICRF Research Professorships are highly-competitive grants designed to provide flexible funding to a senior researcher who has already made outstanding contributions to basic, translational, or clinical cancer research. The applicant must hold the rank of Full Professor or equivalent and must have carried out research for at least eight years since receiving the PhD, MD, or MD-PhD degree. In the review of applications, attention is given to the candidate’s prior accomplishments and the potential of their future plans to impact prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of cancer. Those awarded ICRF Research Professorships are requested to use the title “ICRF Research Professor” as appropriate in professional appearances and publications, and to plan to act on occasion as spokespersons for the ICRF and for cancer research, by speaking about their research and their careers in cancer research at times arranged to be mutually convenient for the grantee and the ICRF. Research Professorship grants are funded for five (5) years at a maximum stipend of $100,000 per year. (The ICRF permits and encourages applications for continued funding. ICRF will now permit the submission of an application for a Research Professorship simultaneously with an application for initial funding or renewal of an ICRF Project Grant or Acceleration Grant.  Investigators not previously funded by ICRF are also welcomed to apply for Research Professorship grants.  Successful Research Professorship grant applicants will, however, have to forfeit other ICRF grants they may hold upon acceptance of the Research Professorship.)

To View, Save, or Print the Research Professorship Grant Policies, click here

ACCELERATION GRANTS

The Acceleration Grants are intended to speed up our understanding of the biology underlying cancer and to provide new knowledge that will rapidly enhance the development of innovative therapeutics. Grant applications responding to this call must propose highly-innovative approaches that have the promise of pioneering new ways of thinking about cancer biology and therapeutics. Preliminary data are not a prerequisite, but applicants are encouraged to provide data from disparate sources to support the rationale upon which the new concepts are derived.  While not a requirement, grants that utilize interdisciplinary approaches and that are multi-investigator are encouraged.  Of paramount importance, however, is the novelty of the approach and the promise of accelerating progress to a complete mechanistic understanding of cancer, its management and its cure.  ICRF Acceleration Grants are intended to support the research of established investigators. The grant is made to an institution with the understanding that it will support a specific project under the direction of a designated principal investigator. ICRF support under this grant category will only be given to Israeli institutions for work in Israel.  Awarded grants will be for a period of two (2) years, with a funding level of $70,000 per year.

In order to apply for the Acceleration Grants Category, a Letter of Intent (LOI) is required. The LOI should be submitted via the online application system.  The deadline for LOI submission is: Thursday, December 1, 2022, 11:59PM EST.  A limited number of applicants whose Letters of Intent are deemed most meritorious will be invited to submit full research proposals and compete for the available grants. (Acceleration grants are not renewable.)

To View, Save, or Print the Acceleration Grant Policies, click here

CLINICAL RESEARCH CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARDS (CRCDAs)

These grants are intended to enhance the clinical research capabilities of young Israeli scientists in the formative phase of their careers who have demonstrated outstanding potential for contribution to clinical cancer research as independent investigators.  Their main purpose is to provide free time for young medical or pediatric oncologists to devote to clinical research projects and to obtain additional (post-fellowship) training to become a leader in clinical research programs. Candidates must have a medical degree and at least two (2) years of fellowship training in medical or pediatric hematology-oncology or a related specialty, but not more than five (5) years of subsequent relevant professional experience prior to the award commencement date. A CRCDA is limited to a single support period of three (3) years at a maximum stipend of $45,000 per year. (Past recipients are not permitted to reapply for this award.)

To View, Save, or Print the CRCDA Policies, click here

RESEARCH CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARDS (RCDAs)

These grants are intended to enhance the research capabilities of young Israeli scientists in the formative phase of their careers who have demonstrated outstanding potential for contribution to cancer research as independent investigators. Candidates must have a doctoral degree, at least three (3) years of postdoctoral fellowship or equivalent experience, and be within five (5) years of their first appointment to an independent position prior to the award commencement date. Awards are made for three (3) years at a maximum stipend of $45,000 per year.  (An additional year may, in some cases, be made available.  Please read the RCDA Policies document for more information.)

To View, Save, or Print the RCDA Policies, click here

PROJECT GRANTS

These grants are intended to support the research of established investigators. Awards are granted with the understanding that they will support specific projects under the direction of designated principal investigators. Preference is given to persons with more than three years of postdoctoral fellowship or equivalent experience prior to the award commencement date. Awards are made for three (3) years at a maximum stipend of $60,000 per year. (Current Project Grant recipients are encouraged to reapply for continued funding of the same project. Ideally, this should be done during the final year of the award so that, if selected, the new grant will begin upon completion of the old.)

To View, Save, or Print the Project Grant Policies, click here