American Cancer Society Offers Three New Research Grant ProgramsAmerican Cancer Society New grants now available from the American Cancer Society round out the Society's research portfolio, placing equal emphasis on support of the groundbreaking, laboratory-based research for which the Society is well known, and support of the equally important area of cancer control research conducted outside the laboratory. Cancer control research may be categorized as behavioral, psychosocial, epidemiologic, preclinical, clinical or health policy/health services-related. According to John Stevens, MD, vice president for extramural grants at the ACS, this type of research picks up where basic science research leaves off. Cancer control research contributes valuable information about many aspects of cancer, particularly the role of human behavior on cancer risk factors related to lifestyle choices.  Modifications to the Society's research program are based on recommendations made in November 1999 by a Blue Ribbon Committee on Research and Health Professional Training Grants. This expert panel was charged by the Society's Board of Directors with evaluating the research program and suggesting ways the program might better support the Society's ambitious goals for reducing the cancer burden and improving the quality of life of cancer patients and survivors in the coming years. "We'd like to emphasize that the Society's support of basic science research will continue at its same strong level of about $75 million a year," says Harmon Eyre, MD, chief medical officer for the Society. "Our goal is to bring the Society's support of cancer control research up to that same level." In addition, the Blue Ribbon Committee recommended that research project grants be made more competitive by increasing both the amount and duration of the awards, a necessary step to attract the best and brightest minds into cancer research. Finally, in recognition of the lack of junior investigators trained in psychosocial, behavioral, health services, and health policy and outcomes research, the committee recommended that grants in these areas be open to investigators at all stages of their careers, with the suggestion that the inclusion of a junior researcher as a co-principal investigator be strongly encouraged. New grant categories include the following: Research Scholar Grants for Beginning Investigators are awarded to support basic, preclinical, clinical or epidemiologic research projects initiated by investigators in the first eight years of their independent research careers. Initial awards are made for up to four years and up to $250,000 per year, including 25 percent indirect costs. These grants may be renewed for up to four years. Research Scholar Grants in Psychosocial & Behavioral Research are awarded to support research projects centered on the psychosocial and behavioral aspects of cancer. These awards are for independent investigators at any stage in their career. Applications are encouraged in which an individual at an early career stage is co-principal investigator with an established researcher. Initial awards are made for up to five years and up to $500,000 per year, including 25 percent indirect costs. These grants may be renewed once for up to five years. Research Scholar Grants for Health Services and Health Policy and Outcomes Research are awarded to support research projects centered on health services and health policy and outcomes research that are initiated by investigators at any stage of their careers. Initial awards are made for up to four years and up to $250,000 per year, including 25 percent indirect costs. These grants may be renewed once for up to four years. Deadlines for the three new grants are April 1 and Oct. 15. Only U.S. citizens and permanent residents are eligible. Applications for these new grants may be submitted electronically via the ACS website, www.cancer.org. A complete listing and descriptions of all grants, full eligibility requirements, grant policies, application forms and a staff listing may also be obtained via the ACS website. The three new grant programs replace the former American Cancer Society Research Project Grants. Other ACS research and health professional training grants and their deadlines include the following: - Postdoctoral Fellowships Deadlines: March 1 and Oct. 1 - Clinical Research Training Grants for Junior Faculty Deadlines: March 1 and Oct. 1 - Institutional Research Grants Deadline: Oct. 1 - Targeted Grants for Research Directed at Poor and Underserved Populations Deadline: varies with program - Research Opportunity Grants Ongoing; no fixed deadline - Research Professorships Deadline: March 1 - Clinical Research Professorships Deadline: Oct. 1 - Cancer Control Career Development Awards for Primary Care Physicians Deadline: Oct. 1 - Master's and Post-Master's Training Grants in Clinical Oncology Social Work Deadline: Oct. 1 - Physician Training Awards in Preventive Medicine Deadline: May 1 - Master's and Doctoral Degree Scholarships in Cancer Nursing Deadline: Dec. 15 - Audrey Meyer Mars International Fellowships in Clinical Oncology Deadline: Jan. 15 - International Fellowships for Beginning Investigators Deadline: Oct. 1 The American Cancer Society is the largest nongovernment funder of cancer research in the United States. During 1999, the Society awarded 375 extramural research grants, many to young investigators at the beginning of their careers who might otherwise have not been funded. Since the research program began in 1946, the Society has spent more than $2.2 billion on research and has helped support the research of 30 Nobel Prize winners, a record of cancer research achievement unparalleled in the private sector. The American Cancer Society is the nationwide, community-based, voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy and service.
For more information, or to contact American Cancer Society, see their website at: www.cancer.org |
 |
Email Article To A Friend |  |
Link to us! |
