MCC Funding Opportunities
The goal of the Masonic Cancer Center Internal Grants Program is to foster the development of and provide support for novel research ideas that focus on a cancer research question. In turn, the cancer center expects that these internal awards will lead to nationally peer reviewed funding.
Funding Opportunities
American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant
The purpose of the American Cancer Society’s Institutional Research Grant (ACS-IRG) is to support the initiation of promising new cancer-related research projects by junior faculty members (Assistant Professors or their equivalents), so they can obtain preliminary results that will enable them to compete successfully for national research grants. IRGs are intended to support independent, self-directed investigators early in their careers, for whom the institution must provide research facilities or space customary for an independent investigator.
Applicants for the individual awards should be within six years of their first independent research or faculty appointment. This funding mechanism is not to provide supplemental research support but it can be used as bridge funding for faculty members who have been PI on research grant(s) from major national funding agencies. Cancer-related research includes but is not restricted to genetic mechanisms of cancer, molecular mechanisms of cancer progression and metastasis, development of novel cancer therapeutic models and translational research, transplantation, cancer immunology, and immunotherapies.
CRTI Exceptional Research Award
The MCC’s Cancer Research Translational Initiative (CRTI) is soliciting application for CRTI Exceptional Translational Research Award. The objective of this funding mechanism is to identify and fund the outstanding translational research projects that will lead to sustainable high impact external funding. Translation should be in any area of CANCER RESEARCH that applies or accelerates discovery into testing in clinical or population settings.
Institute for Global Cancer Prevention Research (IGCPR) Seed Grant 2021
The objective of the Institute for Global Cancer Prevention Research (IGCPR) Seed Grant is to foster the development of collaborative research partnerships with investigators in Low and Middle Income Countries (LIMIC) in the field of cancer prevention. This grant mechanism will provide support for collaborative studies aimed at developing new, or expanding existing research partnerships to lay the groundwork for future grant applications to external funders (e.g., NIH).
Karen Wyckoff Rein in Sarcoma Research Grant
The Karen Wyckoff Rein in Sarcoma Foundation was established by Karen Wyckoff shortly before her death from synovial sarcoma in August of 2001. The research grants support one of the three major goals of the foundation (research; patient and survivor support; and education) to continue Karen’s vision. Proposals must focus primarily on sarcoma (basic, translational and/or clinical research).
MCC Catchment Community Pilot Grants
The University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Center is pleased to announce the availability of Catchment Community Pilot grants. The objective of the Catchment Community Pilot Grant program is to provide pilot funding to support community-engaged research projects. Projects must be conducted within a partnership between community-based organizations and academic researchers working to address one of the Cancer Center’s catchment priorities.
Mugee Research Award for Pediatric Cancer
The Mugee Research Award in Pediatric Cancer was established to accelerate promising new, innovative, and impactful research at the University of Minnesota. The research grants will support work that has direct relevance to pediatric cancer such as but not limited to etiology, therapy, and long-term effects.
Pre-R01 Brainstorm Pilot Grants
The objective of this funding mechanism is to foster interdisciplinary collaborations encompassing novel, hypothesis-driven studies of cancer or a cancer-related topic/theme. Proposed research must have the clear goal of using the award as a springboard to obtain a new R01 (or equivalent) from federal sources.
Eligibility and Evaluation Criteria
- Applicants must be Masonic Cancer Center members with faculty appointments at the University of Minnesota.
- Applications must have a cancer or cancer-related theme.
- The primary criteria for funding will be innovation, the quality of the research approach, and the potential for future outside funding to sustain or further develop the research program. Proposed research must be hypothesis-driven and have the goal of using the award as a springboard to obtaining long-term support from federal/external sources.
- Each mechanism will weigh the funding criteria differently, please refer to the mechanism-specific RFA for guidance.
Past Funding Opportunities
Brainstorm Awards
The objective of the Brainstorm Awards is to foster interdisciplinary collaborations encompassing novel, hypothesis-driven studies of cancer or a cancer-related topic. The proposed project must be a joint, collaborative effort by at least two Cancer Center members from different programs or different disciplines, and must represent a new collaborative proposal.
The Masonic Cancer Center is especially interested in Brainstorm Award applications that are focused on projects relevant to solid tumor oncology with translational potential. Projects that meet these criteria will be prioritized for funding, although it is not a prerequisite for application submission.
CRTI Biobanking Heme Malignancy Tissue Bank Pilot Awards
The objective of this funding mechanism is to foster interdisciplinary collaborations between clinical, translational and basic researchers encompassing novel, hypothesis-driven studies in the area of hematologic malignancies. This funding mechanism will provide access to HematologicalMalignancy Tissue Bank, and requires use of primary samples for research. Proposed research must have the clear goal of using the award as a springboard to obtain a new federally funded grant (or equivalent).
Grant Program Contacts
- Application Process: Jessica Raines-Jones, 612-625-8679, mccgrant@umn.edu
- Research Questions: Veronika Bachanova, bach0173@umn.edu, or Deepa Kolaseri, dkolaser@umn.edu
CRTI Translational Research Grant
The objective of the CRTI Translational Research Grants is to partner Masonic Cancer Center basic/translational and clinical scientists so as to foster the development of novel experimental therapeutic agents and to facilitate their testing in institutional Phase I/II and IND clinical trials. These grants will provide targeted investments to promising translational studies with the goal of opening a clinical trial within 36 months.
Driven to Discover State Fair Grants
The Masonic Cancer Center announces its Driven to Discover at the Minnesota State Fair Grants Program. These grants are designed to support new research ideas that aim to assess or improve cancer treatment and prevention by utilizing the population attending the Minnesota State Fair. Studies funded through this mechanism must enroll and collect data from subjects at the Driven to Discover Research Facility at the Minnesota State Fair.
Hourglass Integrative Therapies Cancer Research Award
The objective of the Hourglass Integrative Therapies Cancer Research Awards is to support innovative and interdisciplinary clinical research that focuses on the use of integrative (complementary) therapies to improve symptom management or health outcomes of adults or children diagnosed with cancer.
Mezin-Koats Colon Cancer Research Award
The objective of the Mezin-Koats Colon Cancer Research Award is to support research in the biology, prevention, detection, diagnosis, and/or treatment of colon cancer.
Minnesota Cancer Centers Partnership Award
The objective of the Minnesota Cancer Centers Partnership Award is to enhance research and collaboration between the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic Cancer Center by leveraging our combined strengths to create synergy.
Minnesota Chemoprevention Consortium (MC2) Seed Grant
The objective of the Minnesota Chemoprevention Consortium (MC2) Seed Grant is to stimulate collaborative research on topics directly relevant to the effective development and delivery of cancer chemoprevention agents, either naturally occurring or synthetic. The proposal must involve a regional collaboration between at least two University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Center members, one located at The Hormel Institute in Austin and the other located at the Masonic Cancer Center Twin Cities campus.
Pre-R01 Pilot Grants
Pre-R01 Pilot grants are intended to support new research ideas that address the MCC Scientific Priorities for Growth. Funding will be awarded for new R01 projects. Awardees are required to apply for federal funding (R01 or comparable) within one year of the award. Applicants are encouraged to contact MCC’s Research Development team to help seek funding opportunities for bridge funding or other continuing research support.
Randy Shaver Cancer Research & Community Fund
SPORE Program Project Planning Award (SP3)
The objective of the SP3 Award is to financially support a multi-disciplinary team of cancer investigators as they organize to develop a research program that will result in the preparation of competitive applications that meet all criteria required to receive an outstanding evaluation of their multi-project research grant application to the NIH SPORE or Program Project grant (P01) mechanisms. Applications that address basic and translational aspects of solid tumor oncology and include utilization of patient material are especially sought.
Translational Breast Cancer Research Award
The objective of the Translational Breast Cancer Research Award is to support research in the biology, prevention, detection, diagnosis, and/or treatment of breast cancer.
Translational Working Group Award
The objective of the Translational Working Group (TWG) awards is to make an impact on the translational goals of the TWGs in research leading to novel approaches in cancer diagnosis, prevention or treatment. The Masonic Cancer Center is especially interested in applications that have potential to translate findings to a clinical trial or clinical application, or in research that takes a clinical observation to the laboratory to study novel cancer mechanisms.