National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding is considered a prerequisite for establishing independence, academic promotion, recognition as an expert, serving on grant review panels, and leadership roles. Minority applicants are less likely to receive grants, to have the R phases of K01 or K99 awards activated, need more submissions to obtain funding, and often will not resubmit proposals. As minority applicants must overcome systemic and structural barriers due to race, ethnicity, country of origin, socioeconomic status, and/or language, many leave academia which further exacerbates the lack of diversity in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and medical fields. To provide protected time and mentoring to these trainees, we continue to offer the LCRF Minority Career Development Award (CDA) for Lung Cancer for minority postdoctoral/clinical fellows and assistant professors within 10 years of completing their MD and/or PhD degrees to submit proposals.
We encourage applications on a wide variety of topics including but not limited to the following:
- Lung cancer biology
- Risk reduction and screening for early detection
- Identification of new biomarkers
- Development of more effective and less toxic therapies including but not limited to targeted and immune-therapies
- Genetic and gene-environment interactions
- Interactions and contributions of multiple factors (e.g. smoking, genetics, environment, societal factors) to disparities in lung cancer outcomes
- Mechanisms of sensitivity and resistance to lung cancer therapies
- Bioengineering approaches to understanding and/or treating lung cancer (i.e., theranostics, biomaterials, nanotechnology, controlled-drug release, and gene-therapy)
- Supportive measures for people with lung cancer and their families
- Identification of metabolic vulnerabilities in lung cancer
- Real world data to discover where and why disparities exist, to fill gaps for new drugs’ approval, or to create eligibility criteria that reflect patient community that will use the drugs
- Access to reliable and affordable biomarker testing, quality care, appropriate treatment options
Eligibility Criteria
Investigators must be from racial or ethnic groups that are underrepresented in health-related sciences and biomedical research. Investigators will need to fill out demographic information and provide a short statement from their Institution indicating their eligibility.
Investigators must be affiliated with a non-profit academic or research institution and must be post-doctoral researchers, clinical fellows, or early-career and mid-career investigators within 10 years of receiving their MD and/or Ph.D. However, exceptions will be made for investigators with more than ten years’ experience in other disease areas or topics. Exceptions may also be made for those who did training outside the US.
Applicants are prohibited from applying if they have received funding from the LCRF within the last 4 years and from applying in more than one of LCRF’s funding tracks in the same cycle.
Application
All applications for funding must be submitted online at Proposal Central through a two-stage process consisting of a letter of intent (LOI) and full proposal. Upon submission and review of the LOI, applicants whose submission is reviewed favorably will be invited to complete a full proposal.
Any applications for an extension of a previously awarded grant require resubmission as a new complete application (LOI and subsequent full proposal) and must include an update describing the progress made during the prior award period.
Deadline: 3 March 2025.
Español
English