Limited Submission Opportunity: 2024 V Foundation Pediatric Cancer Research Awards

Applications due April 25

This is a joint competition for VU and VUMC investigators. All investigators should follow these instructions.

Vanderbilt (VU and VUMC, collaboratively) may choose one nominee for the Pediatric Cancer Research Grant Program. The single nominee may apply in either the V Scholar or the Translational program type for support.

Note that internal competitions for the V Foundation awards (V Scholar, Translational) focused on adult cancers have already closed for 2024.

Overview

• Pediatric Cancer Translational Research Award
  • The V Foundation seeks to support translational research projects within the scope of pediatric cancer research. The Translational Research Award is a $800,000 grant awarded in four annual installments of $200,000. Indirect costs up to a maximum of 10% within the total award are permitted.
    • Definition of a translational research project
      • Translational projects should move a novel strategy from the laboratory into a human clinical trial or use specimens from a clinical trial to develop biomarkers or mechanisms. The research should apply in some direct way to human beings within the time frame of less than 3 years from the end of the grant. If biomarker research is undertaken, a validation set or independent clinical trial is essential. A plan for biomarker validation, if applicable, must be included in any proposal. The endpoint of the project should be the planning or initiation of a new clinical trial.
    • Special focus area
      • This award is specifically for pediatric cancer research that falls into preclinical/translational research as described above. Please note that research areas not included in this scope are epidemiology, behavioral science, and health services research.
• Pediatric Cancer V Scholar Award
  • The Pediatric Cancer V Scholar Award supports young tenure-track faculty early in their cancer research career by funding projects that are either laboratory-based fundamental research or translational research. Emphasis for this grant mechanism is on supporting exceptional early career investigators at the Assistant Professor stage to be better positioned to leverage large R01 or similar sustaining grants. The total amount of the grant is $600,000 awarded in three annual installments of $200,000, each. No indirect costs are permitted.
    • Special focus area
      • This award is specifically for pediatric cancer research. Please note that research areas not included in this scope are epidemiology, behavioral science, and health services research.

Eligibility

• Translational Research Award
  • By May 10, 2024, applicants who will lead this research team must have all the following:
    • Be scientists who hold a tenure-track faculty position (any level) at their cancer research institution. Non-promotable, adjunct, affiliated, temporary, part-time or acting faculty positions are not eligible for Principal Investigator.
      • Exceptions may be made for non-tenure track faculty holding Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor positions. Please reach out to [email protected] if you are interested in applying but are not tenure-track.
  • Applicants must be either US citizens or have a legal permit (temporary or permanent) to work in the US.
• V Scholar Award
  • By May 10, 2024, applicants must meet all the following:
    • Hold a full-time tenure-track faculty position as an assistant professor (e.g., must be eligible to apply for PI status on an R01 at your institution).
      • Non-promotable, adjunct, affiliated, temporary, part-time or acting faculty positions are not eligible for the V Scholar award.
    • Have been appointed to their first full-time assistant professor position within the last 5 years, and not yet been promoted to associate professor.
      • Extensions may be given on a case-by-case basis.
    • Clinical scientists are eligibleif their department can demonstrate that it will fully support the research applicant (e.g., dedicated lab space, start-up funds, dedicated research time).
    • Possess at least two years post-doctoral (M.D. or Ph.D.) fellowship training.
      • For M.D., a minimum of one year is acceptable if only one year is required for their specialty.
    • Applicant must be a U.S. citizen or permanent legal resident in the U.S.
    • Applicants must NOThave accepted or received notification of an R01 award by this nomination due date.
    • Applicants must NOThave accepted or received award notification of any peer-reviewed, non-mentored single grant that totals or exceeds $750k in total direct funding at ANYpoint in their professional career. This calculation should exclude indirect costs.
    • Applicants must NOThave accepted or received award notification of any peer-reviewed, non-mentored funding that exceeds $1M in aggregated (total) direct funding at ANYpoint in their professional career. This calculation should exclude indirect costs.
      • The V Scholar award is intended to support research to leverage these larger awards; so, the nominee should not have already received such awards.
  • View the 2024 V Scholar Eligibility: Are they Eligible handout for additional guidance.

Internal Application Process

Anyone interested in being considered as Vanderbilt's nominee for either of the Pediatric Awards above must submit the following (in PDF format) to [email protected] by 11:59 p.m. on April 25, 2024. Late applications will not be considered.

1. Brief (2 page maximum) research plan including summary budget;
2. Letter of support from department chair/center director;
   • V Scholar award does not allow indirect costs. V Scholar letters must acknowledge that this grant does not allow indirect costs. This statement can be used/modified within the letter: "The Department recognizes that this grant does not allow indirect costs and will commit to covering any associated indirect costs per applicable institutional/school policy." Consult [email protected] for further guidance.
   • Translational award allows 10% indirect costs; indirect cost statement is not required.
3. NIH Biosketch or 5-page CV
4. For V Scholar only: Financial Worksheet (download template here)
   • Please fill out the Grant Awards table and any "Notes and Remarks."
   • Other information and signatures not required for internal selection process.

Submissions should reference the award type (Translational Research Award or V Scholar) in the subject line of the email.

A short nomination package for Vanderbilt's selected candidate will be submitted to the V Foundation by May 10, 2024. The candidate will then receive an invitation to submit a full application, due June 17, 2024.

Email [email protected] if you have any questions about the program, foundation or internal review process.

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