A Comprehensive Cancer Center Designated by the National Cancer Institute

Funding Opportunities

External Funding Opportunity Announcements

Seed Grants/Pilot Projects

Bridge Funding

Protocol Specific Data Management

Please send pilot project/seed grant, bridge funding and PSDM support applications to:

Jacqueline Tidball
101 The City Drive
Bldg 56, Room 214
Orange, CA 92868
714.456.3628

Seed Grants/Pilot Projects

CCSG Pilot Project Funds e.g., Seed Grants allow centers to take risks; strengthen weaker scientific areas; and provide scientists the opportunity to explore innovative ideas, new collaborations and new technologies. These funds can be administered flexibly--dispensed centrally by the director and senior leaders to achieve broad strategic objectives. We make these funds accessible to all applicable areas of research, including laboratory, clinical, prevention, control, behavioral and population research for projects of relatively short duration (i.e., 1-2 years). They have been awarded to both new and established member and have been used for studies preparatory to the development of an application for independent peer-reviewed support, or to take maximum advantage of a unique research opportunity or nurture an innovative idea. These funds stimulate high priority research areas in the CFCCC, explore new directions for our Programs, and encourage cross-disciplinary translational research. Applications which support small, hypothesis-driven early clinical trials of an exploratory nature are also particularly encouraged.

The merit descriptors for review includes considerations such as the following:

Scientific quality and innovation of proposed studies
Effectiveness in (or potential for) strengthening identified strategic scientific needs, including use of funds in the prior project period, where applicable
Effectiveness in (or potential for) assessing scientific merit of research opportunities proposed; and, the effectiveness of the return for the investment.

Seed Grant/Pilot Project documents

CCSG Bridge Funding

The UCI Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center announces the availability of intramural funds to sustain cancer-related research projects that have recently lost, or face losing, extramural funding. Requests that provide evidence of a reasonable chance of funding upon resubmission of a recently reviewed application will receive a higher priority. Priority approvals will include CA designated grants from NCI, and A1 or A2 resubmissions with a priority score within 10% (prior NIH recipients) or 15% (first time applications for RPG funding) of the current payline (or if not, percentile score less than 200).

To be considered as a "peer reviewed, funded project," the responsible funding agency or organization should meet the general NIH standards of peer review and funding. These include meeting three criteria: (1) a peer review system which primarily uses external reviewers and is free of conflict of interest; (2) a ranking or rating system in the review process based on the scientific merit of the proposed research; and (3) a funding system based primarily on the peer review ranking or rating of the research applications.

ELIGIBILITY

Bridge support is intended for junior faculty/PIs (all series), although senior faculty/PIs are eligible to apply. A PI is eligible for the Bridge funding provided he or she meets the following requirements:

Is a member of the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center (includes associate members)
Has lost, or will lose all funding and has a reasonable chance of approval upon resubmission of the extramural funding within six months of the Bridge application

Exceptions to eligibility may be made by the Director under unusual circumstances.

AWARDS

Individual grants will be for a maximum of $50,000
Awards will be granted for a maximum of 9 months or until the grantee re-establishes funding from other sources, whichever comes first
Awards are intended to provide salary support for key personnel (e.g., technician, PostDoc) though consideration for PI salary support, particularly those in the soft money series may be justified
Awards cannot be used for: travel, to cover budget overdrafts or administrative costs (i.e., school and departmental surcharges)
When extramural funding is re-established, all unspent funds must be returned to the Bridge Program to assist other investigators.

PROCESS

Awards will be made in consultation with the Senior Leadership Committee and approved by the Director. Consideration will be given to need, assessment and the strength of the overall research program. To evaluate applications for Bridge Funding, the CFCCC requests the following:

A cover letter describing the PI's funding history, current financial needs and attempts to re-establish funding; as well as a statement (if awarded) that the PI is willing to meet with the Donor, if requested, and a commitment to resubmit within 6 months of receiving the award (1 page maximum)
A copy of the Agency summary review, comments on unfunded proposals, priority scores and pay lines
A current NIH style Biosketch
A current Other Support form

Awards will be competitive and all applications may not be funded.

PROTOCOL SPECIFIC DATA MANAGEMENT

Protocol-specific data management (PSDM), also referred to as protocol-specific research support, is essential support for selected early phase trials conducted by investigators at the CFCCC. Development of hypothesis-driven, investigator-initiated (HDII) trials has been a major focus of the CFCCC in recent years. We have previously reported our success in increasing both the number of HDII trials and patient accrual to these trials, especially those that include a therapeutic intervention. Availability of personnel support through PSDM funding from the Cancer Center Support Grant, 5P30CA062203-16, has been a major factor contributing to the development and execution of these trials.

To qualify for PSDM support through the CFCCC, a trial must have the following characteristics:

Involves a patient intervention (not observational, chart-based, or epidemiologic)
Investigator-initiated, with evidence that the CFCCC faculty member has significantly contributed their intellectual capital to the design of the trial
Early phase, such as Phase I, pilot, or feasibility type
Conducted at CFCCC or affiliated centers
In an area of high priority for the CFCCC, as defined by the Strategic Plan, ESAB, and Executive Committee
PI must document the need for data management and protocol development support and evidence that such support is not available from other sources
Review and approval by the Clinical Trials Protocol Review & Monitoring Committee (CTPRMC)

Requests are reviewed by the Clinical Research Advisory Council to insure compliance with the basic requirements as outlined above. If multiple requests are being reviewed, they are prioritized based on priority needs for the CFCCC. Therapeutic trials are generally given preference but other types of intervention trials (prevention, for example) can be considered for PSDM support. Trials that are likely to generate preliminary data that will form the basis for future extramural funding of larger trials are specifically encouraged. Purely correlative trials are generally not considered. If funding is recommended at this level, review of finances and availability of funds for the relevant funding cycle determine the level of funding allocated. PIs are encouraged to solicit matching funds from other extramural sources for specific trials in order to leverage the PSDM dollars.