Request for Proposals: The National Leiomyosarcoma Foundation
Introduction: The National Leiomyosarcoma Foundation (NLMSF) is dedicated to meeting the needs of leiomyosarcoma (LMS) patients, caregivers and families and caregivers through education and research. In order to facilitate advances in the treatment of LMS through research, the NLMSF is now accepting proposals for pilot studies that will launch new research trajectories to advance the LMS treatments. Any proposal with the potential to lead to significant advancement in the treatment of leiomyosarcoma will be considered. Proposals focused on novel and “out of the box,” ideas are of particular interest.
Scope of the award/ areas of interest: All direct funds must be used to support LMS research. Proposals involving any scientific discipline are allowed including those related to biomarkers and imaging. While clinical research (interventional trials) may not be supported by this award, work studying human samples and annotated data sets is allowed. Studies requiring human samples must show documentation of IRB approval prior to awarding of funds (or document waivers if applicable).
Award Details: Award will be for $50,000 per year x 2 years. Indirect costs may account for 10% of the budget. A one year, no cost extension may be considered prior to the conclusion of the grant term. A summary of research accomplishments will be required on completion of the grant.
Key Dates: Applications are due 8/3/2020 at Midnight. Award winners will be announced at the 2020 CTOS meeting.
Applicant Eligibility: Principal investigators (PI) must have an MD (or equivalent) or PhD and have completed all sub-specialty training before the start of the award. The PI should be a faculty member at a university or non-profit research institution. Only one grant may be submitted by a given PI.
Investigators with a strong track record in the field of sarcoma research will be viewed favorably in the application process as will early stage investigators who have demonstrated a commitment to sarcoma research. Basic scientists who are proposing the application of new scientific technique to the field of LMS research may also be viewed favorably so long they partner with an established sarcoma expert who provides a biosketch and letter of support.
Application Overview:
Standard NIH formatting guidelines apply. The applications should include:
- Title page
- Lay summary
- Specific Aims
- Research Strategy
- References
- Biosketch
- Budget
- Budget Justification
- Biosketches and letters of support from key collaborators
Title Page: This should include the title of the grant as well as all potentially relevant information about the principal investigator and key collaborators including address, email, phone number as well as the investigators administrator who will be managing this grant, their address, email and phone number.
Lay Summary: A ½ page summary of the grant in lay language should be provided. While this summary will not be widely distributed, it may be used to describe awarded projects to interested parties such as patients and family members.
Specific Aims: A 1-page Specific Aims page should give an introduction to the project. It should summarize the key hypotheses and the general approach taken in the proposal.
Research Strategy: The research strategy should have no more than 3 pages and should include introduction/background, preliminary data, approach, as well as statistical considerations sections. A project timeline and description of potential follow-up proposals are encouraged but not required.
References: No page limit.
Biosketch: Using the current NIH format.
Budget: Provide estimated of how much of the grant will be spent on personnel, supplies, shared resources and other significant expenses. No funds may be used for direct clinical trial support, though analysis of patient samples and correlative work using samples readily available is allowed.
Budget Justification: Provide a 1 page, year 1 budget justification describing how the estimates provided in the budget were calculated.
Biosketches and letters of support from key collaborators: This is optional and will be highly grant specific. There is no page limit here.
Review Criteria:
A review committee will be established by the NLMSF. Reviewers will be instructed to identify proposals with the potential to identify proposals with the potential to alter our understanding of LMS biology and ultimately impact the clinical care of LMS patients. Reviewers will evaluate proposals based on the following criteria using a 1-5 scale:
- Significance: Is this work important to the field of LMS research?
- Innovation: Does this work represent a new direction in LMS research?
- Approach and Feasibility: Are the experiments described likely to answer the proposed hypotheses?
- Investigator and Institution: Does this individual/team, in this environment, have a skill set and track record that suggests they will be able to successfully complete the project. Sarcoma experience will be accounted for here.
Submit Proposal to Dr. Seth Pollack: spollack@fredhutch.org
Deadline: 8/3/2020 at Midnight.
Notification of Award: by 11/30/2020
Funds available: 1/1/2021