Office of Scientific Development

Background

Unanticipated discoveries are often made during ongoing investigations. Follow-up of these new directions is often difficult as they can fall outside the PIs research program and represent a considerable departure from the PI’s core research activities.

The CCR is seeking proposals for the pursuit of studies with high potential to lead to groundbreaking advances beyond the investigators immediate field and of importance to the broader biomedical cancer research community. Projects must represent a significant divergence from the PI’s research focus.

Projects may cover any area of investigation represented in the CCR ranging from basic, to translational and clinical work relevant to cancer. The CCR New Directions award is for individual investigators.

Selection Criteria

• General Considerations: As with all the FLEX Award categories, projects felt to be high impact, i.e., likely to have a sustained, powerful influence on the research field(s) will be given highest priority.  In addition, the innovation, significance, and approach will also be assessed for each project.  Projects must be relevant to cancer research.

• Award Specific Criteria

Novelty and impact: The proposed studies should lead to conceptual or technological advances beyond the immediate field of study and should be relevant to the broad biomedical community of cancer research at large.

Departure from PI’s core research program: The proposed studies must represent a clear departure from the PI’s core area of research. The proposal must clearly define the distinct nature of the project.

Feasibility: By definition, these projects are high-risk. However, the proposal should demonstrate feasibility of the general approach. The proposed project should be based on an initial experimental observation made in the PI’s laboratory, though providing preliminary data in the proposal is optional.

Critical Information to Include: To what extent does the proposed work depart, either in concept or method, from the PI’s core program?  Is this clearly defined in the application? Proposals for significant changes from the PIs current work will be given a higher priority.

Eligibility

Applicants must be an NCI intramural Tenure-track PI, Tenured PI, Senior Clinician or Senior Scientist in the Center for Cancer Research. Those in the Physician-Scientist Early Investigator (PEI) program can apply but must include a tenured PI as a co-PI. Site-visited Staff Scientists who have independent budgets (CANs) are also eligible. Non-NCI researchers can collaborator on a project, but these individuals cannot receive funds. Please click here for more specifics on who may apply.

Funding

CCR will provide funding for 3 years, up to $125,000 per year to cover personnel and supply costs.

Review Process

Review of proposals will occur in two stages. After the review of Letters of Intent (LOI), short-listed applicants (approximately 20% of submitted LOIs) will be invited to submit a full proposal for review.

The CCR Science Board will evaluate LOIs and invited full proposals.