Fanconi Cancer Foundation – AACR NextGen Grant for Transformative Cancer Research

The Fanconi Cancer Foundation-AACR NextGen Grant for Transformative Cancer Research represents the AACR’s flagship funding initiative to stimulate highly innovative research from young investigators. This grant mechanism is intended to promote and support creative, paradigm-shifting cancer research that may not be funded through conventional channels. It is expected that this grant will catalyze significant scientific discoveries and help talented young investigators gain scientific independence.

Fanconi anemia (FA) is a rare genetic disease caused by loss-of-function mutations in any one of 22 FA genes, which are integral to the FA/BRCA DNA repair pathway and include the breast cancer susceptibility genes BRCA1 and BRCA2. The disease is marked by congenital abnormalities, bone marrow failure, and a high risk of solid tumors and leukemia. Individuals with FA have a hundreds- to thousands-fold increased risk of developing squamous cell cancers of the head and neck, esophagus, and anogenital regions, in addition to an elevated risk for other solid tumors.

Advancements in stem cell transplants have extended the lifespan of individuals with FA, transforming the perception of the disease from only a childhood disease characterized by bone marrow failure. FA is now recognized as a cancer predisposition syndrome, with mortality from cancer emerging as the primary cause of death for young adults with FA. This is due to the challenges inherent in treating tumors in a population with underlying defects in the FA/BRCA DNA repair pathway.

The study of the FA/BRCA DNA repair pathway and its link to FA-associated cancers not only yields critical insights into the disease itself, but also enhances our understanding of the intricate interplay between DNA repair mechanisms and cancer. Research on FA-associated cancers holds promise for informing the development of novel diagnostics, preventive strategies, and therapies for people with FA, as well as for individuals in the general population diagnosed with sporadic cancers of the same type.

The Fanconi Cancer Foundation supports an FA research resource repository in parternship with the Oregon Health Sciences University that provides antibodies and cell lines to researchers internationally. The repository also provides information and access to investigators in support of active sharing of FA research resources created with FCF funding.

Applications are invited from researchers currently working in the FA field as well as investigators with experience in other areas of cancer or biomedical research with an interest in studying FA-associated cancers.

The grant provides $450,000 over three years for expenses related to the research project, which may include salary and benefits of the grant recipient, postdoctoral or clinical research fellows, graduate students (including tuition costs), and research assistants, research/laboratory supplies, equipment, travel applicable to the research project, publication charges for manuscripts that pertain directly to the funded project, and other research expenses. Indirect costs are not allowable expenses.