Stand Up To Cancer – LUNGevity – American Lung Association Lung Cancer Interception Dream Team
Submissions of ideas will be invited for a translational cancer research project that addresses critical problems in lung cancer and positively impacts patients in the near future, with the goal of advancing innovative approaches to prevent or intercept the disease-causing process, and making data available in a format amenable to open access analytics. Prioritized areas of interest include: research that accurately categorizes pre-malignant conditions according to risk of progression and that elucidates the underlying alterations that increase that risk; potential surrogate endpoints for clinical trials and regulatory approval; new tools for early detection and monitoring progression; the role of inflammation and immunosuppression in progression; investigation of therapeutic chemoprevention targets; or research targeted at generating sufficient knowledge to justify a clinical intervention to test novel hypotheses.
This proposed project is expected to benefit patients through investigation by a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional, synergistic Dream Team of expert investigators. Priority will be given to applications that are characterized by a diversity of team members, including and not limited to those from fields outside the traditional realms of biomedical research (e.g. physics, mathematics, engineering, health policy, and communications). Specific aims of the project may include basic research, translational studies, and population studies but the overall proposal must have a strong clinical research component. Proposals for this Dream Team research project must present plans indicating how the work will be translated into clinical application. The concepts will be evaluated on innovation, feasibility, opportunities for success and further development, including improved long-term outcomes for patients.
Through a partnership with leading health care research and innovation collaborative OptumLabs, each team will have the ability to conduct research using OptumLabs' proprietary database of de-identified claims and electronic health record data, analytic tools, and research support to pursue the proposed goals of the Dream Team. Appendix A provides more information on OptumLabs. Collaboration with OptumLabs is optional, and anticipated participation should be delineated as part of the research proposal narrative.
OptumLabs will be conducting information sessions in late February for applicants who are interested in learning more about the OptumLabs Data Warehouse. A non-disclosure agreement will be required to participate in these sessions. If you would like more information or to register to attend, please email [email protected] by Feb. 15, 2017, and include your name, institution and dream team leader name. OptumLabs will contact interested parties about next steps, including dates and times of the information sessions.
Each Team will consist of a Dream Team leader, a Dream Team co-leader, no more than four additional Dream Team principals, and at least two advocates, with a minimum of three participating institutions.
The Dream Team leader, co-leader, and principals, collectively referred to as Key Personnel, must have acquired a doctoral or medical degree, and must be independent investigators affiliated with an academic, medical, or research institution. There are no citizenship or residency status restrictions.
The Dream Team leader and co-leader are expected to each dedicate at least 20 percent (or 40 percent combined) of their time and effort to the Dream Team research project. Dream Team principals must each dedicate at least 10 percent of their time and effort to the Dream Team research project.
No Dream Team will have more than one Key Personnel (Dream Team leader, co-leader, or principal) from any given institution at the time of their initial appointment on the team. No more than two Key Personnel may be from affiliated institutions. It is expected that additional Investigators from the Dream Team leader's or principals' institutions may be involved in the Dream Team research project in some other capacity, and there is no limit to the number of investigators from each of these institutions that may contribute to the Dream Team project.
Employees or subcontractors of for-profit industry are not eligible to serve as a Dream Team leader or principal, but their participation as collaborators is encouraged, where appropriate, to foster the development of novel diagnostic and treatment strategies. No grant funds may be directed to collaborators working within a U.S. government institution or for-profit industry. Confidentiality and intellectual property issues must be negotiated with Collaborators prior to their participation in a Dream Team research project.
Young investigators, including junior faculty, postdoctoral fellows, clinical research fellows, or any other researchers working under the direction of a scientific mentor, are not eligible to serve as a Dream Team leader or principal, but their participation in the Dream Team research projects is encouraged.
Neither members of the JSAC nor members of their individual laboratories are eligible for funding as part of the SU2C-LUNGevity-ALA Lung Cancer Interception Dream Team Grant.
Key personnel should not be funded on more than one SU2C-sponsored Dream Team, Translational Team, or Convergence Team grant. No more than 50 percent of the principals (including leader and co-leader) from a previous or current Dream Team may apply as a group on a new Dream Team proposal.
Candidates with a question about the eligibility requirements are encouraged to contact the AACR's SRGA at [email protected] prior to submitting the proposal.
There are no citizenship or residency status restrictions.
The AACR requires applicants to submit an electronic application via proposalCENTRAL by 12 pm (noon), Eastern Time on Wednesday, March 8, 2017, using the proposalCENTRAL website at http://www.proposalcentral.altum.com. The Program Guidelines and Application Instructions are available in PDF format.
The Call for Ideas document is available here.