Note: LCRF is no longer accepting applications for its 2024 grant program.
In keeping with our mission, the LCRF grant program provides funding for research into the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure of lung cancer. Our funding mechanisms are designed to fund innovative projects across a variety of diverse topics and to support the careers of talented scientists. To learn about research that has been previously funded by LCRF, please visit the Our Investigators section. Information for investigators seeking funding for research, including an overview of our funding mechanisms and any current requests for proposals, can be found below. For questions about our grants, please contact us at grants@LCRF.org.
About Our Grants
IASLC/LCRF Team Science Award (TSA) on Advancing Therapies Towards Curing Oncogene-Driven Lung Cancers
Work supported through this mechanism will address important mechanistic questions and developmental therapeutics across the care continuum and have the immediate potential to increase survivorship. Given the specific interest in the development of novel therapies that could benefit this group of patients in the relatively near-term, a clinical trial must either be initially incorporated into the project or be an immediate result of the outcome of the research. It is expected that a program of correlative, translational research will be proposed that will enhance the understanding of these oncogenic-driven lung cancers.
With the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), LCRF encourages applications on a wide variety of topics related to oncogene-driven lung cancer, including but not limited to the following:
- The proposal must include studies in patients and/or patient samples with oncogene-driven lung cancer.
- A proposal that is associated with a clinical trial either as part of the project or planned as a result of the research will be favorably looked upon. Funding from this grant cannot be used to support an ongoing clinical trial. The trial can investigate novel treatment approaches, new therapies (i.e., next generation drugs or agents with novel mechanisms of action, antibody-drug conjugates, etc.), immunotherapy, vaccines, cell therapy, and novel combinations if there is a strong rationale supporting the investigation. The associated clinical trial cannot be an early phase dose-seeking trial. There is a particular interest in investigator-initiated phase IB/II trials.
- The proposal must have a program of 2-3 projects. These projects must be closely integrated and should consist of clinical, basic and/or translational work. Topics of interest can include but are not limited to mechanisms of resistance, studies on the immune landscape and tumor microenvironment, biology and mechanisms of tumor progression, identification of biomarkers to predict sensitivity to specific therapies, methods for optimizing treatment, etc.
- The proposal must have a central, important theme. Projects associated with the proposal must address various aspects of this theme.
- Cancer researchers must be affiliated with an academic/research institution. The research team can include industry partners. The industry partner should support the clinical trial and/or have researchers that have the expertise necessary to the success of the project.
This award provides a maximum of $2,500,000 in funding over a period of four years. Eligible teams must be comprised of independent faculty-level researchers providing complementary interdisciplinary expertise, each of which will make separate but closely integrated contributions to the research being done.
For full details, eligibility criteria, and application instructions, please refer to the request for proposals.
All applications will be evaluated using a two-stage review process that includes review of letters of intent and select full proposals. Only applicants whose LOI is reviewed favorably will be invited to submit a full proposal.
LOIs for this grant will be accepted through March 4, 2024. Those selected to continue the application process will have until August 12, 2024 to submit their full proposals.
LCRF Leading Edge Research Grant Program
Lung cancer continues to be the number one cause of cancer deaths worldwide, accounting for an estimated 127,070 deaths annually in the United States alone. Despite being the most common cancer killer of both men and women, lung cancer research remains critically underfunded. To help close this gap and improve outcomes, the goal of the LCRF Leading Edge Research Grant Program is to fund innovative projects across the full spectrum of basic, translational, clinical, epidemiological, health services, early detection, disparities, and social determinants of health research. We encourage applications on a wide variety of topics including but not limited to the following:
- Lung cancer biology
- Risk reduction and screening for early detection
- Identification of new biomarkers
- Development of more effective and less toxic therapies including but not limited to targeted and immune-therapies
- Genetic and gene-environment interactions
- Interactions and contributions of multiple factors (e.g. smoking, genetics, environment, societal factors) to disparities in lung cancer outcomes
- Mechanisms of sensitivity and resistance to lung cancer therapies
- Bioengineering approaches to understanding and/or treating lung cancer (i.e., theranostics, biomaterials, nanotechnology, controlled-drug release, and gene therapy)
- Supportive measures for people with lung cancer and their families
- Identification of metabolic vulnerabilities in lung cancer
These awards provide a maximum of $150,000 in funding over a period of two years to post-doctoral researchers, clinical fellows, or early- and mid-career investigators with less than 10 years’ experience since their initial faculty appointment. For full details, eligibility criteria, and application instructions, please refer to the request for proposals.
All applications will be evaluated using a two-stage review process that includes review of letters of intent and select full proposals. Only applicants whose LOI is reviewed favorably will be invited to submit a full proposal.
LOIs for this grant will be accepted through March 4, 2024. Those selected to continue the application process will have until June 10, 2024 to submit their full proposals.
LCRF Minority Career Development Award (CDA) in Lung Cancer
National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding is considered a prerequisite for establishing independence, academic promotion, recognition as an expert, serving on grant review panels, and leadership roles. Minority applicants are less likely to receive grants, to have the R phases of K01 or K99 awards activated, need more submissions to obtain funding, and often will not resubmit proposals. As minority applicants must overcome systemic and structural barriers due to race, ethnicity, country of origin, socioeconomic status, and/or language, many leave academia which further exacerbates the lack of diversity in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and medical fields. To provide protected time and mentoring to these trainees, we continue to offer the LCRF Minority Career Development Award (CDA) for Lung Cancer for minority postdoctoral/clinical fellows and assistant professors within 10 years of completing their MD and/or PhD degrees to submit proposals.
We encourage applications on a wide variety of topics including but not limited to the following:
- Lung cancer biology
- Risk reduction and screening for early detection
- Identification of new biomarkers
- Development of more effective and less toxic therapies including but not limited to targeted and immune-therapies
- Genetic and gene-environment interactions
- Interactions and contributions of multiple factors (e.g. smoking, genetics, environment, societal factors) to disparities in lung cancer outcomes
- Mechanisms of sensitivity and resistance to lung cancer therapies
- Bioengineering approaches to understanding and/or treating lung cancer (i.e., theranostics, biomaterials, nanotechnology, controlled-drug release, and gene therapy)
- Supportive measures for people with lung cancer and their families
- Identification of metabolic vulnerabilities in lung cancer
These awards provide a maximum of $150,000 in funding over a period of two years to post-doctoral researchers, clinical fellows, or early-career and mid-career investigators within 10 years of receiving their MD and/or PhD. Investigators must be from racial or ethnic groups that are underrepresented in health-related sciences and biomedical research. For complete details, eligibility criteria, and application instructions, please refer to the request for proposals.
All applications will be evaluated using a two-stage review process that includes review of letters of intent and select full proposals. Only applicants whose LOI is reviewed favorably will be invited to submit a full proposal.
LOIs for this grant will be accepted through March 4, 2024. Those selected to continue the application process will have until June 10, 2024 to submit their full proposals.
LCRF Research Grant on Early Detection and Pre-Neoplasia in Lung Cancer
Given the significance and need for early detection of lung cancer and advancements in molecular screening, LCRF continues to offer a funding mechanism to support research projects that facilitate or advance the understanding and characterization of pre-neoplasia or approaches for early detection of lung cancer. Work supported through this mechanism addresses important questions in non-small cell and small cell lung cancer.
This funding mechanism is focused on identifying, characterizing, and developing approaches and techniques that will allow early detection and/or risk reduction of lung cancer and gaining insight into pre-neoplastic processes in the lungs. The ultimate goal is to detect lung cancer at the earliest stages and subsequently increase survival and survivorship. The program is designed to support early-stage researchers and faculty within the first 10 years of their faculty appointment. While this list is not exclusive, general areas of interest include:
- Identification and characterization of new biomarkers for NSCLC and SCLC
- Liquid biopsy assays and related techniques
- Improvements in risk stratifying patients for screening
- Development of predictive, diagnostic, or prognostic biomarkers
- Genomic and histological approaches to improve early detection in tissue samples
- Novel imaging modalities to identify and risk stratify pre-neoplastic lesions
- Studies of pre-neoplasia and progression to lung neoplasia that may inform prevention strategies
- Development of pathways to increase uptake and utilization of lung cancer screening
These awards provide a maximum of $150,000 in funding over a period of two years to post-doctoral researchers, clinical fellows, or early-career and mid-career investigators with less than 10 years’ experience since their initial faculty appointment. For full details, eligibility criteria, and application instructions, please refer to the request for proposals.
All applications will be evaluated using a two-stage review process that includes review of letters of intent and select full proposals. Only applicants whose LOI is reviewed favorably will be invited to submit a full proposal.
LOIs for this grant will be accepted through March 4, 2024. Those selected to continue the application process will have until June 10, 2024 to submit their full proposals.
LCRF Research Grants on Understanding Resistance in Lung Cancer
In 2024, in partnership with leading patient advocacy organizations, this grant mechanism focuses on understanding the development, prevention, and therapy of resistance by supporting research projects that are identifying, characterizing, treating, or preventing resistance to therapies in lung tumor cells, tissues, mouse models, and/or patients. Work supported through this mechanism will address important mechanistic questions and developmental therapeutics across histological subtypes of lung cancer (including lung adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and small cell lung cancer) and across the care continuum including newly designed targeted therapies and immunotherapies. These studies will enhance the momentum of improving lung cancer outcomes and have the potential to increase survivorship.
We encourage applications on a wide variety of topics related to understanding resistance including:
- Mechanisms of resistance to targeted therapies for oncogene-driven lung cancers
- Biology and mechanisms of drug resistance to lung cancer therapies; i.e. chemotherapy, immunotherapy and radiotherapy
- Novel treatment approaches and new therapies to overcome and/or prevent resistance to lung cancer therapies
- Novel diagnostic approaches to monitor treatment response and relapse
These awards provide a maximum of $150,000 in funding over a period of two years to post-doctoral researchers, clinical fellows, or investigators with less than 10 years of experience since their initial faculty appointment. For full details, eligibility criteria, and application instructions, please refer to the request for proposals.
All applications will be evaluated using a two-stage review process that includes review of letters of intent and select full proposals. Only applicants whose LOI is reviewed favorably will be invited to submit a full proposal.
LOIs for this grant will be accepted through March 4, 2024. Those selected to continue the application process will have until June 10, 2024 to submit their full proposals.
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