Special Programs

DATES AND DEADLINES

• Proposal Due Date: June 25, 2024
• Award Notification: August 7, 2024
• Earliest Start Date: August 26, 2024

PROGRAM GOALS

The Cancer Center at Illinois (CCIL) and OSF HealthCare Cancer Institute (OSF) are soliciting interdisciplinary team research proposals to initiate new collaborations and enhance existing translational research collaborations among University of Illinois faculty and OSF clinicians. The aims of this initiative are to enable teams to:

1. Develop technologies, including device design and drug discovery, which can be rapidly translated to improve patient care
2. Enhance collaboration between CCIL members and OSF clinicians
3. Focus on one of the 6 areas of interest of OSF (See below for more information)

Of note, the BEAT Cancer Research Initiative is intended to launch research projects that are expected to be catalytic. Requests to provide interim or incremental support for existing research programs or projects will not be considered. We also encourage the use of CCIL Shared Resources as part of the project.

Proposals must consist of collaborations between CCIL researchers and OSF clinicians and are strongly encouraged to have anticipated near-term translatability to address clinical needs identified by OSF clinical partners. It is essential that proposals include substantive contributions from both scientific and clinical partners, and proposed study objectives be aligned with the focus areas identified as OSF priorities (see below).

For more information, please view the Full BEAT Cancer Research Initiative Grant RFP.

Eligibility

Proposals must reflect substantive involvement from the CCIL scientific team members and OSF clinicians. Projects should demonstrate substantive collaboration between CCIL scientists and OSF clinicians and must specifically address OSF identified clinical interest areas (see program descriptions). Proposals should include a description of the innovative nature of the research, how the research can be translated towards clinical impact, and the team’s capabilities, where the contribution of each collaborator’s expertise is evident.

The CCIL and OSF are particularly interested in proposals that focus on one of the below areas of interest:

• Deploy risk identification strategies for the earliest detection of cancer, and the development of interventions and care models to manage high risk patients
• Optimize therapy selection for complex cancers with sequencing, analysis, and interpretation
• Develop surveillance and care models to monitor cancer recurrence
• Develop rapid histology tools that can be implemented in the clinical setting, i.e. intraoperative
• Measure the underlying impact of proton / flash therapies on biologic tissues using multiple disciplines and technologies
• Consider ways these therapies (proton/flash) can be staged / combined with other companion therapies to maximize impact in adults and children.

Principal Investigator Requirements

Each project requires one Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI) who is a current CCIL member and one Co-PI who is an OSF clinician. The Co-PIs will assume the organizational and scientific leadership for the project. A faculty member or clinician may only be PI on one submitted project. However, there is no limit to being a co-investigator on other projects. Priority will be given to projects for which PIs are existing CCIL members and active practicing OSF clinicians.