PHILADELPHIA – June 13, 2017 – Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) is inviting proposals for a new $10 million Dream Team of top scientific investigators searching for new strategies to prevent or treat cancer, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), SU2C’s Scientific Partner, announced today.
Unlike other Dream Team grants offered by SU2C in recent years that focused on specific types of cancer, such as colorectal cancer or lung cancer, the new $10 million grant is open to any type of translational cancer research.
“SU2C continues to seek solutions to a broad range of cancer problems,” said Phillip A. Sharp, PhD, chairman of the SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee, institute professor at MIT and its Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, and Nobel laureate. “The door is open to bold new approaches to attack cancer, find new treatments, and bring new hope to patients.”
The SU2C Dream Team Translational Cancer Research Grant will fund a translational cancer research project that will address critical problems in patient care and deliver near-term patient benefit through investigation by a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional, collaborative Dream Team of expert investigators, according to the “Call for Ideas” issued to the scientific community.
The ideas may focus on particular organ sites, patient populations (such as pediatrics), or on innovative methods of treatment. Projects must be designed to accelerate the application of new preventive, diagnostic, or therapeutic approaches to the clinic that lead to patient involvement within 2-3 years from the beginning of the grant. Proposals for a Dream Team research project must present plans indicating how the work will be translated into the clinic. The ideas should be based on perceived opportunities for success as well as high-priority areas with a critical need for rapid progress beyond current medical care.
In addition, through collaboration with the leading health care research and innovation center, OptumLabs, the team will have the opportunity to gain access to, and to conduct research using, OptumLabs’ proprietary database of de-identified medical claims and electronic health record clinical data, analytic tools, and research support to pursue the goals of the Dream Team.
To maximize creativity, innovation, and collaboration, the Dream Team must include laboratory and clinical researchers, senior and/or young investigators, and senior scientists who have not worked together in the past.
A Letter of Intent (LOI) must be submitted by noon U.S. Eastern time on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017, using the proposalCENTRAL website at https://proposalcentral.altum.com.
An SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee will review the Letters of Intent and select several teams to be invited to submit a full proposal. The deadline for invited full proposals is noon ET on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, using the proposalCENTRAL website at https://proposalcentral.altum.com.
Since its inception in 2008, Stand Up To Cancer has launched 20 Dream Teams, six smaller Translational Research Teams, 46 Innovative Research Grants to individual investigators, 18 Phillip A. Sharp Innovation in Collaboration Awards, and other award programs and prizes.
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About the Stand Up To Cancer Initiative
Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) raises funds to accelerate the pace of research to get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives now. SU2C, a division of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, was established in 2008 by film and media leaders who utilize the industry’s resources to engage the public in supporting a new, collaborative model of cancer research, and to increase awareness about cancer prevention as well as progress being made in the fight against the disease. As SU2C’s scientific partner, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and a Scientific Advisory Committee led by Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, PhD, conduct rigorous, competitive review processes to identify the best research proposals to recommend for funding, oversee grants administration, and provide expert review of research progress.
Current members of the SU2C Council of Founders and Advisors (CFA) include Katie Couric, Sherry Lansing, Lisa Paulsen, Rusty Robertson, Sue Schwartz, Pamela Oas Williams, Ellen Ziffren, and Kathleen Lobb. The late Laura Ziskin and the late Noreen Fraser are also co-founders. Sung Poblete, PhD, RN, has served as SU2C’s president and CEO since 2011.
For more information on Stand Up To Cancer, visit www.StandUpToCancer.org.
About the American Association for Cancer Research
Founded in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world’s first and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research and its mission to prevent and cure cancer. AACR membership includes more than 37,000 laboratory, translational, and clinical researchers; population scientists; other health care professionals; and patient advocates residing in 108 countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise of the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, biology, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer by annually convening more than 30 conferences and educational workshops, the largest of which is the AACR Annual Meeting with nearly 19,500 attendees. In addition, the AACR publishes eight prestigious, peer-reviewed scientific journals and a magazine for cancer survivors, patients, and their caregivers. The AACR funds meritorious research directly as well as in cooperation with numerous cancer organizations. As the Scientific Partner of Stand Up To Cancer, the AACR provides expert peer review, grants administration, and scientific oversight of team science and individual investigator grants in cancer research that have the potential for near-term patient benefit. The AACR actively communicates with legislators and other policymakers about the value of cancer research and related biomedical science in saving lives from cancer. For more information about the AACR, visit www.AACR.org.
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Media Contacts:
SU2C
Jane Rubenstein
646-386-7969
jrubinstein@eifoundation.org
AACR
Richard Libb
215-446-8298
richard.lobb@aacr.org
