Proposals for Minority Cancer Research Career Development

The Lung Cancer Research Foundation has requested proposals for its 2022 LCRF Minority Career Development Award (CDA) in Lung Cancer.

According to LCRF, 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, further exacerbating the lack of diversity in STEM and medical fields. 

To provide protected time and mentoring to these trainees, LCRF is launching the LCRF Minority Career Development Award (CDA) for Lung Cancer, a two-year career development award intended to support early-stage scientists from underrepresented groups working in lung cancer and working in diverse areas of research including basic, clinical, translational, disparities, and social determinants of health research. This award aims to increase the number of highly skilled and trained researchers from groups that are historically underrepresented in academia, medicine, and leadership in lung cancer research. This program aims to close the gap between the mortality rates and representation in lung cancer research by funding minority researchers $150,000 over two years. 

Applications are encouraged on a wide variety of topics, including but not limited to lung cancer biology; prevention 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); and supportive measures for people with lung cancer and their families.

To be eligible, investigators must be from racial or ethnic groups underrepresented in health-related sciences and biomedical research. This includes African Americans or Black people, Latinos or Latinx, Native Americans or Alaskan Natives, Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders. Investigators must be affiliated with a nonprofit academic or research institution. They must be post-doctoral researchers, clinical fellows, or early-career and mid-career investigators within 10 years of receiving their MD and/or PhD. Applicants from U.S.-based and international institutions are eligible to apply and may hold any residency/citizenship status. 

For complete program guidelines and application instructions, see the Lung Cancer Research Foundation website.