Melanoma Research Alliance Individual Investigator Awards
Complete applications are due on November 15, 2010.
Individual Investigator Awards: Only one proposal per PI will be accepted per cycle.
* Young Investigator Award: Tenure-track investigators within 4 years of their first academic faculty appointment will be provided $75,000/year for 2 to 3 years to accomplish innovative, early concept scientific projects.
* Established Investigator Award: Investigators with an established record of scientific productivity will receive up to $125,000/year for 2 to 3 years to conduct projects supported by preliminary data.
* Pilot Award: Potentially transformative pilot studies from investigators who are past the initial 4 years of their first academic faculty appointment will be considered for an award of $50,000/year for 2 years. Pilot proposals are not required to contain extensive preliminary data, but must articulate a clear hypothesis and translational goals.
Melanoma is a leading cause of new cancer diagnoses, and more effective options for prevention, diagnosis and treatment are urgently needed. From a basic and clinical research perspective, melanoma occupies the crossroads of molecular biology and immunology. Melanomas arising in the skin offer a unique opportunity to query lesions at the earliest stages of carcinogenesis for molecular events or signatures predicting progression, invasion and dissemination. As one of the most highly immunogenic human tumors, melanoma provides an ideal context for understanding interactions between the human immune system and cancer. Emerging knowledge about the basic immunology and molecular biology of melanoma has recently begun to translate into significant clinical benefits for patients, but much work remains to be done. The Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA) is a public charity formed in November 2007 under the auspices of the Milken Institute, with the generous support of Debra and Leon Black. To date we have funded 50 research projects worldwide.
Objective: Emphasis on Translational Science
For the 2010-2011 funding cycle, the MRA is soliciting proposals that address the gap in translational science, i.e., turning scientific discoveries into tools and/or treatments for high risk individuals or melanoma patients. Proposals will be accepted in the following categories: (1) individual investigator awards, including young investigator, established investigator and pilot study awards; (2) team science awards emphasizing collaborative, multidisciplinary research approaches; and (3) academic-industry partnership awards for established investigators or research teams (new this year). Successful proposals will offer the potential for translational developments that could lead to high impact near-term clinical application in areas of melanoma prevention, diagnosis, staging, and treatment. Development and/or use of novel technologies that have the potential to further such advances in areas of emphasis described below will be considered. Proposals for clinical investigations testing well defined and clearly articulated hypotheses are welcome and should be accompanied by a protocol document; local IRB approval is not required at the time of application, but is required in order to grant the award. MRA plans to support at least $5 million in new grant funding during the 2010-2011 cycle.
MRA welcomes proposals in the following areas:
* Prevention: Areas of interest include environmental, epidemiological and biological factors in melanoma carcinogenesis.
* Diagnosis and Staging: Emphasis includes identification of serological tumor markers, association of molecular tumor biomarkers with prognosis, and development of novel clinical methods for melanoma detection and imaging.
* Treatment: Projects emphasizing the translation of scientific findings to the treatment of patients with melanoma are solicited. Examples include but are not limited to studies of melanoma immunotherapy, therapeutic applications based on molecular mechanisms involved in melanoma formation and/or progression, and development of novel biomarkers of response to therapy.
For the 2010-2011 cycle, proposals in the following areas are of particular interest and will receive special consideration:
* Developing combinatorial treatment strategies for patients with stage III-IV melanoma. Defining interactions between molecularly targeted and immunologically based therapies, including the development of rational drug combinations based on preclinical models, is encouraged.
* Exploring resistance mechanisms to immunotherapies or molecularly targeted therapies, and methods to overcome resistance.
* Identifying prognostic biomarkers for patients with Stage I – IIIA melanoma, including conventional molecular and protein-based analyses, as well as studies of epigenetic markers, miRNA markers, and microenvironmental factors.
* Defining unique molecular and/or immunological characteristics of acral and amelanotic melanomas in order to identify new therapeutic targets in these patients.
Additional Information: Email questions to applications@melanomaresearchalliance.org
Melanoma Research Alliance
1101 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 620
Washington, DC 20005
info@melanomaresearchalliance.org