Grant Application

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Wednesday, March 15, 2023

APPLICATION DEADLINE FOR 2023 HAS PASSED

Award maximums have been raised to $80,000

$50,000 max in year 1  –  $30,000 max in year 2

Submission Overview

  • Applications should be submitted in PDF or similar digital format.
  • Signature pages may be scanned, mailed separately, or marked with a digital signature.
  • Include the applicant’s last name within the filename of all submitted materials.
  • Suggested research reviewers must be submitted using the provided spreadsheet.
  • All application materials should be submitted via email to grants@ohiocancer.org.
Suggested Reviewers Worksheet
Submit Application

Click Here to Download the Application Guidelines in PDF Format

Eligibility

An eligible principal investigator will be within six years of their initial appointment to a tenure track or tenure-track equivalent position at an institution in the state of Ohio. Full professors or their equivalents are not eligible. Only tenure track, junior faculty or equivalent scientific staffs are generally considered eligible. Postdoctoral fellows, research track professors, research assistants, and graduate students are not eligible to apply as principal investigators, but they may be included as support staff. Tenured faculty are not eligible.

The principal investigator must show evidence of independence, and well-established investigators should not submit projects related to their current area of research. Investigators previously funded by Ohio Cancer Research must provide justification that this application is significantly different from the previously funded project. Information regarding the results of the previously funded proposal and the principal investigator’s success in obtaining further national funding must also be provided.

Subject of Research

Grants awarded by OCR are made to support research activities broadly related to all forms of cancer. Funding from OCR is specifically intended to generate critical “seed” data that will increase the applicant’s success in federal grant applications in the one-two years following OCR funding. The most successful applications will propose work that is achievable in the two-year time frame and that is directly connected to planned future proposals at the federal level.

Certain types of projects are not recommended for support. Among these are purely clinical work of a non-research nature and requests for the sole purpose of equipping a laboratory.

All studies carried out as part of the proposed project must meet standards of informed consent for human subjects and/or proper care for animal subjects. Institutional approval of all research protocols involving human subjects or animal subjects must accompany the grant application.

Availability

Grants are subject to and limited by available funds. Grants are made by the Board of Trustees of Ohio Cancer Research taking into account recommendations of the Scientific Review Committee. Grants are available to investigators in either nonprofit or for-profit institutions, offices or clinics within the State of Ohio. However, grants to investigators working for profit-making organizations may not include funds for capital equipment. Grants are made with the stipulation of their use by a particular individual or group who are known as the principal investigator in support of a specific program of research under his/her/their direction.

Financial Support

In accordance with the needs of the research project, the funds granted may cover salaries for technical assistants, provisions for retirement benefits and social security for such assistants; cost of expendable supplies and experimental animals; special equipment when specifically justified for the execution of the project and other necessary costs. The grant budget should not include items for travel. Maximum awards will be up to $50,000 in year 1 and up to $30,000 in year 2 for a maximum of up to $80,000 for two years.

A justification for budgetary expenditure is required. The Scientific Review Committee of  Ohio Cancer Research will review proposed budgets to ensure that the greatest number of projects can be realized with the overall funds available. Further, the Committee should be informed of contemplated major changes in the budget. Re-budgeting to travel is not permitted.

Research funds may not be used for building or plant construction and are not to be used to replace any obligations currently assumed by the institution or individual receiving the grant. Research funds may not be used to pay any physician for any type of patient care. A physician who is doing purely technical or laboratory work, for which he has been qualified by other than his professional medical education, may be paid as a technical assistant. Research funds may not be used for salary for the principal investigator.

Charges for supplies, personnel services, and equipment obtained or expended prior to the beginning date of the grant or subsequent to the closing date may not be charged. However, the cost of equipment ordered during the period of the grant may be charged against it even though

the equipment is not actually received until after the end of the period. At the termination of the grant all unexpended funds are to be returned to OCR. OCR will not assume responsibility for deficits created by overdrafts on grant funds.

Indirect Costs

Indirect costs of 10% of personnel and supplies will be paid to nonprofit institutions. No indirect costs will be paid on equipment to be purchased or patient care costs. No indirect costs will be paid to profit-making organizations.

Principal Investigator

The principal investigator is the senior investigator who assumes overall responsibility for the design and execution of the research project, and the preparation of both the progress and final reports.

Equipment

Special equipment required for the project may be included in the budget if such equipment is not available in the institution where the project is located. Such equipment remains the property of OCR under the stewardship of the principal investigator until the project period and all renewals of the original grant period are concluded. The ownership of equipment proceeds to the sponsoring institution unless prior arrangements for the disposition of the equipment are made during the tenure of the grant.

Progress Reports

For individuals awarded two year grants, a progress report covering at least the first eight months of the grant period is due in OCR sixty (60) days before the end of the first year. Compliance with timely submission of this report, demonstrated satisfactory progress and availability of funds will be considered prior to the awarding of the second year of funding. Please include a budget for the second year and a listing of all and pending grants with amount and specific aim.

A final progress report of work accomplished will be required, regardless of the duration of the grant. Grantees whose grants are being terminated (including those investigators who are leaving Ohio) should submit final reports within thirty (30) days after termination of the grant.

Additional funding received as a result of the seed money grant should be reported to OCR with the amount, source, and how the seed money grant helped in obtaining the additional funding.

Publications and Publicity

Publications resulting from work carried out under an OCR grant must carry this statement: “This study has been supported (in part) by a grant from Ohio Cancer Research.” Five reprints of publications are to be forwarded to OCR. Also, any newspaper, radio, television or other publicity received by the researcher in connection with the funded project must have appropriate credit given to OCR.

A researcher receiving funds may be asked to speak at OCR meetings and fundraising events.

Patent Policy

All inventions made with the support, in whole or in part, of OCR funds shall be timely reported to OCR. If the institution receiving or disbursing the OCR funds with which the invention was made has an established patent policy and procedure administering inventions, OCR will defer to that policy with the following restrictions:

  1. Title to any invention shall not be permitted to reside with the inventor or any other individual without prior written approval of OCR upon advice of legal counsel.
  2. No patent or patent application shall be abandoned without first notifying OCR and giving OCR the opportunity to continue the patent application at its own expense.
  3. Unless there is an institution policy stating otherwise, the inventor(s) may share in the income derived from the invention provided that the inventor(s) will not be paid more that twenty-five percent (25%) of the gross royalty income without prior written approval of OCR.
  4. OCR shall participate in the income derived from the invention to an extent to be determined by mutual agreement between the institution and OCR.

If the institution has no established patent policy and procedure for administering inventions, OCR shall have the right to determine the disposition of the invention rights. In such cases, OCR may:

  1. Decide that no patent applications are to be filed.
  2. Release the invention to the inventor or his designee.
  3. If the invention is administered by a research corporation or other similar nonprofit organization, OCR may determine that a share of the income is to be paid to the inventor(s), but not to exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of the gross royalty income.

Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, if any invention is made with the joint support of OCR and any agency or department of the United States Government, OCR will defer to the patent policy of that agency or department upon receipt of a written statement by the appropriate agency of government notifying OCR of its position with respect to the invention in question.

If any invention is made with the joint support of OCR and some organization other than any agency or department of the United States Government, including but not limited to OCR, or that organization, the institution, the inventor(s) and OCR will confer to determine a mutually satisfactory disposition of the invention rights.

Application Periods

  • New Grants: In general, grants are made once a year for a period beginning July 1. Applications may be submitted at any time, but must be received no later than March 15, 2023 for the grant period beginning July 1, 2023. Investigators will be notified concerning action on the applications by June 30, 2023. Renewal for 2nd year of the grant is dependent on the required progress report.
  • Renewal Requests: Renewal requests may be submitted according to the regulations for the new grants stated above. It is a general policy that grants will not be renewed for more than one year. In addition to the usual request form for grants, a detailed renewal justification must be submitted.
  • Change of Grant Period: Although each grant is made for use within a specific project period, an extension of the period without additional funds may be approved when requested and justified by the principal investigator. These requests should be submitted in writing to OCR thirty (30) days before the termination of the grant. Requests for extension of unexpended funds at no cost to OCR may be granted for a period up to six months. Requests for extension for longer than six months may be granted in rare circumstances after review by the Scientific Review Committee.

Grant Termination or Change of Principal Investigator

If the principal investigator leaves the institution before expiration of the grant, the grant is terminated and the unexpended balance is forfeited. If arrangements satisfactory to the Scientific Review Committee are completed in such instances, the balance of the grant can be transferred to a new institution in Ohio at which the research program is to be continued or a new principal investigator may be recommended, subject to approval by the Scientific Review Committee, to complete the project at the original institution.

Duplication of Available Funds

In the event that an investigator applies to another granting agency for funds to support the same project, and both applications are granted, the investigator must select the award of his/her/their choice and decline the duplicate award.

Click Here to Download the Application Guidelines in PDF Format

Application Form

Since the goal of OCR is to fund research that will lead to continued support at the national level, the standard NIH forms (Form 398) should be used, or a reasonable equivalent thereof. In either case, the application should contain the following information:

Page 1

  • Name and degree of the principal investigator.
  • Mailing address, phone/fax numbers & e-mail address of the principal investigator.
  • Title of project.
  • Citizenship and Visa status (may be included in biographical information).
  • Amount requested for first year (direct plus indirect costs).
  • Total amount requested.
  • Performance site(s).
  • Name and address of applicant organization for sponsored research.
  • Name, title, and signature of the institutional official.
  • Signature of the principal investigator.

Page 2

  • Abstract: Abstract of project.
  • Lay Description: Include a paragraph written in simple, 2nd-grade-level, non-technical language which describes the short-term and long-term goals of the project and how they relate to cancer or leukemia. If the project is funded, this description will be used for promotional or other public relations materials.

Page 3

  • Table of contents.

Page 4

  • First Year Budget: Detailed first year budge including personnel costs and fringe benefits, equipment, supplies and miscellaneous expenses. Please note that no funds for travel or renovations are permitted. Include a line for direct, indirect and total costs for the first year. Indirect costs cannot exceed 10%. (Indirect costs not paid to equipment or patient care.)

Page 5

  • Entire Project Budget: Budget for the entire period requested (not to exceed two years), listed by category only, and including a justification of budget.

Additional Information

The following should be placed after the budget justification in the order indicated below:

  1. NIH format biographical sketch of principal investigator (this should include citizenship and/or Visa status if that information is not included on page 1.
  2. NIH format biographical sketches of co-investigators or senior scientific staff.
  3. Current and pending support of the principal investigator, listing title, agency, amount of award and inclusive dates. Include a description of institutional startup funds, and indicate any overlapping or duplicate proposals.
  4. Facilities available (1 page maximum).
  5. Documentation of human subject approval, including dates and protocol number. If no human subjects are to be used, a statement to that effect should be included.
  6. Documentation of approval for the use of animals, including dates and protocol number. If no animals are to be used, a statement to that effect should be included.
  7. Documentation of approval for the use of biohazards, if applicable.  List all biohazards to be encountered in the course of the research, including recombinant DNA, and a statement concerning how risk will be minimized.

Outline of Proposed Research

Sections 1-4 below may be no more than five (5) pages maximum, exclusive of references. No appendix materials are permitted.

  1. Specific aims. State the short and long term goals of the project.
  2. Background and significance. Include a brief summary of work done by the principal investigator and others relevant to the proposed project. Indicate the significance of the project and its relevance to cancer/leukemia.
  3. Experimental plan. Describe the methodology to be used to accomplish each of the specific aims. Describe the results that are to be expected and how they will be evaluated. Indicate the potential pitfalls of the approach, their significance to the overall success of the project, and alternative approaches that will be considered. Although explicit details of procedures are not required, enough information should be available to allow a knowledgeable reviewer to assess the validity of the methodology to be used.
  4. Proposed schedule of experiments.

Literature Cited

List the authors, title and complete citation of each reference cited.

Seed Money Justification

Include a justification of why seed money is required for the proposed project. This should indicate how the results obtained will allow the investigator to obtain peer-reviewed funding at the national level. The strongest applications will discuss how the anticipated results will be used as preliminary data to support future studies, as well as listing examples of grant mechanisms that will be pursued and a timetable for submission of such grant applications. (1 page maximum.)

Suggested External Reviewers

  • In the provided spreadsheet, list the contact information for at least six senior scientists, unaffiliated with you and outside the state of Ohio, who could be contacted as expert external reviewers of your proposal.
  • These individuals MUST HAVE NO PREVIOUS OR CURRENT FORMAL AFFILIATION with the investigator(s), but have some expertise in the area of your grant proposal.
  • Return the completed spreadsheet to grants@ohiocancer.org.
  • Remember to include the applicant’s full name and the application title.

The contact fields are:

  • Salutation (DR, MR, MS, PROF, etc.)
  • First Name
  • Last Name
  • Suffix (PhD, MD, etc.)
  • Title
  • Department
  • Institution
  • E-mail
  • Phone number(OPTIONAL)

This information is vital to the review of the applicant’s grants submission and the application is considered incomplete without it.