Pilot Funding Opportunities

The following pilot funding opportunities are available through the Markey Cancer Center. The list below will be updated when specific due dates for each program become available. Calls for applications and letters of intent are announced two to three months before the application due date. Contact Jennifer Hiers (jennifer.hiers@uky.edu) for more information.

• American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant (ACS IRG) awards
  The next round of funding for 2026 is detailed below.
  • Announcement: December 11, 2025
  • Amount: $40,000 per award
  • Due Dates
    • Application: March 5, 2026
    • Expected Start Date: June 1, 2026
       
• Cancer Center Support Grant Pilot awards
  Full applications are invited from approved letters of intent and are limited to Markey Cancer Center members. One round of funding per year.
  • Announcement: December 10, 2025
  • Amount: $50,000
  • Due Dates:
    • Letters of Intent (LOIs): February 4, 2026
    • Application, by invitation: April 8, 2026
    • Expected Start Date: July 1, 2026
       

• Markey Survivorship Research Initiative Pilot Award
  The Markey Cancer Survivorship Research Initiative (CSRI) pilot opportunity enables researchers to obtain small funding amounts to support competitive extramural grant applications. This pilot initiative is designed to support Markey members in conducting research related to cancer survivorship. Permissible uses of awards made through this program include, but are not limited to, new or expanded data collection and/or analysis, including costs associated with use of a UK core/shared resource; project management; research supplies; and participant compensation to support recruitment or retention efforts that expand a project’s sample size. 

  • Announcement: March 7, 2025
  • Amount: $10,000
  • Key Dates
    • Application: Accepting on a rolling basis until funds have been allocated.
    • Review the full funding announcement.
       

• MCC Community-Engaged  Research Pilot award
  The purpose of this pilot is to encourage mutually beneficial research collaborations between MCC researchers and community stakeholders that respond to cancer-related, community-driven needs/priorities in Kentucky. Project applications should focus on community-engaged research in basic, clinical and/or population science with a cancer-relevant focus (i.e., a focus on one or more of the following: cancer etiology, cancer risk reduction, early detection, treatment, survival, or quality of life for patients with cancer).

  • Announcement: January 14, 2026
  • Amount: $50,000
  • Due Dates
    • Application: April 15, 2026
    • Expected Start Date: July 1, 2026
       
• MCC Community Outreach and Engagement Partnership Planning Grant
  This grant provides seed money to develop or strengthen partnerships that lead to developing subsequent research grants, which either respond to a need from the Kentucky Cancer Needs Assessment or propose a joint planning effort with partners to identify community-driven needs. Community partners may be community organizations, research advocates or MCCAN hospitals. Please send application-related questions to: caree.mcafee@uky.edu.
  • Announcement: January 7, 2026
  • Amount: $10,000
  • Due Dates
    • Application: February 27, 2026
    • Expected Start Date: May 1, 2026
       
• Dr. Joseph F. Pulliam Pilot Award
  This annual competitive award will provide funds for investigators to utilize the services of the Markey Cancer Center’s Biospecimen Procurement and Translational Pathology (BPTP) Shared Resource Facility.
  • 2026 Announcement Coming Soon