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 Bybee (jennifer.bybee@uky.edu) for more information.

• American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant awards - typically up to two rounds of funding per year; applications are generally due in the spring and fall. The next rounds of funding for 2023 are indicated below.
  • Spring
    • Funding announcement will be posted to the Markey listserv by the beginning of January.
    • Deadline for application submissions: February 28, 2023. 
    • The expected start date for the awards is June 01, 2023. 
  • Fall
    • Funding announcement will be posted to the Markey listserv by mid-June.
    • Deadline for application submissions: August 9, 2023.
    • The expected start date for the awards is December 1, 2023
       
• Center for Cancer and Metabolism COBRE Pilot Awards - This pilot program funds projects focused on cancer or metabolism, and grants awarded through this program should have the potential to generate competitive extramural applications and peer-reviewed publications. The CCM will offer up to four pilot projects this year at $50,000 each.
  • Applications due: May 17, 2023
  • Presentations: July 17, 2023
  • Anticipated start date: January 1, 2024
     
• Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Clinical Translational Research Award - This opportunity will provide one year of pilot funding for up to two junior faculty members.
   
• Cancer Center Support Grant Pilot awards - one round of funding per year, generally due in the spring. Full applications are invited from approved letters of intent and are limited to Markey Cancer Center members.
  • Funding announcement will be posted to the Markey listserv by December 2022. 
  • Research program leaders will nominate applicants, who will submit their LOIs by February 8, 2023.
  • The expected start date for the awards is July 01, 2023.
     
• MCC / UNITE Research Priority Area award - These projects will be supported jointly by the cancer center and the UNITE Research Priority Area and focused on projects that will help better understand and prevent cancer, detect cancer early, and/or manage cancer treatment more accurately and effectively among racial/ethnic minority populations.
   
• MCC / COE Research Pilot award - The purpose of the Request for Applications (RFA) is to encourage mutually beneficial research collaborations between MCC researchers and community stakeholders that respond to cancer-related, community-driven needs/priorities in Kentucky. This RFA invites pilot project applications for 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).
   
• MCC/ Center for Clinical and Translational Science - The purpose of this funding mechanism is to provide a new opportunity and resources to support innovative, collaborative research relevant to the health challenges and disparities faced by the nation and the citizens of Kentucky. One award of up to $50,000, in total direct cost, will be made available to support a meritorious project that addresses cancer control, prevention, and/or community engagement topics that focus on the high incidence of cancer in Appalachia Kentucky.