Pre-Clinical and Clinical Concepts Award

Applications for the Pre-Clinical & Clinical Concepts Award are on a rolling basis and no deadline or award period dates are set.

Purpose and Overview | Eligibility and Evaluation | Awardees

Purpose and Overview

The purpose of this award is for Hollings Cancer Center (HCC) to provide pilot funding for projects between $5,000-$25,000 that would be used to add preliminary or supportive data for the direct development of a grant submission, grant resubmission, or funded clinical trial. This mechanism is designed for the practical review and rapid funding of proposals, that may be received on a rolling basis with no set deadline or award periods.

Sources of funding for the award include the Hollings Cancer Center Support Grant (P30 CA138313), fundraising from the LOWVELO bike ride, and other Hollings philanthropy or foundation accounts. HCC leadership anticipates distributing these awards for up to a one-year period. Awardees are required to submit a final progress report upon project completion and annually for five years following the conclusion of the award. The report should include an outline of project results and grant submission, resubmissions, or clinical trials submitted and/or planned.

Any no-cost extensions will require prior approval. If timely progress is not made throughout the award period and funds have not been fully expended by the end of the project period, the funds will be returned to the HCC. Awarded PIs are expected to obtain regulatory approvals [e.g., IACUC, IRB] within three months of award notification. Release of funds will be contingent upon IRB/IACUC approval and all applicable human and animal subject protocols having been provided. For more information or questions regarding the Hollings Pre-Clinical Concepts Award, eligibility, or the application process, please contact Renee Steffen (steffenr@musc.edu).

Eligibility and Evaluation Criteria

Eligibility

• Proposed research must be cancer relevant.
• All MUSC faculty members are eligible to apply.
• Research must take place at MUSC.

Evaluation Criteria

Each application will be reviewed internally according to standard NIH criteria with an emphasis on scientific design and applicability to supporting future funding. Applications requiring specific expertise may undergo additional review, but every effort will be made to review in an expeditious manner to support resubmission to extramural agencies, where appropriate.

Review criteria include:

• Standard NIH criteria (significance, innovation, approach, and investigative team);         
• The likelihood of being translated to a successful application, resubmission, or clinical trial;
• Likelihood that preliminary results will lead to extramural grant funding;
• Projects involving transdisciplinary, team-based coordination and collaboration will be prioritized.

While the use of the Hollings Biostatistics Shared Resource (BSR) is not required, favorably reviewed proposals will also be evaluated by the BSR to determine feasibility. To submit your biostatistics request, please use the Biostatistics Resource Request Form.

If technical or research assistance is needed for completion of the project, but the PI is unsure who to work with or contact, then Hollings leadership may be able to help with promising applications.

Should the review committee decline to fund an applicant's proposal, only one resubmission will be permitted.  Proposal resubmissions must fully address the original comments and critiques of the review committee.

An example of a successful application is available, upon request, by emailing shipptab@musc.edu.