PCR Grant Call Announcements

To apply, please download our Expression of Interest (EOI) form here, and then send the completed form to [email protected] by 23:59 on the 28th October 2024.

Please make sure to read through the following information on this webpage before you apply.

We are accepting proposals from medical or biological science research. At this stage, we do not accept social science proposals for the Bone Metastasis Collaboration Fund grant call.

An estimated 70% of women die of breast cancer each year and an estimated 80% of men who die of prostate cancer each year have bone metastases. Both cancers are highly prevalent and hormonally driven, sharing common treatment strategies such as surgery, hormone therapy, radiation, and targeted therapies. Despite these treatments, managing symptoms, while stopping and reversing the spread of cancer to the bone in both cancers remains challenging. This underscores the urgent need for new therapeutic approaches to improve patient outcomes and quality of life, an important aim of both charities 

By bringing together experts and taking a collaborative and multi-tumour approach, this exciting new alliance aims to revolutionise the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care of bone metastasis in breast and prostate cancer. By combining resources, we hope to expedite knowledge sharing, create innovative solutions, and promote efficient use of resources.  

This transformative grant call invites proposals from UK-based principal investigators addressing the following criteria, or a combination thereof: 

• Research investigating the fundamental mechanisms of bone metastasis which are cancer-agnostic  

• Research focused on the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care of bone metastasis. This may relate to breast cancer, prostate cancer, or both.  

• Research that addresses issues relevant to both cancers will be of particular interest 

• Research focused on breast cancer or prostate cancer 

• Projects looking to combine approaches in models of both breast and prostate cancers 

• New collaborations of teams working on breast and prostate cancer  

You may apply for: 

• Seed grants of up to £15k – for example, to fund model development or an initial experiment or collaboration  

• Pilot grants of  £50 – 100k to generate data to power a future application for a larger, longer-term award  

• Project grants of up to £250k – These are for comprehensive research projects with the potential for significant impact on understanding or treating bone metastasis. 

We seek to maximise the impact of every pound we invest in research. Applicants should consider their budgets carefully and minimise discretionary expenditure that does not deliver value for money for people affected by cancer. 

Career stage 

• Lead applicants should hold a PhD (or equivalent higher research degree) and have a minimum of three years of independent research experience. Those with less than three years of experience may apply under the mentorship of a senior researcher. 

• Lead applicants must hold employment or honorary contracts that extend beyond the period of the grant. For fixed-term positions, a letter from the head of the department must confirm that the applicant’s salary will be covered for the project’s duration. 

• We encourage applications from early-career researchers and are committed to supporting young investigators in cancer research. 

• Applicants may not apply for more than one grant in the same funding round as the lead applicant but may apply as co-applicants or collaborators on multiple applications. 

• Applicants who have taken career breaks due to (e.g., maternity leave, long-term sick leave, COVID-19 pandemic) will have this taken into account during the review process.

Institution 

The lead applicant must be based at a recognized university, research institution, hospital or NHS trust in the UK.  

Collaborations and Co-Applicants: 

• Co-applicants and collaborators can be based at institutions outside the UK and/or at pharmaceutical or biotech companies. 

• National and international collaborations will be considered if the award can be administered through a UK-based lead host institution. 

• We encourage proposals that involve community groups and patients as co-investigators or collaborators. 

Funding and Salary: 

• Salary costs for named post-doctorate researchers listed as co-applicants are allowed if they are not covered by other sources. 

• We will consider applications for research within the NHS but will not act as a sponsor for clinical trials. 

The following will not be accepted: 

• Applications from commercial entities. 

• Applications solely for equipment, consumables, or running costs. Requests for small pieces of equipment as part of the proposal must include a clear justification. 

• Requests to cover the salary costs of tenured lead applicants and co-applicants. 

• Applications for methods or service development. 

• Applications from individuals who are not employed by an eligible institution. 

• Projects part-funded with other funders (if in doubt please speak to us) 

Research strategy 

All proposals must align with our Strategy and Breast Cancer Now’s strategy. 

The three main criteria used to select successful projects will be:  

• Relevance to people affected by prostate and or breast cancer bone metastasis 

• Scientific excellence and innovation  

• Collaboration with other scientists 

This grant call will follow PCR’s grant selection process with input from Breast Cancer Now staff, patients and SAC members. The below diagram shows an outline of Prostate Cancer Research’s usual grant selection process.  

Once the grant call opens in September 2024, applicants will have 8 weeks to complete the Expression of Interest (EOI). Stage 1 decisions will be communicated in December 2024. Shortlisted applicants will then be invited to submit a full application for Stage 2 with a deadline of the 16th February 2025, with final decisions expected in April 2025. 

To apply, please download our Expression of Interest (EOI) form here, and then send the completed form to [email protected] by 23:59 on the 28th October 2024.

If you have any other queries, please contact the PCR research team at [email protected] or the BCN research team at [email protected].