Irish Cancer Society - IACR Scholarship Programme 2024: Cancer Survivorship Research

Introduction

The Irish Cancer Society has partnered with the Irish Association for Cancer Research (IACR) to co-fund the Irish Cancer Society – IACR PhD Scholarship Programme 2024: Cancer Survivorship Scholarship.

Through the public's generous support, the Irish Cancer Society funds research in line with our mission to ensure fewer people get cancer and those that do have better outcomes. We always keep people affected by cancer at the heart of everything we do. 

The Irish Association for Cancer Research (IACR) is an All-Ireland non-profit organisation for cancer researchers across all disciplines, which aims to advance cancer research across Ireland. The IACR also aims to advance cancer research across the island of Ireland, to improve patient survival through cancer prevention, earlier diagnosis and new and optimised treatments to ultimately reduce the burden of cancer. 

Therefore, the purpose of this funding call is to offer excellent graduates from across the island of Ireland, the opportunity to undertake postgraduate training in cancer research, with a focus on cancer survivorship research.

This call is open to graduates of a relevant background (e.g., nursing, psychology, dietetics, occupational therapy, radiology, genetic counselling, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy etc.), with a project focusing on cancer survivorship research. Survivorship research covers the period from prevention to diagnosis to treatment outcome (please see guidance documents for further details). This Scholarship is available for any HRB-approved host institution across the island of Ireland (both Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland).

During the programme, the Scholar will undertake general and cancer-specific training while participating in a structured PhD programme, and will have the opportunity to gain experience at an international research institution through a mobility element. Please see the guidance document and the FAQ document below for more information on cancer survivorship research and project eligibility.

Project Eligibility

This scholarship is specifically intended to fund research that is aligned with the Society’s Strategy (2020-2025) and Research Roadmap. 

Proposed projects must be cancer survivorship research and we welcome projects that address our strategic priorities of the Irish Cancer Society. These areas are described below in further detail:

• Survivorship covers the period from diagnosis to treatment outcome (including palliative and end-of-life care). Survivorship research seeks to improve the care and outcomes experienced by people living with and beyond cancer. It includes: prevention and early detection of recurrent cancer; long term effects of cancer and its treatment; quality and experience of treatment and care; psycho-social effects of cancer and its treatment; self-management; health information and literacy; genetic risk and counselling; physical and practical needs e.g. financial, employment, mobility; etc. 

• Strategic priorities is a crosscutting theme, which seeks to specifically foster and grow research into areas of high unmet need in cancer. For example, cancers which have not benefitted from the huge strides in outcome seen in some malignancies (metastatic disease, rare cancers and cancers with poor response or outcomes); the unmet needs of children, adolescents, and young adults affected by cancer; tackling misinformation and disinformation in cancer; addressing the needs of under-represented groups of people (e.g., Travelling community, ethnic and language minority communities, migrant communities, communities with socio-economic or mental health challenges, or any other socially excluded group). 

Please note, projects focused on the needs of underserved communities are recommended to apply for the Irish Cancer Society Underserved Communities in Cancer Research Scholarship.

Funding and Duration

The total value of the Irish Cancer Society-IACR Cancer Survivorship Research Scholarship 2024 is €140,000. This budget should cover the costs for stipend, fees, running costs, equipment, training, dissemination and travel, mobility placement, and PPI. For more details pertaining to the budget, please see Appendix 1. 

The scholarship will last 3 to 4 years at a full-time capacity or at a part-time capacity, over a maximum of 6 years. 

Please note the following budget stipulations that are specific to this Scholarship Call: 

• PhD stipend is funded at a minimum rate of €22,000 per year.
• A minimum provision of €1,500 must be allocated to support Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) in the proposed research project.
• Funding of €5,000 is ring-fenced for a mobility element.
• Costs for attendance at the IACR Annual Conference must be included for each year of this Scholarship in the Travel and Dissemination budget. Costs for presentation of research from this scholarship must be included for at least 1 year (e.g., poster printing).

Detailed budget guidelines are available in Appendix 1 and the Application Guidelines for this award, available to download below. 

Submission and Key Dates

Applicants must email grants@irishcancer.ie with a complete ‘intention to submit’ form, by 3pm Wednesday 20th March 2024 (*extended date*). The template for this form can be found below.

All applications must be submitted through the Irish Cancer Society Gateway Grant Tracker online system, by registering at the following address: https://grants.cancer.ie

Table 1: Timeline for the Cancer Survivorship Research Scholarship Call

Please note: The above dates are provisional and subject to change at the discretion of the Irish Cancer Society.

Please note: the purpose of the intention to support form is to allow us to anticipate the number of full applications that we will receive, and to aid the Society in selecting the most appropriate peer reviewers. This form is not peer-reviewed or used in the decision-making process for this award. 

For any queries relating to this call, please contact grants@irishcancer.ie