Irish Cancer Society Translational Research Scholarship Programme 2021

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Introduction

The Irish Cancer Society is now accepting expression of interest (EOI) submissions for the Translational Research Scholarship Programme 2021.

The objective of the Irish Cancer Society Translational Research Scholarship Programme is to offer excellent science, medical, nursing and other allied healthcare graduates the opportunity to undertake postgraduate training in translational biomedical cancer research. One scholarship will be awarded.

Translational biomedical research can be defined as “bench to bedside”, or patient-focused research, whereby the aim of the research is to translate existing knowledge about cancer biology into techniques and tools that will accelerate progress towards patient benefit. For the translational research scholarship programme, we will only accept translational biomedical research projects. Please see the guidance document and the FAQ document below for more information on translational research and project eligibility*.

In the EOI application form applicants will be asked to describe how the research is translational (T0.5 and/or T1 phase) as opposed to discovery research (T0 phase) and describe the ultimate long-term end goal of the research in terms of the impact of the research on people affected by cancer. The applicant will also be asked if the project addresses a cancer with unmet needs.

A key strategic priority for the Irish Cancer Society over the next five years is research centered on cancers with unmet needs. Therefore we strongly encourage applicants with research projects focused on addressing a cancer with unmet needs to consider applying for this Scholarship**.

Although we encourage applications in the area of Cancers with Unmet Needs, all eligible translational biomedical research projects are welcome. Applications will be judged based on merit and no cancer type will receive preferential judgement under review. Only the application of the highest quality will be awarded funding, regardless of cancer type. Please see our guidance document for more information on our definition of a ‘Cancer with Unmet Needs’.

• * Please see Section 2.3 in the guidance document and the FAQ documents for more information on translational research. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the project fulfils the project eligibility criteria for this scheme. If you are uncertain about your project’s eligibility, please contact us (grants@irishcancer.ie) in advance of preparing your application. The deadline for project eligibility queries is Thursday, 18 February 2021 at 3.00pm. Project eligibility queries will not be addressed after this date.
• ** Please see Section 3 of the guidance document and the FAQ document for more information on what is considered a cancer with unmet needs.

Funding

The total value of the Irish Cancer Society Research Scholarship covering stipend, fees, materials and dissemination will be €153,000 for a maximum of four years.

A mandatory provision of €1,000 is included within this budget to support Public and Patient Involvement (PPI) in the proposed research project*.

Additionally, mobility/capacity building funding of up to a maximum of €5,000 will be available. This may be used for travel to a national or international research institution in furtherance of advancement of the research project aims, over the course of the programme. The purpose of this mobility/capacity building element is to allow the applicant an opportunity to spend time working in varied research environments to maximise project impact and to aid the individual in their career development prospects. A detailed plan for this element will be required from applicants shortlisted to the full application stage.

A further fund of up to €2,000 will also be available in Year 3 & 4 of the scholarship to contribute towards dissemination of research in a high impact journal. This funding is separate to the travel and dissemination budget which must be detailed in the budget section of the full application. The successful scholar will need to apply for this dissemination funding support at least three months in advance of the planned publication. Each application (scholar mobility/capacity building element and dissemination awards respectively) will be reviewed before a funding decision is made. Further details of the dissemination fund will be provided to the applicants shortlisted to the full application stage.

Please note a detailed budget is not required at the EOI stage, and full details of budget guidelines will be provided to applicants that get shortlisted to the full application stage of this funding award.

• *Please note that the €1,000 available for PPI may be supplemented with funds remaining from the student’s annual budget. However, the annual budget may not be supplemented with the PPI fund.

Submission

All applications must be submitted through the online grant management system by 3.00pm, Wednesday 24 February 2021.

Grant management system - https://grants.cancer.ie

Key dates

Further details of important dates for the full application stage will be given to shortlisted applicants. Please note: this is for guidance purposes only, and is subject to change.

Please note, the commencement of the PhD in September 2021 must be in line with any public health guidelines in place in Ireland at that time due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.