2025 LCRF LEADING EDGE RESEARCH GRANT PROGRAM

Lung cancer continues to be the number one cause of cancer deaths worldwide, accounting for an estimated 130,180 deaths annually in the United States alone. Despite being the most common cancer killer of both men and women, lung cancer research remains critically underfunded. To help close this gap and improve outcomes, the goal of the LCRF Leading Edge Research Grant Program is to fund innovative projects across the full spectrum of basic, translational, clinical, epidemiological, health services, early detection, disparities, and social determinants of health research.

The 2025 LCRF Leading Edge Research Grant Program will provide $150,000 over a period of two years for projects including but not limited to the following topics:

• Lung cancer biology
• Identification of new biomarkers
• Machine learning and digital pathology
• Development of more effective and less toxic therapies including but not limited to targeted and immune-therapies
• Genetic and gene-environment interactions
• Interactions and contributions of multiple factors (e.g. smoking, genetics, environment, societal factors) to disparities in lung cancer outcomes
• Mechanism of Antibody Drug Conjugates
• Novel approaches to immunotherapy such as bispecific antibodies, vaccines, cellular therapies, etc.
• Bioengineering approaches to understanding and/or treating lung cancer (i.e., theranostics, biomaterials, nanotechnology, controlled-drug release, and gene therapy)
• Supportive measures for people with lung cancer and their families, such as palliative care and telemedicine
• Identification of metabolic vulnerabilities in lung cancer

Eligibility Criteria

Investigators must be affiliated with a non-profit academic or research institution and must be post-doctoral researchers, clinical fellows, or early-career and mid-career investigators with less than ten years’ experience since their initial faculty appointment.

Applicants are prohibited from applying if they have received funding from the LCRF within the last 4 years and from applying in more than one of LCRF’s funding tracks in the same cycle.

Application

All applications for funding must be submitted online at Proposal Central through a two-stage process consisting of a letter of intent (LOI) and full proposal. Upon submission and review of the LOI, applicants whose submission is reviewed favorably will be invited to complete a full proposal.

Any applications for an extension of a previously awarded grant require resubmission as a new complete application (LOI and subsequent full proposal) and must include an update describing the progress made during the prior award period.

Deadline: 3 March 2025.