2025 LCRF RESEARCH GRANT ON PREVENTION AND EARLY DETECTION IN LUNG CANCER

Given the significance and need for early detection of lung cancer and advancements in molecular screening, LCRF continues to offer a funding mechanism to support research projects that facilitate or advance the understanding and characterization of approaches for early detection of lung cancer. Work supported through this mechanism addresses important questions in non-small cell and small cell lung cancer.

This funding mechanism is focused on identifying, characterizing, and developing approaches and techniques that will allow early detection and/or risk reduction of lung cancer and gaining insight into pre-neoplastic processes in the lungs. The ultimate goal is to detect lung cancer at the earliest stages and subsequently increase survival and survivorship. The program is designed to support early-stage researchers and faculty within the first 10 years of their faculty appointment. While this list is not exclusive, general areas of interest include:  

• Improvements in risk stratification of patients and uptake for screening
• Identification and characterization of new biomarkers for NSCLC and SCLC
• Development of predictive, diagnostic, or prognostic biomarkers
• Liquid biopsy assays and related techniques
• Genomic and histological approaches to improve early detection in tissue samples
• Novel imaging and computational modalities to identify and risk stratify pre-neoplastic lesions
• Implementation science with systematic uptake of evidence-based research findings into routine practices to improve quality and effectiveness of health services for early detection
• Studies of pre-neoplasia and progression to lung neoplasia to inform prevention strategies
• Development of pathways to increase uptake and utilization of lung cancer screening
• Epidemiology studies to identify risk factors and implementation of prevention measures
• Development of any new technologies that will aid in identifying early-stage lung cancers

Eligibility Criteria

Investigators must be affiliated with a non-profit, academic or research institution. An applicant must have a postdoctoral or clinical research fellow appointment and/or a faculty position and may have any level of research experience.

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

Submissions will be evaluated for sound scientific rationale, study design, feasibility, and creativity/innovation. Reviewers at the full proposal will be asked to provide an impact score reflecting their assessment of the likelihood for the project to exert a sustained, powerful influence on the field of lung cancer research.

Deadline: 3 March 2025.