The University of Illinois Cancer Center is the recipient of an American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant (ACS IRG) to provide seed money for junior faculty to begin cancer research projects.
The Cancer Center will use the money to fund four ACS IRG pilots grants in 2023 with up to $50,000 awarded for a one-year project period. ACS IRGs are awarded to institutions as block grants and intended to help new investigators launch projects to gain preliminary results they can use later to compete for national research grants, according to the ACS website.
The Cancer Center has announced three pilot grant awards to Cancer Center members:
- Natalie Reizine, MD, medical oncologist and researcher in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at UI Health, for the project “Actionable Targets for Prostate Cancer Patients of African Descent.” Reizine is part of the Translational Oncology research program at the Cancer Center.
- Zilai Wang, PhD, research assistant professor in the College of Medicine Department of Microbiology and Immunology, for the project “Functional Characterization of Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) Subtypes in Patient Derived Models.” Wang is part of the Cancer Center’s Translational Oncology research program.
- Vanessa Oddo, PhD, MPH, assistant professor in the College of Applied Health Sciences Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition for the project “Elucidating Precarious Employment and Stress-related Health Disparities.” Oddo is part of the Cancer Prevention and Control research program at the Cancer Center.
A fourth pilot grant, as part of the ACS’ diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, will be awarded by the Cancer Center to an investigator from an underrepresented minority group in science. Underrepresented groups include certain racial and ethnic groups, first-generation college graduates or those individuals from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds or with disabilities. More on the Diversity ACS-IRG request for applications (RFA) can be found here.