Seed Grants Available to Engage Communities in Cancer Research

University of Illinois Cancer Center members can receive up to $15,000 from Community Outreach and Engagement (COE) through a seed grant program to support research that meaningfully engages patients and communities in laboratory, clinical, and population health science.

The seed grant program offers a low-cost, high-benefit application process. Applications are brief, are reviewed quickly, and do not require existing relationships with patient and community stakeholders. The program offers tailored funding opportunities that match the distinct experiences and needs of scientists across the three research programs: Cancer Biology, Translational Oncology, and Cancer Prevention and Control. The funding opportunity announcements for each program, with full requirements, are available here.

“So often, patient and community stakeholders are underutilized, due to a lack of resources and funding,” said Yamilé Molina, PhD, associate director for community outreach and engagement. “These grants offer easy, funded opportunities for Cancer Center members to use COE services and enhance the ultimate impact of our science with the people it is intended to benefit.”

The collaborations are intended to advance the scientific understanding of cancer by layering on stakeholder perspectives. Examples of projects that could be considered for funding include matching a Cancer Biology member with a patient advocate to develop or review a grant application, engaging community stakeholders to design an investigator-initiated trial in translational oncology, and holding public events to disseminate cancer prevention and control research, Molina added.

The application process is limited to a one-page narrative, biosketch submission and budget justification. Funds are anticipated to be dispersed by early March 2022, said Molina, who also serves as an associate professor in UIC’s School of Public Health. The program will award up to nine seed grants of $5,000 to $15,000.

Proposals for funding should leverage COE services that address priority cancers in the Cancer Center’s catchment with Black, Latino, and other stakeholders from priority neighborhoods. Examples of COE services include matchmaking with stakeholders, providing data sets, and consultations about engagement.

The application deadline is Feb. 10, 2022. Apply through this form.

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