2026 March - Stanford Cancer Institute (SCI) Innovation Awards-- Call for PROPOSALS
The Stanford Cancer Institute’s (SCI) mission is to reduce cancer mortality and improve cancer care through comprehensive programs of cancer research, prevention, treatment, education and outreach. To achieve its mission, the leadership and members relentlessly pursue multiple strategic aims which include fostering interdisciplinary basic cancer research, translating scientific discovery into clinical research and optimal patient care, developing improved approaches to the prevention, early detection, precise diagnosis and effective treatment of cancer, and improving the cancer patient experience by using research to develop and validate innovative initiatives in patient-centered care.
In keeping with its core mission, the SCI offers Innovation Awards to support projects focused on the acceleration of basic, translational, clinical and population-based cancer research, and related to the development of investigator-initiated clinical trials.
TIMELINE (Anticipated / Exact dates TBD)
RFA Announced: September 2, 2025
Proposal Submission Deadline: October 17, 2025 (11:59pm)
Notification of Selection: December 2025
Funding Period: March 1, 2026 – February 28, 2027
- Multi-disciplinary collaboration, including collaborations involving Stanford faculty beyond the School of Medicine or inter-programmatic collaborations across the six SCI research programs
- Plans for submission of an external peer reviewed (preferably NCI) application
- Investigator-initiated clinical trial
- Research related to community outreach and engagement
- Development of technologies that deliver genes to tumors or tissues through non-viral means
Faculty members of the SCI or of the Stanford University community with PI Status.
Residents, Instructors, and Post-docs may not serve as PI or Co-PI, but may be a collaborator with an SCI member with PI status.
***If the PI is not a SCI member, the submission must include a letter of support from a sponsoring SCI member, who would also be a project collaborator.
Please note, University Research Agreements (URAs) now require COI (OPACS) for all Co-PIs. As a Co-PI on this project, your Conflicts of Interest (COI) needs to be done before this award amendment can be released in SERA. Please be sure to go into OPACS https://opacs.stanford.edu/ to complete your COI declarations for the noted project if you haven't done so.
Progress reports will be required at 12 and 24 months after funding begins. Earlier progress reports will be requested if the award recipient is leaving the University. Recipients may be asked to present the results of funded research project at the request of the SCI.
In accordance with University research guidelines, funds may be used for:
- PI Salary Support (minimum of 1% of the NIH salary cap ($225,700) not to exceed 10% of total award)
- Other personnel directly supporting the proposed project
- Consultants and affiliates are not allowed
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Equipment and supplies
- SCI will allow up to 3K for capital equipment
- Once awarded, compliance documents (IRB or APLAC) will need to be obtained to process the PDRF in the Stanford Electronic Research Administration (SERA) system
- Only DIRECTS should be shown in the budget
- Subawards are not allowed
