Submitted by Dr T. Dougan on Sat, 22/10/2016 - 13:13
At Cancer Research UK we recognise that immunology has underpinned some of the most exciting discoveries in modern cancer research. We are committed to supporting cutting-edge immunology to deepen our understanding of the interactions between the immune system and tumours.
Our Cancer Immunology Project Awards aim to attract established immunologists working in fields other than cancer, to bring their expertise and insight to cancer research.
The scheme has a broad remit. Research could include outreaching biology covering the whole immunological process, from inflammation, to the innate and adaptive immune responses. There's a spectrum of expertise that fits into what we're looking for. Previous funded projects include:
• A study of the immunotherapeutic potential of MHC class I restricted peptiede activation of human natural killer cells, led by Salim Khakoo, professor of hepatology at the University of Southampton.
• A project investigating the novel hypothesis that the complement system promoted inflammation driven cancer, but not others, combining the complementary expertise of Marina Botto (rheumatology) and Jessica Strid (skin epithelial cell biology).
The awards provide funding of up to £300,000 over three years and the next deadline is 8 November 2016. There are two deadlines throughout the year - you can read more about eligibility for the scheme on our website.
Immunologists who already have a demonstrated track record in cancer research can also apply for our Programme Awards.
We also offer the opportunity to translate great immunology research with our Therapeutic Discovery Awards - Biotherapeutic Drug Discovery Awards and Small Molecule Drug Discovery Awards. These awards fund translational research projects at all stages of drug discovery, from target and pathway identification and validation, through to early preclinical studies. Awards can support early stage translational research with a clear pathway towards further therapeutic development (i.e. cell-, antibody-, gene-, protein-, vaccine- and viral-based or small molecule therapies). There are two deadlines a year for project awards, which provide funding of up to £100,000 per annum for up to 3 years. For our Biotherapeutic Drug Discovery Awards there is one deadline a year and for programme awards, which provide funding £2.5 million per annum for up to 5 years. Successful applicants to our Biotherapeutic Drug Discovery Awards will also have the opportunity to access the CRUK-MedImmune Alliance Laboratory (CMAL). CMAL provides access to MedImmune’s proprietary phage display library, and can support antibody production. Applicants wishing to access the CMAL should include this in their application.
The next deadline for preliminary submissions of project and programme applications is Mid November 2016.
