2023 Mark Foundation Emerging Leader Award

Eligibility

• MD, PhD, or equivalent is required.
• Applicants must be employed by a U.S. or Canadian non-profit academic institution.
• Applicants must be three to eight years from the start of an independent faculty research appointment as of December 31, 2023 (i.e., the official start date of the appointment must fall within the calendar years 2015-2020). Exceptions due to prolonged medical or family leave will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
• This award is not intended to be the main source of funding for the applicant’s laboratory. Applicants must demonstrate multi-year independent funding that sustains the central activities of the laboratory (e.g., at least one or two grants such as NIH/R01, NSF/CAREER, or equivalently substantial multi-year awards). Individual eligibility will be determined during the review process.
• Projects for this award must be centered on evidence-based laboratory, data, and/or medical science.
• Proposed projects must not be supported by other sources of funding. Finalists will be asked to discuss any potential overlap with other current or pending awards during the interview.
• Only one submission per applicant is permitted.
• If selected, finalists must be available for virtual interviews in October 2023 (Week to be announced).
• The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability or any other legally protected characteristics.

Summary

The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research actively partners with scientists to accelerate research that will transform the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. The Mark Foundation fulfills its mission by supporting groundbreaking science carried out by individual investigators, multi-disciplinary teams, and early-stage companies in the United States and across the globe. Recognizing the obstacles that prevent scientific advances from improving patient outcomes, the foundation maintains a nimble, high-impact approach to funding basic and translational cancer research that bridges the gap between bench and bedside through grants and venture investments.

The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research Emerging Leader Awards support innovative cancer research from the next generation of leaders. These grants are awarded to outstanding early career investigators to support high-impact, high-risk projects that are distinct from their current research portfolio.

Award Terms

The grant amount is $250,000 per year for three (3) years totaling $750,000. Indirect costs are not to exceed 10% of direct costs and are included in total. Emerging Leader Awards are granted to a single investigator; co-investigators are not permitted. The award may be used to support projects carried out with collaborators, who may provide letters of support. In Year 3, at The Mark Foundation’s discretion, select Awardees may be invited to apply for up to two (2) years of additional funding depending on project progress. The letter of agreement will include IP terms with a revenue sharing component. Award start date will be January 1, 2024.

Overhead

Indirect costs are not to exceed 10% of direct costs and are included in total.

Pre-application deadlines

RSO internal deadline

Pre-application program deadline

Application deadlines

RSO detailed review deadline

RSO final internal review deadline

Program application deadline

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Principal Investigators: Complete a Research Management System (RMS) record, including a copy of your complete application, and submit this for approvals in RMS.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via RMS in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process.