Breast Cancer Alliance invites clinical doctors and research scientists at any stage of their careers, including post docs, whose current proposal is focused on breast cancer, to apply for an Exceptional Project Grant. This award recognizes creative, unique and innovative research and is open to applicants at institutions in the contiguous United States. This is a one year grant for a total of $100,000.
The term of the Exceptional Project Grant is one year, beginning on March 1, 2025. Prior to submission of a formal grant proposal, BCA requires a one-page Letter of Intent (LOI) and a separate CV. For 2024 grants, those letters will be due on March 31, 2024 and should be emailed to researchgrants@breastcanceralliance.org. The LOI must contain the applicant’s name, job title and institution at the top of the page, and the applicant’s contact information. The document should state the project title and hypothesis, outline the research aim(s) and methods, and include a brief discussion of the project’s potential impact. The CV should be in the current NIH biosketch format. The grant provides salary support and project costs for a total of $100,000 (distributed over the one-year period as noted above.) Indirect costs, which are included in the $100,000 award, must be limited to 8% of total direct costs.
Applicants will be informed by mid-May 2024 whether they have been invited to proceed with a formal application. Researchers should coordinate with their institutions, as BCA will accept a maximum of 2 XP LOIs per institution and references for the LOI are not required.
Full applications for the Exceptional Project Grant are due on or before midnight EDT on July 19, 2024. An Independent External Review Committee reviews and evaluates the applications. Based on their results and subsequent review by the Grants Committee, recommendations will be made to the BCA Board for final approval. Applicants will be notified by mid-February 2025 of the decision regarding their proposals.
The 2025 application will be available for download soon.
For questions about the application process email: researchgrants@breastcanceralliance.org or see the FAQ's below
**You may only submit an LOI for each proposal for either an Exceptional Project Grant or a Young Investigator Grant. It is your choice as to which application best suits your experience.
To encourage a commitment to breast cancer research, Breast Cancer Alliance invites clinical doctors and research scientists who are in the early stages of their careers, including post docs, whose current proposal is focused on breast cancer, to apply for funding for the Young Investigator Grant. This grant is open to applicants at institutions in the contiguous United States. This is a two-year grant for a total of $125,000, with half the grant award being paid out each year.
Applicants for the 2025 award must (i) not have held a tenure track faculty or tenure track research position for more than four years following completion of their training, as of March 1, 2025; (ii) not have been or are not a principal investigator on an NIH R01 or equivalent national/international non-mentored award as of March 1, 2025; and (iii) dedicate at least 50% of their work effort to research. This grant is intended to help advance the careers of young researchers who do not yet have their own major grant support but who design and conduct their own independent research projects.
The term of the Young Investigator Grant is two years, beginning on March 1, 2025. The grant provides salary support and project costs for a total of $125,000 (distributed over the two-year period as noted above.) Indirect costs, which are included in the $125,000 award, must be limited to 8% of total direct costs.
Prior to submission of a formal grant proposal, BCA now requires a one-page Letter of Intent (LOI) and a separate CV. For 2025 grants, those letters will be due on March 31, 2024 and should be emailed to researchgrants@breastcanceralliance.org. The LOI must contain the applicant’s name, job title and institution at the top of the page, and the applicant’s contact information. The document should state the project title and hypothesis, outline the research aim(s) and methods, and include a brief discussion of the project’s potential impact. The CV should be in the current NIH biosketch format.
Applicants will be informed by mid-May 2024 whether they have been invited to proceed with a formal application. Researchers should coordinate with their institutions, as BCA will accept a maximum of 2 YIG LOIs per institution and references for the LOI are not required.
Full applications for the Young Investigator Grant are due on or before midnight EDT on July 19, 2024 An Independent External Review Committee reviews and evaluates the applications. Based on their results and subsequent review by the Grants Committee, recommendations will be made to the BCA Board for final approval. Applicants will be notified by mid-February 2025 of the decision regarding their proposals.
The 2025 application can be downloaded soon.
For questions about the application process email: researchgrants@breastcanceralliance.org or see the FAQ's below
**You may only submit an LOI for each proposal for either an Exceptional Project Grant or a Young Investigator Grant. It is your choice as to which application best suits your experience.
Exceptional Project Applicants:
Question: Are Exceptional Projects open to clinical doctors and research scientists at any stage of their careers, including postdoctoral fellows?
Answer: Yes
Question: Is it permitted to have more than one PI on an Exceptional Project?
Answer: Yes
Question: If we submit with multi-PI’s, would we need a letter of support from both department heads?
Answer: If more than one individual will be formally listed as a PI on the project, and they are from different institutions, then a someone authorized to speak on behalf of the institution in terms of committing to support, and who has direct knowledge of the status and qualifications of the PI, should each sign off on behalf of his/her respective institution.
Question: Are there any specific eligibility requirements regarding the subject matter of the project and additional funding sources? For example, if I am working on a project that is partially funded by another source, would it be possible to apply for the BCA Exceptional Project Grant to cover a component of the project (for example, sequencing studies) that is not currently included in the budget of any other awarded grant?
Answer: There is no limitation on the subject matter of the project as long as it is reasonably related to the treatment, prevention or cure of breast cancer. However, the proposed project should be an exceptional project that can stand alone. Existing funding for a related aspect of the proposed project is not in itself disqualifying, but we would not, for example, consider the payment for sequencing studies in an otherwise funded project to be eligible for an exceptional project grant.
Question: Can affiliated institutions with separate DUNS numbers submit more than 2 applications?
Answer: If multiple affiliated institutions within a university or health care system each have separate DUNS numbers, each can submit up to 2 applications.
Young Investigator Grants:
Question: Are postdoctoral fellows eligible to apply for this award?
Answer: Yes, as long as they meet all the stated eligibility criteria for a Young Investigator. They must also provide a letter of support from their institution confirming that they will have institutional resources available to them throughout the two-year term of the grant.
Question: Is an LOI required for this type of grant?
Answer: Yes
Question: If an applicant for the Young Investigator Grant is currently funded by the R00 phase of an NIH K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award, are they eligible to apply?
Answer: Yes
General and Application-related questions:
Question: What is the preferred format for submission of a full application?
Answer: The application should be submitted through the link on this page with all required components included in the document. Some individuals providing reference letters on behalf of an applicant prefer to send those separately; if this is the case, please let the Research Grants team know that a letter of reference will be arriving separately from the application.
Question: Is there a preferred format for the biohazards, human investigation and laboratory animal statements required for the application?
Answer: There content of each required statement should follow the NIH requirements for the corresponding statements.
Question: Do you require a hard copy of the application to accompany the emailed copy?
Answer: No, but the electronic submission must be submitted by the deadline date or it will not be considered for funding.
Question: Do you need to be a US citizen to apply for a BCA grant?
Answer: You do not have to be a US citizen to apply, but you must be affiliated with a US institution at which the grant project will be carried out.
Question: Does being a reviewer on BCA’s External Review Committee make you ineligible to submit an application for an Exceptional Project grant?
Answer: Being a current reviewer is not disqualifying for submission of an LOI or application, but an individual who is submitting an LOI, or is invited to submit a full application based on an LOI, would not be eligible to serve as a reviewer during the time his/her LOI or application are pending review.
Breast Cancer Alliance offers grants to support programs directly related to outreach and case managerial breast cancer services, including education, counseling, biopsies and mammograms for the underserved. The programs must be located in Connecticut and/or in Westchester County, New York. The term of the Education and Outreach Grant is one calendar year beginning April 1. The program must be directly related to breast cancer services. The Breast Cancer Alliance does not fund office supplies, medical supplies, financial aid (i.e. gas bills, transportation, rent, overhead, grocery gift certificates, fringe benefits, etc.) printing costs, travel costs, marketing costs, recruitment costs or training programs.
The Grants Committee of Breast Cancer Alliance reviews and evaluates each grant proposal. The results of the Grants Committee’s evaluations and subsequent recommendations are presented to the BCA Board for approval. Applicants are notified by March 2024 of the decision regarding their proposals.
The 2023 midterm report template can be here and the 2023 final report template is available here.
The 2024 application can be completed here.
For questions about any education and outreach grants please email: edoutgrants@breastcanceralliance.org
The term of the Breast Surgical Fellowship is one year with a grant award of $75,000, from August 1 through July 31. Institutions making application for the 2023 award must have an established breast fellowship program, be SSO accredited for a minimum of 2 years, and be located in Connecticut, New Jersey or New York.
Any publicity associated with this program and any papers published in association with the work done during or as a result of this fellowship must recognize the Breast Cancer Alliance. Institutions should only put forth applicants who are US citizens, are a MD, and have successfully completed a general surgery residency at a US medical center. No more than one CV may be submitted for consideration per institution, and no more than one fellowship will be awarded to any individual SSO accredited institution. For questions about fellowship funding please email: fellowships@breastcanceralliance.org. Applications are due on or before midnight on December 1, 2023 and should include two references to accompany the candidates CV. Applications after the deadline will not be considered. Applicants will be notified by March 2024 of the decision regarding their proposals.
