LUNGevity Foundation Issues Request for Applications for New Health Equity for Communities Research Award

The award will support young investigators interested in community-based participatory research whose projects address disparities and promote health equity in lung cancer

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LUNGevity Foundation

May 05, 2021, 07:40 ET

WASHINGTON, May 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- LUNGevity Foundation, the nation's leading lung cancer-focused nonprofit organization, is pleased to announce the new LUNGevity Health Equity for Communities Research Award. Young researchers interested in reducing health disparities in lung cancer can learn more about the award on the LUNGevity website at lungevity.org/our-research/community-based-participatory-research and submit their research proposals at proposalcentral.com.

Projects funded through this award program are expected to have a direct impact on disparities in vulnerable populations in the areas of lung cancer screening, biomarker testing, or inclusion in clinical research. The projects should demonstrate elimination of cancer health disparities at a geographic or population level, or demonstrate efficacy in terms of increased knowledge and/or changes in attitudes and beliefs, screening uptake, biomarker testing uptake, or clinical trial inclusion with scalability and impact. The awards may be for a maximum of $125,000 (direct and indirect) per year for two years, or a total maximum of $250,000.

Applicants must hold a doctoral degree and be within five years of their first faculty appointment with an academic institution, including research institutions that are not formally associated with a university. These are mentored awards; a career and mentoring plan is part of a final application.

"We are thrilled to issue the RFA for the Health Equity for Communities Research Award," says Andrea Ferris, LUNGevity's President and CEO. "The lung cancer space needs innovative, fresh ideas to help reduce health disparities. Through this award, we hope to fund research proposals that will create scalable and replicable solutions to address these disparities and allow young, talented researchers to pursue lung cancer health equity research."

Research projects are restricted to community-based participatory research (CBPR) in lung cancer. CBPR is a type of research that utilizes a partnership approach involving researchers, community members, and other stakeholders as partners throughout the research process to contribute expertise and share in decision making.

"This award requires community-based participatory research because CBPR brings together researchers and the community as equals. It is essential that the voices of the community have equal say in the proposed research question, process, strategies, and solutions," says Jeanne Regnante, LUNGevity's Chief Health Equity and Diversity Officer. "CBPR has also been identified by the NIH as a successful approach in creating interventions and prevention strategies to reduce health disparities."

The RFA for the award is available on the LUNGevity website at lungevity.org/our-research/community-based-participatory-research and on the proposalCentral website at proposalcentral.com. This RFA is made possible by the generous support of Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Letters of intent must be submitted by June 4, 2021.

This new award is the latest addition to the Foundation's robust research portfolio, which also includes translational science research awards and patient-focused research. This year, the Foundation also launched three new translational science research awards to support research from and/or for underrepresented populations, including veterans. LUNGevity's research is 100% patient-focused and aims to have the potential to revolutionize outcomes for those diagnosed with lung cancer.

About LUNGevity Foundation

LUNGevity Foundation is the nation's leading lung cancer organization focused on improving outcomes for people with lung cancer through research, policy initiatives, education, support, and engagement for patients, survivors, and caregivers. LUNGevity seeks to make an immediate impact on quality of life and survivorship for everyone touched by the disease—while promoting health equity by addressing disparities throughout the care continuum. LUNGevity works tirelessly to advance research into early detection and more effective treatments, provide information and educational tools to empower patients and their caregivers, promote impactful public policy initiatives, and amplify the patient voice through research and engagement. The organization provides an active community for patients and survivors—and those who help them live longer and better lives.

Comprehensive resources include a medically vetted and patient-centric website, a toll-free HELPLine for support, the International Lung Cancer Survivorship Conference, and an easy-to-use Clinical Trial Finder, among other tools. All of these programs are to achieve our vision—a world where no one dies of lung cancer. LUNGevity Foundation is proud to be a four-star Charity Navigator organization.

Please visit www.LUNGevity.org to learn more.

About Lung Cancer in the US

About 1 in 16 Americans will be diagnosed with lung cancer in their lifetime.
More than 235,000 people in the US will be diagnosed with lung cancer this year.
About 60%-65% of all new lung cancer diagnoses are among people who have never smoked or are former smokers.
Lung cancer takes more lives than the next three leading cancers (colorectal, breast, and prostate) combined.
Only 22% of all people diagnosed with lung cancer will survive 5 years or more, BUT if it's caught before it spreads, the chance of 5-year survival improves dramatically.

SOURCE LUNGevity Foundation