LUNGevity Issues Five RFAs Totaling $2.3M for Translational Research Awards in Lung Cancer

Applications are now available online

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Continuing a long-term commitment to improving outcomes for lung cancer patients by supporting the next generation of lung cancer researchers, LUNGevity Foundation, the nation's leading lung cancer-focused nonprofit, has issued five Requests for Application (RFAs).

"Lung cancer continues to be the number one cancer killer in the United States, but it is woefully underfunded. Only 6% of federal government dollars spent on cancer research go toward lung cancer research. LUNGevity is stepping up to help maintain a strong pipeline of lung cancer researchers," said Upal Basu Roy, PhD, MPH, LUNGevity's executive director of research. "Each of our Award Programs is strategically designed to overcome critical challenges facing the lung cancer community. For example, we have an award focused on improving early detection — a critical need in our community — as we build a world where no one dies of lung cancer."

• LUNGevity's Early Detection Research Award Program supports translational research projects directed at new approaches to improve clinical methods for the detection and diagnosis of primary tumors. Applicants must hold a doctoral degree and have a faculty appointment. This is a two- or three-year $600,000 award.
  
  
• Now in its eleventh year, LUNGevity's Career Development Award Program is a coveted award that supports future research leaders who will keep the field of lung cancer research vibrant with new ideas. Research that will be funded in 2023 is expected to have a direct impact on the early detection of lung cancer and/or individualized lung cancer treatment, including through targeted therapy and immunotherapy. This is a mentored, three-year $300,000 award. This year, we are honored to partner with Lung Cancer Initiative and welcome applications from the state of North Carolina.
  
  
• LUNGevity's Veterans Affairs Research Scholar Award Program supports investigators interested in lung cancer research within the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Applicants must hold a doctoral degree and either be pursuing a postdoctoral fellowship program or be junior faculty within the first five years of their faculty appointment at the time of application. This is a $100,000 two-year award.
  
  
• LUNGevity's Health Equity and Inclusiveness Junior Investigator Award Program supports physician-scientists interested in conducting lung cancer clinical research and bridging health disparities by engaging underserved communities/underrepresented minorities. Applicants must hold a doctoral degree, be within the first five years of their first faculty appointment, and have completed a training fellowship. This is a $200,000 two-year award.
  
  
• LUNGevity's Health Equity and Inclusiveness Research Fellow Award Program supports fellows who belong to underrepresented minorities in STEM who are interested in lung cancer research. Applicants must hold a doctoral degree, be pursuing a postdoctoral fellowship, and plan to pursue a career in lung cancer. This is a $100,000 two-year award.

"Over the past decade, LUNGevity's research portfolio has grown and evolved as we learned more about the biology of lung cancer and how to treat it," said Charles Rudin, MD, PhD, chief of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Thoracic Oncology Service and chair of LUNGevity's Scientific Advisory Board. "LUNGevity's longstanding focus on developing a strong lung cancer workforce is a powerful approach that is complemented by strategically targeting key, impactful investments in lung cancer research for both early detection and novel therapeutics. Taken together, they are likely to yield exciting results in lung cancer for many years to come."

All LUNGevity RFAs listed above have a two-step application process. An applicant must first submit a letter of intent (LOI) due February 27, 2023. Only a subset of applicants will be invited to submit a full application after the LOIs are reviewed; these applications will be due May 8, 2023.

Award recipients are expected to be announced in late summer 2023.

For more information about these awards, including full application details, visit the LUNGevity website at LUNGevity.org/apply-for-award and the proposalCENTRAL website at proposalcentral.com.

About LUNGevity Foundation

LUNGevity Foundation is the nation's leading lung cancer organization focused on improving outcomes for people with lung cancer. The foundation works tirelessly to advance research into early detection and more effective treatments, and to ensure that patients have access to these advances. 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 provides 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 better and longer 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.

About Lung Cancer in the US

• About 1 in 16 Americans will be diagnosed with lung cancer in their lifetime.
• More than 238,000 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 in the United States than the next two deadliest cancers (colorectal and pancreatic) combined.
• Only about 23% of all people diagnosed with lung cancer in the United States will survive 5 years or more, BUT if it is caught before it spreads, the chance of 5-year survival improves dramatically.

Please visit LUNGevity.org to learn more.

SOURCE LUNGevity Foundation