Welcome to the GO Nano grant information page
BACKGROUND.
At the heart of nanotechnology is our ability to understand and control the fundamental building blocks of all physical things. In medicine, nanoscale approaches have empowered researchers to discover and apply new tools for detecting and treating a variety of diseases. More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has confirmed that longstanding investments in nanomedicine as well as decades of foundational science in the field have enabled the ability to package RNA in lipid nanoparticles to deliver vaccines to patients with unprecedented speed. Where the field stands today is with a bolder vision shaped by broader cancer applications: from synergizing with checkpoint inhibition, potentiating adoptive cell therapy, enabling cancer vaccines, intro-operative margin detection, to ultrasensitive detection of tumor-associated analytes. And while there were already several approved nanoparticle-based therapies, we stand at a moment in time where nanoparticles have now been administered safely to millions of people around the world.
SCOPE.
The goal of the Marble Center for Cancer Nanomedicine’s Global Oncology Nano (GO Nano) Request for Proposal (RFP) is to support MIT investigators in advancing innovative new ideas to solve global oncology challenges and support underserved cancer patients around the world. Research funded by the GO Nano RFP is interdisciplinary and high-risk. It leverages advances in miniaturized technologies to collaboratively address disparities and differences in cancer prevention, early detection, and care, while ensuring affordability and potential impact in low-resource settings as essential design components.
APPLICATION INFORMATION.
Innovative, early-stage, cutting-edge projects are required as are collaborations, especially across disciplines. All areas of research impacting global oncology will be considered. Special consideration will be given to new investigators from diverse backgrounds, including from groups nationally underrepresented in biomedical sciences research. Applications from multiple PIs are accepted and encouraged, but each grant will be capped at $100,000 total costs.
Applications should include the components outlined below. Please send the complete application including the attached cover sheet (HERE) and applicable budget form by Friday December 16, 2022 to tfadel@mit.edu with subject “GO Nano.” Pre-approval by Mary Ellen Acone (meacone@mit.edu) is REQUIRED BEFORE FINAL SUBMISSION.
(1) Research Proposal (4-page limit, exclusive of references): The research proposal should include the following sections:
Background. The background section can be brief (no more than 1 page) and should include relevance to global oncology as well as the aspects of cancer research, diagnosis, treatment, or prevention that your project is designed to address.
Specific aims. The aims should be quite detailed. The evaluation of funded grants will be based on success towards achieving stated aims.
Research plan. Provide details about how the studies will be conducted as well as explicit milestones. We do not require any preliminary results or figures—if included, we ask to please follow the 4-page limit requirement.
Global oncology impact statement. Describe how this technology will help address long-standing health disparities in your area of cancer research, as well as its deployment potential in terms of cost/affordability and operability.
Literature cited (does not count toward the 4-page limit).
(2) Selection: Two proposals will be selected by a review committee based on the following criteria for evaluating research proposals: a) impact, b) approach, and c) team.
Impact: Does the project address an important challenge in global oncology? Does it seek to shift current research or clinical practice paradigms to address health disparities in the field?
Approach: Does the project introduce a relevant (nanoscale) approach to address a global oncology challenge? Are the strategy and methods appropriate to accomplish the specific aims of the project?
Team: Do the researchers present diverse, complementary, and integrated expertise?
(3) Budget: Applicants must use the ATTACHED EXCEL FORM to build a preliminary budget and include it with their application. The KI pre-award team is available to assist with your budgets between October 10 and October 27. Please contact ki-preaward@mit.edu as soon as possible to set up an appointment. A budget review by the KI pre-award team is required prior to submission.
Budgets are requested—and support in building them provided—to ensure optimal use of the funds. Each application will include a budget up to $100,000 total costs.
Note: Special indirect cost rules apply to projects that are supported by gift funds. Most project costs (for example, materials & supplies and equipment) will be subjected to a 10% fee. However, personnel will be subjected to full MIT overhead (current rate at time of award) and fringe benefits, which will be charged out of the total award budget.
TERMS OF AWARD.
The award term for funded projects is Jan 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023. It is expected that awarded funds will be expended within the stated award term, and that reasonable efforts will be made to complete the work outlined in the proposal. More details on expectations related to timely spending will be provided in award letters.
Awardees are required to participate in all Marble Center related activities, including monthly seminars and other events, and must acknowledge funding from the Marble Center for Cancer Nanomedicine in associated publications. A final narrative report must be submitted by all project PI(s) to tfadel@mit.edu no later than 5PM on December 8, 2023. This report should consist of two (2) one-page summaries, the first geared toward a lay audience and the second to a scientific one, as well as a listing of any publications, follow-on funding, IP filings, or other noteworthy developments, including those in process. Figures are welcome on additional pages.
