University of Maryland

Marlene & Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center (UMGCCC)

FY27 Pilot Grant Program

Drug Discovery and Validation Pilot Award (DDVPA)

Sub-Category 1: Career Development in Target Discovery and Validation Pilot Award (CDPA)

Purpose

The CPDA supports researchers in conducting early-stage, lead identification and/or target validation projects via a partnership between the Center for Biomolecular Therapeutics (CBT) and UMGCCC.

Eligible Applicants

• Researchers at any stage in their career (graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, scientific staff and/or other scientists) seeking a career development opportunity in cancer therapeutic development, including Early-Stage Investigators (ESIs), who themselves are faculty members, and within five years of their initial faculty appointment.
• Principal Investigators (PIs) must be Program in Oncology (PIO) members in good standing and have shown engagement and participation as a member at UMGCCC as indicated in the membership guidelines (regular participation in programmatic seminars and events, pilot project reviewer, participation in surveys, mentor trainees, etc.).

Examples of Eligible Projects: 

• Projects involving structure (NMR, cryoEM, X-ray) and computer-aided drug design (CADD), protein engineering/biophysics (PEB), target validation and/or screening (TVS) studies, in vivo biology & drug testing (IVBDT) and/or some other feasible research tasks towards advancing therapeutic development
• Research activities including (but not limited to):
  • Developing a high throughput drug screening (HTS) assay
  • Exploratory drug screen
  • Structural and/or biophysical studies of a drug target
  • Computer-aided drug design
  • In vivo testing of a lead compound(s)
  • Other well-defined drug development deliverable(s) or research activities

Award Information

• Maximum: $10,000 
• A total of ten awards will be made across both DDVPA categories.

Review Criteria 

• Significance – Does the research address an important cancer-related scientific question and support the mission of the UMGCCC?  Will support lead to a multi-PI, U01, P01, SPORE or similar applications for external funding? Will it lead to peer-reviewed publications? 
• Relevance to Catchment Area – Does the proposed project address one or more of key determinants of cancer outcomes relevant to UMGCCCC catchment area including cancer biology, prevalence and incidence, prevention, treatments, care access, geography, outcomes, and survivorship relevant to specific communities?
• Approach – Are the design and methods appropriate, and can the research be completed within the proposed period?
• Innovation – Are scientific questions and/or approaches novel?
• Investigators – Are the researchers qualified, and does the team include one or more collaborations among PIO research programs?
• Environment – Is the environment supportive and are UMGCCC Shared Resources used? 
• Training – Does the proposed research allow for the applicant to learn a technique that will provide data towards advancing therapeutic development? 

Application Process and Components

Part I: Mandatory Consultation

• Those interested in applying must contact Kristen Varney (kvarney@som.umaryland.edu) to schedule a GCCC/CBT consultation. At the end of the consultation a decision will be made regarding the next steps.

Part II: Invited Proposals

Applicants who identify feasible deliverable(s) during the mandatory consultation will be asked to submit:

1. Title page to include: 
   1. Names of all key personnel
   2. Project title
   3. PIO member or mentor program affiliation
   4. Shared Resources used
   5. Description of engagement and participation as a member at UMGCCC
2. 1–2-page research strategy to include:
   1. Scientific justification of the target selected
   2. Drug development objectives
   3. Approach
   4. Specific deliverables/tasks including timeline for each task
   5. Milestones to be achieved from the award should be listed. How achieving such a milestone would enhance publications, patents, and/or impact new or existing external funding in cancer research should be discussed, including specific RFAs the team plans to pursue, if applicable.
   6. How the proposal would make use of UMGCCC and/or shared resources should be described.
3. Budget (NIH form 398) – no salary allowed (faculty or staff)
4. NIH biosketches for all key personnel

Part III. Award Conditions and Outcome Reporting:

• Applicants or mentors must be active Program in Oncology (PIO) members and have shown engagement and participation as a member at UMGCCC as indicated in the membership guidelines (regular participation in programmatic seminars and events, pilot project reviewer, participation in surveys, mentor trainees, etc.).
• Applications that span more than one PIO research program are strongly encouraged.
• Unspent funds cannot be carried forward without detailed justification and approval.
• Applicants are responsible for cost overruns.
• Any expenses deemed unallowable will become the recipient(s)'s responsibility.
• F&A (indirect) costs will not be provided.
• Salary is not allowed (faculty or staff).
• Funding requests for travel, memberships, subscriptions, and telecommunications are not permitted.
• Applicants are solely responsible for having appropriate institutional approvals (IRB, IACUC, EHS, etc.) before projects are undertaken.
• Final Progress Report: Project reporting during the award, which includes a final report at its completion, is required and will be achieved with the collaborating members of the CBT for the CDPA opportunity and TWG for the Advancing Drug Development opportunity. The Cigarette Restitution Fund and the NCI Cancer Center Support Grant, both of which fund this initiative, include strict reporting requirements. A one- to two-page final scientific report will be required within 90 days of the close of the pilot project.
• Applicants will be contacted annually by UMGCCC Administration to request updates on pending and awarded grants and publications from success(es) of the award. Be sure to carefully cite & track publications, research applications, patents, inventions, collaborations, etc.

Mandatory Citations

All efforts resulting from this funding opportunity must include the following citations:

• This (article, conference, publication, etc.) was supported by funds through the Maryland Department of Health Cigarette Restitution Fund Program – CH-649-CRF.
• This (article, conference, publication, etc.) was supported by funds through the National Cancer Institute – Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG) – P30CA134274.

Questions & Application Due Date

• Questions about the RFA should be addressed to Sarah Laye, UMGCCC Assistant Director for Administration at slaye@som.umaryland.edu. 
• Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and undergo committee review quarterly on:
  • March 15^th
  • July 15^th
  • November 15^th
• This DDVPA opportunity is open for application submission until further notice.