American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant

The American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant (ACS IRG), awarded by the American Cancer Society, is a block award that enables the University of New Mexico (UNM) Comprehensive Cancer Center to award pilot grants to early career investigators, who are not principal investigators of an NIH R01 or equivalent grant (but who are eligible to apply for them).  The purpose is to support the career development of new investigators to conduct independent cancer research, to increase the base of cancer-relevant research at UNM, and finally, to foster direct relationships between funded institutions and the local ACS.

Junior faculty members within six years of their first independent faculty appointment in any School and College are eligible to receive research support through the ACS IRG.   Recipients of IRG pilot project grants may be, at the time of the application, United States citizens, noncitizen nationals, permanent residents of the United States, or a non-US citizen that holds a visa allowing the applicant to remain in the US long enough to complete the IRG pilot project.  Applicants must be eligible to apply for independent national competitive research grants but may not currently hold an NIH R01 or equivalent grant (defined by ACS as an award of more than $100K in direct costs annually for more than three years).  Support of senior investigators or postdoctoral fellows is not permitted. Eligibility is not affected by prior internal or regional research awards.

The ACS IRG is awarded to the institution as a whole, therefore, funds are available to support cancer-related proposals from any UNM school, college, or department.       

For each calendar year, up to 3 awards will be granted for a one-year project; awards will be $40,000 each, plus a $10,000 voucher to use the UNM Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Shared Resources.    Allocations will include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Excellent basic, translational, clinical, and/or population-based research proposals that have the potential to advance our understanding, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of cancer and also to advance the career of the recipient
• Behavioral, psychosocial, and/or interventional research proposals that particularly address the special needs of New Mexico's populations in areas of cancer control, prevention, support and management
• Individuals from groups under-represented in STEM careers are encouraged to apply