CCS, CIHR, and BC Spark Grants Funding Announcement

The Canadian Cancer Society (CCS), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Cancer Research (CIHR-ICR), and Brain Canada Foundation (BC) have committed a total of up to $2.4M over one year to jointly fund Spark Grants at up to $150K each, focused on Novel Technology Applications in Cancer Prevention and Early Detection. The intent of this program is to “spark” new activity in the development and/or application of truly novel approaches to cancer prevention and early detection.

Although most primary brain tumours have no known cause, the potential to harness the power of new technologies and interventions to reduce its severity remains – such as through early detection when the disease is at its most treatable, including the early detection of recurrence and metastatic spread.

Spark Grants will support the development of new partnerships and the exploration of highly novel concepts, involving researchers from any research area, and particularly from non-traditional cancer fields, such as engineering, AI, robotics, physics, nanoscience, statistics, informatics, computer and data sciences, behavioural science, and any other discipline poised to seed the next generation of disruptive technologies in cancer control. These grants are intended to support research that will provide the evidence for future larger grants that will serve as “game-changers” in the way we approach cancer prevention and early detection, disrupting existing methods and displacing the status quo. There will be two funding pools: breast cancer and other cancer (including brain). Grants will be funded in rank order within each funding pool.

• Up to $800,000 is available from CIHR-ICR to support Spark grants focused on breast cancer
• Up to $800,000 is available from BC, subject to availability of funds from CCS, to support Spark grants focused on brain cancer
• Up to $800,000 is available from CCS to support Spark grants on any cancer type

This funding opportunity has been made possible by the Brain Canada Foundation through the Canada Brain Research Fund, with the financial support of Health Canada, the Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Cancer Research.

Registration deadline is August 28th, 2020. More information on this funding opportunity can be found at: https://www.cancer.ca/en/research/grants-and-awards/current-funding-opportunities/spark-grants/