American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant (ACS IRG) Pilot Awards

The 2025 IRG pilot awards cycle is now CLOSED.
The next RFA will be released in the summer of 2026.

2025 ACS IRG Request for Applications (RFA)

The Washington University ACS IRG will award pilot grants for up to three investigators up to a maximum of $40,000 for one year (non-renewable). These grants are designed to support the development of beginning investigators who have no national peer-reviewed research grant support. The program supports early-career faculty conducting cancer research pilot projects to obtain preliminary results that will enable them to compete successfully for national research grants.

Eligibility: At the time of award, applicants must be:

  • tenure track-bound or clinical track-bound Instructors at WashU, OR
  • tenure track or clinical track Assistant Professors at WashU, AND
  • within six (6) years of their first independent research or faculty appointment (at any institution).
  • Postdoctoral fellows, research track investigators, and senior, tenured faculty members are not eligible.
  • Applicants must be SCC members or have applied for SCC membership at the time of grant submission.
  • Applicants are NOT required to be U.S. citizens, but any applicant who is not a U.S. citizen must hold a visa that will allow them to remain in the U.S. long enough to complete the IRG pilot project and provide SCC with the appropriate documentation at the time of submission.
  • Investigators already receiving support from a national competitive research grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)*, National Science Foundation (NSF), American Cancer Society (ACS) or other major organizations are not eligible.
    * As long as the applicant meets all other criteria, holders of personnel awards, such as the NIH K series (except K99/R00), are eligible to receive pilot project money from the IRG.

Click to read about the projects funded last cycle: https://siteman.wustl.edu/siteman-cancer-center-announces-2025-american-cancer-society-funded-pilot-projects/

2025 ACS IRG Timeline

Announcement: July 10, 2025
Application Due via proposalCENTRAL: August 22, 2025 at 4PM CST
Anticipated Award Decision Date: December 1, 2025
Start Date: January 1, 2026

If you are interested in learning more about the application process, please reach out to Steve Baer at [email protected].

Application Documents

ACS IRG Request For Applications (RFA) (revised July 2025)
ACS IRG Cover Sheet (revised July 2025)
ACS IRG Application Forms (revised July 2025)
American Cancer Society Awardee Policies (revised January 2024)

Previous Awardees

Click for a list of previous ACS IRG Awardees (2015-2025).