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

The 2023 pilot awards cycle is now closed.
The next RFA will be released in Summer 2024.

The Washington University ACS IRG will award pilot grants for up to five investigators (including the new Cancer Research Diversity Pilot Award recipients) 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. Investigators already receiving support 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.

NEW OPPORTUNITY: Cancer Research Diversity Pilot Award – The American Cancer Society is supporting up to two an additional pilot awards targeted specifically for early-career faculty who are underrepresented in medicine (URiM). Only applicants who identify as African American (or Black), American Indian, Alaska Native, Hispanic (or Latinx), Native Hawaiian, or other Pacific Islander are eligible for this pilot grant slot (Source: NIH NOT-OD-20-031). All other eligibility guidelines apply. If you would like to be considered for this opportunity, please indicate this on the cover sheet of your application.

2023 ACS IRG Timeline

July 14, 2023 – Call for proposals
August 18, 2023 (4PM CST) – Application Due
October 30, 2023 – Earliest Award Decision Date
January 1, 2024 – Pilot Project Start Date

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)
ACS IRG Cover Sheet
ACS IRG Application Forms
American Cancer Society Awardee Policies

Previous Awardees (2015-2023)