Eligibility

• The PI must be an independent investigator within 6 years of their last training position (e.g., postdoctoral fellowship; medical residency; clinical fellowship) as of the application submission deadline. Postdoctoral fellows, clinical fellows (including residents and interns), and other researchers currently in training positions are not eligible.
• The PI must maintain a 50% dedication of their full-time professional effort during the award period to breast cancer research.
• An eligible PI, regardless of ethnicity, nationality, or citizenship status, must be employed by, or affiliated with, an eligible organization.
• Experience in breast cancer research is not required; however, the application must focus on breast cancer

Funding Priorities

• As the intent of the Era of Hope Scholar Award is to recognize creative and innovative individuals rather than projects, the central features of the award are the demonstrated ability of the individual named as the Principal Investigator (PI) in the application to go beyond conventional thinking in their field and the innovative contribution that the PI can make toward ending breast cancer. The application should articulate a vision that challenges current dogma and demonstrates an ability to look beyond tradition and convention.
• FY20 BCRP Era of Hope Scholar Award applications must address at least one of the following overarching challenges unless adequate justification for exception is provided.*
  • Prevent breast cancer (primary prevention)
  • Identify determinants of breast cancer initiation, risk, or susceptibility
  • Distinguish deadly from non-deadly breast cancers
  • Conquer the problems of overdiagnosis and overtreatment
  • Identify what drives breast cancer growth; determine how to stop it
  • Identify why some breast cancers become metastatic
  • Determine why/how breast cancer cells lie dormant for years and then re-emerge; determine how to prevent lethal recurrence
  • Revolutionize treatment regimens by replacing them with ones that are more effective, less toxic, and impact survival
  • Eliminate mortality associated with metastatic breast cancer
  • *Alternatively, with adequate justification, applications may identify and address another overarching challenge related to the breast cancer landscape. Justification must be provided in the application.

Additional Information

• Pre-Application Submission Deadline: 5:00 p.m. Eastern time (ET), August 31, 2021
• Application Submission Deadline: 11:59 p.m. ET, September 14, 2021
• The anticipated direct costs budgeted for the entire period of performance for an FY20 BCRP Era of Hope Scholar Award will not exceed $3M.