Featured Grants
NEW RFA for Melanoma Metastasis Research
The American Cancer Society (ACS) and the Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA) have partnered to support research by requesting grant applications involving interdisciplinary teams to better understand and manage metastasis of melanoma and other types of cancer.
A total of $2 million committed equally by ACS and MRA will be used to fund 2 Team Awards at $1 million over a 3-year term.
A Letter of Intent (LOI) is required. The LOI Deadline is January 16, 2019. See details.
Mission Boost Grants
What they're for: Mission Boost Grants are specifically for the Translation of research to human testing.
Who can apply: Current and past American Cancer Society (ACS) grantees
Funding Amount: 2 stages of funding, totaling $240K to $600K
1st Step: Letter of Intent (LOI)
All New Initiatives and Requests for Applications
With a primary focus on beginning investigators, the American Cancer Society’s Extramural Grants Program seeks to support and promote high impact and innovative cancer research across a wide range of disciplines to meet critically important needs in the control of cancer.
Thank you for considering the American Cancer Society for your research funding opportunities. This list describes our newest initiative, Mission Boost Grants, and the research areas for which we're seeking applications:
- Mission Boost Grant
- RFA: Understanding and Managing Metastasis in Melanoma and Other Cancers
- RFA: The Role of Health Policy and Health Insurance in Improving Access to and Performance of Cancer Prevention, Early Detection, and Treatment Services
- RFA: Pilot and Exploratory Projects in Palliative Care of Cancer Patients and Their Families
Our Grant Process
As the nation's largest private, not-for-profit source of funds for scientists studying cancer, the American Cancer Society (ACS) focuses its funding on investigator-initiated, peer-reviewed proposals. This process ensures that scientists propose projects that they believe are ready to be tackled with the available knowledge and techniques. This intellectual freedom encourages discovery in areas that scientists believe are most likely to solve the problems of cancer. To learn more:
Application Deadlines
Grant applications for most grant types are accepted 2 times per year – April 1 and October 15. Please review the individual grant types from links on this page or see the full listing of all grant deadlines.
Questions About Eligibility Status
Applicants who are uncertain about their eligibility status may request a review.
- Send requests for evaluation of eligibility and any questions to grant.eligibility@cancer.org.
- Requests for review about eligibility must be received no later than 6 weeks before to the application submission deadline. That's by September 1 for the October 15 deadline and by February 15 for the April 1 deadline.
- Please attach 1) a letter that includes rationale for requesting an exception to the American Cancer Society eligibility rules and 2) a full curriculum vitae (not a biosketch).
- If your request is approved, you will receive a formal letter confirming your eligibility to apply. When you send in your application, add your confirmation letter to the appendix.
Research Grants for Independent Investigators
The American Cancer Society supports investigator-initiated projects across the cancer research continuum.
Research Scholar Grants (RSGs) are awards are for up to 4 years and for up to $165,000 per year for direct costs, plus 20% allowable indirect costs. Independent investigators in the first 6 years of an independent research career or faculty appointment are eligible to apply. Eligibility is extended for 8 years for clinician scientists who remain active in clinical care.
Institutional Research Grants (IRGs) are block grants given to institutions as "seed money" for the initiation of projects by promising junior investigators. They average $120,000 a year for 3 years.
Mentored Research Grants
These training and career development awards support the training of cancer researchers at a variety of early career levels and disciplines.
Health Professional Training Grants
Health Professional Training Grants (HPTGs) include both grants and scholarships awarded to nurses, physicians, and social workers.
Professor Grants
The American Cancer Society offers a limited number of grants to mid-career investigators who have made seminal contributions that have changed the direction of basic, clinical, psychosocial, behavioral, health policy or epidemiologic cancer research.
International Fellowships
International Fellowships are funded by the American Cancer Society with the objective of fostering a bi-directional flow of knowledge, experience, expertise, and innovation between countries. The Audrey Meyer Mars International Fellowships in Clinical Oncology provide one year of advanced training in clinical oncology at participating US cancer centers to qualified physicians and dentists from other countries, particularly countries where advanced training is not readily available.