RFA: American Cancer Society Catalyst Awards
Purpose
The American Cancer Society (ACS) has a longstanding commitment to fund impactful cancer research and invest in the careers of researchers, often early on in their careers.
We recognize that there has been a decrease in available funding
for cancer research, resulting in a surplus of innovative and potentially impactful research projects that have gone unfunded.
To this end, the ACS announced the ACS Catalyst Award.
Mark Your Calendar
Application Deadline: Jan. 5, 2026
Application Review: Feb. 2026
Notification: March 2026
Anticipated Grant Start: May 1, 2026
The purpose of the Catalyst Award opportunity is to catalyze the research of early-stage investigators with high-scoring, but unfunded research projects recently submitted to either the ACS Research Scholar Grant or the National Cancer Institute (NCI) R01 grant funding mechanisms. Through the Catalyst Awards, ACS intends to sustain the projects and investigators as they continue to apply for research grants, including resubmissions of their unfunded proposals.
The applicant must clearly articulate and justify the need for the ACS Catalyst Award. The requested funds must support the project and fall within the scope of the proposed grant initially submitted to either ACS or NCI. Applications will be accepted in all areas of cancer research.
Eligibility
Applicants are encouraged to review the Catalyst Policies document for all information on institution and applicant eligibility requirements.
The principal investigator must have a doctoral degree, work at a US academic institution or eligible nonprofit, and have an independent faculty appointment (or equivalent position).
Application Status
In addition, the applicant must meet one of these situations:
Must have applied for an ACS Research Scholar Grant in 2024-2025 and received a review score of Outstanding, had their application moved forward for funding consideration, but the application was not funded (i.e., the application was given a status of contingent)
Must have applied for an NIH R01 to the NCI in 2024-2025 and scored at or below the 15th percentile but did not receive funding.
Eligibility Requirements for Research Scholar Grants
Applicants must also meet the eligibility criteria for the ACS Research Scholar Grant:
- Must be within 10 years of their initial independent research/independent full-time faculty appointment (or equivalent).
- Must currently be in an independent research position/faculty position at an eligible US institution.
See the Catalyst Award policies for the guidelines for independence.
- Cannot be the PI (MPI in included) of more than 1 R01/R01-equivalent award at the time of the application deadline. An R01-equivalent is a research project grant of more than $100,000 direct costs per year for more than 3 years.
Exceptions: Start-up funding, mentored or training awards, awards intended to primarily support the salary of the applicant, and company-sponsored clinical trials that are not investigator-initiated are excluded from this definition.
- The scope of the ACS Catalyst Award submission cannot be currently funded by another funding agency.
- Current or former ACS Catalyst Award grantees are not eligible to apply.
Budget and Term
Each award is for one year and $150,000 direct costs only. Indirect costs cannot be claimed.
Applying
All application instructions and materials are located on ProposalCentral, and eligible applicants will be given access to the materials by the ACS. Applicants must discuss applying with the ACS to be given access to the application materials.
Application Deadline: January 5, 2026
Catalyst Award Application Instructions and Catalyst Award Policies
Program Contact
- ACS Research Scholar Grant applicants should work directly with their ACS scientific program office.
- NIH R01 applicants may contact Doug Hurst, PhD, at doug.hurst@cancer.org.
