Improving Sarcoma Diagnosis Funding Call

This Improving Sarcoma Diagnosis funding round aims to fund scientific and clinical research projects which ultimately aim to drive positive change in how sarcomas are detected and diagnosed. Proposals must have a clear and considered line of sight towards improving the diagnosis for sarcoma.

Applicants must also clearly outline how this funding will pave the way towards securing larger-scale funding, setting out a plan to take this forward.

Based on the outcome of scoping calls and the joint meeting, applications that address the following questions are encouraged:

• How could sarcoma be diagnosed more quickly or more accurately using biomarkers?
• How could people at an increased risk of having sarcoma be identified, stratified and/or monitored?
• How could health systems be optimised to improve sarcoma diagnosis?
• How could data, technology and artificial intelligence be utilised to improve the diagnosis of sarcoma?

However, the areas listed here are not exhaustive. We are able to consider a broad range of applications which aim to ultimately deliver early, faster and more accurate diagnosis for sarcoma, and these may cover a number of research areas from a range of scientific disciplines. All proposals must have a clear and considered line of sight towards early diagnosis for sarcoma patients and this will be considered as part of the assessment process.

Out of scope

Areas of research that will be considered out of scope for this funding call include:

• Research focussing on detecting late-stage disease/metastasis in someone who has already been diagnosed with sarcoma and monitoring response to treatment, relapse or recurrence of sarcoma. This funding call is to improve the primary/initial diagnosis of sarcoma. Your proposal may however be suitable for other funding schemes offered by either charity.
• Proposals which focus on population-level screening. However,
  proposals which focus on screening possible high-risk groups are in scope for funding.
• Proposals with no clear line of sight to patient benefit or impact or clinical implementation. Applicants will be asked to justify this in their proposal.
• Policy-focussed initiatives or behavioural interventions to improve sarcoma diagnosis without a clear hypothesis.

If you have further questions as to whether your application is in scope for this funding call, please contact research@sarcoma.org.uk or research@bcrt.org.uk.

The budget for this funding call is £500,000 for research projects applicable to all types of sarcoma or bone sarcoma only.

Available grant sizes include:

• Small grants: innovative pilot projects or requests to support small pieces of follow-on research needed to complete a project up to a maximum value of £100,000.
• Large grants: substantive pieces of research supporting a member of staff up to a maximum value of £250,000.

Please note that PhD studentships are not offered through this call. The member of staff employed on a large grant may not be a PhD student.

Sarcoma UK and the Bone Cancer Research Trust are willing to consider exceptional proposals in excess of £250,000 with a strong and compelling scientific rationale. Please contact research@sarcoma.org.uk and/or research@bcrt.org.uk for an initial discussion prior to application submission.

Projects eligible for this funding stream must be relevant to all sarcoma subtypes or primary bone cancer.

Your proposal may be of relevance to soft tissue sarcomas, but also must be applicable to at least one subtype of primary bone cancer to ensure your application is in scope for the call.

Proposals applicable to bone sarcoma only are in scope for the call.

Call opens: February 2024

Deadline for submissions: This call is now closed

Applications will undergo a light touch triage process by both charities’ Research Teams and Grant Review Panel Chair to ensure they are in scope for the call.

Applicant response to peer and lay review: October 2024

Applicants informed of outcome: December 2024

Applicants are strongly encouraged to read the call guidance document prior to applying.

Improving Sarcoma Diagnosis – Guidance for Applicants

• The host institution for the project must be a UK-based higher education institution, research institute or within the NHS.
• The principal investigator of the work must have a contract of employment within the host institution for the duration of the grant prior to application.
• The principal investigator must hold a permanent, salaried post at the host institution.
• The host institution will be responsible for the entirety of the award, including all administration, liaison with third parties and ensuring compliance with conditions of award by other institutions where appropriate.

Multi-institutional and collaborative applications are strongly encouraged; collaborators may be based outside the UK. The contribution of co-applicants and collaborators to relevant work packages must be clearly outlined in the application.

• The principal investigator (PI) should be able to demonstrate evidence of a strong research record, with experience to drive and lead a research project which addresses your proposed research questions. Demonstrable evidence could include publications, successful grant applications and an ability to lead teams.
• Applications from researchers outside the immediate field of sarcoma are welcome but are strongly encouraged to involve the expertise of investigators with a background or expertise in sarcoma biology and/or sarcoma clinical management.
• The PI is responsible for the intellectual leadership of the research project and must be actively engaged in the overall management of the research.
• Where the PI is on a fixed-term contract, their contract must extend at least one year beyond the lifetime of the project, or the host institution must demonstrate that it intends to award a permanent position at the end of the fixed term. In addition, a co-applicant with a permanent post at the host institution should be listed on the application.
• Please note that salary costs for tenured Principal Investigators or Co-Investigators may not be requested. Salary costs for non-tenured Co-Investigators are accepted.