The CCRF Eliminating Disparities Award funds research that reduces health disparities and inequities in childhood cancer across the full continuum — incidence, diagnosis, access to care, therapy outcomes, adverse event rates, and survivorship. The fund defines health disparities as systemic, plausibly avoidable differences adversely affecting socially disadvantaged groups, with eligible axes including race/ethnicity, sex or gender, socioeconomic status, language, geography, and other social determinants of health. Proposals that identify modifiable risk factors, elaborate mechanisms of disparities, or propose concrete interventions to reduce them are prioritized over purely descriptive studies. Like all CCRF mechanisms, this award uses a two-stage LOI and full application model with peer review by independent scientific experts.
Eligibility Criteria:
- Must be eligible to serve as a PI at a US-based non-profit academic, medical, or research institution; citizenship not required
- Any career stage eligible; minimum 10% research effort commitment required annually
- Only one CCRF LOI per PI per calendar year (across all mechanisms); may hold only one active CCRF grant at a time
- Co-investigators and collaborators permitted; single institution acts as grant administrator
- New applications, pilot study follow-ons, and previously reviewed unfunded NIH R03/R21 applications (scored 20th percentile or better) accepted
- Members of the CCRF Research Advisory Committee are ineligible; CCRF does not fund research using human embryonic stem cells or fetal tissue
Funding Details:
- Up to $125,000 per year (including 10% indirect costs) for a maximum of 24 months ($250,000 total)
- Allowable costs: salaries (NIH salary cap applies), fringe, supplies, sub-contracts, publication costs, equipment, and project-related travel (up to $2,000/year conference travel)
- Up to 25% carryover permitted between years; one no-cost extension up to 12 months available
- Progress reports due at 12, 18, and 24 months
Deadline:
- LOI deadline: April 24, 2026 by 8:00 PM Eastern (submit via Proposal Central)
- Invitation to submit full proposal: July 1, 2026
- Full proposal deadline: August 10, 2026 by 8:00 PM Eastern
- Award notification: January 2027; project start no later than June 30, 2027
Where to Go for Further Information:
- Apply via Proposal Central
- Programmatic and eligibility questions: grants@childrenscancer.org
- Technical support (Proposal Central): pcsupport@altum.com