The American Cancer Society Mission Boost Grants (MBG) support innovative cancer research projects specifically focused on moving discoveries toward testing in humans. The program is open to independent investigators at any career stage and provides additional resources for clinical-enabling research involving new drugs, devices, procedures, diagnostics, prognostics, and prevention approaches.
Mission Boost funding is structured in two stages. Stage I supports milestone-driven preclinical or clinical work designed to reduce the risks associated with moving an intervention into patients. Stage II provides additional support for investigators who successfully complete Stage I milestones and are ready to advance their research to testing in cancer patients.
Eligibility Criteria:
- Applicants must be independent investigators with a full-time faculty appointment or equivalent.
- Applicants may be at any career stage.
- Applicants may submit only one Stage I or Stage II Mission Boost application per application cycle.
- An applicant submitting an MBG application may not also submit an RSG, DBG, or CSDG application in the same cycle.
- A PI cannot hold more than one active Mission Boost Grant at a time, although other ACS awards may be held concurrently if there is no scientific overlap.
- Stage II applicants must currently or previously have held a Stage I Mission Boost Grant for at least 18 months and must have successfully completed the Stage I milestones.
Funding Details:
- Stage I Mission Boost
Funding: $135,000 per year in direct costs
Duration: Up to 2 years
Indirect costs: 10% allowable
Maximum direct costs: $270,000
Maximum total allowable costs: $297,000 - Stage II Mission Boost
Funding: Up to $545,000 in direct costs
Duration: Up to 18 months
Indirect costs: 10% allowable
Maximum total allowable support: up to $599,500
Deadline:
- Standard ACS Mission Boost deadlines: June 1 and December 1 each year.
- Next application deadline: December 1, 2026, at 11:59 PM ET.
- Applications for the December cycle are scheduled to become available in September 2026.
- Current status: Upcoming
Further Information:
- Official program information and application details: Visit the American Cancer Society Mission Boost Grants page for current eligibility requirements, funding amounts, deadlines, and program information.
- Detailed grant policies: Review the American Cancer Society General Grant Policies for detailed Mission Boost eligibility, funding, expenditure, resubmission, and award-management requirements.
- Application instructions: Consult the ACS Grant Application Instructions when preparing the application in ProposalCentral.
- Application portal: Applications are submitted electronically through ProposalCentral. ACS states that applications for the December cycle become available in September.
- Questions and grant support: Applicants can review the ACS grant process and research-program contacts or contact the ACS research grants team at grants@cancer.org.