The Office of Foundation Relations is pleased to share this open call for funding from the Mark Foundation for Cancer Research.
UCSC Contact: Sarah Carle | sacarle@ucsc.edu
Funder: Mark Foundation for Cancer Research
Opportunity: Emerging Leader Award 2025
LOI Deadline: May 5, 2025, 2pm PT
Overview
The Mark Foundation Emerging Leader Awards support innovative cancer research from the next generation of leaders. These grants are awarded to outstanding early career investigators to support high-impact, high-risk projects that are distinct from their current research portfolio.
Please see a list of Emerging Leader Award Recipients.
Award Amount & Terms
- The grant amount is $250,000 per year for three (3) years totaling $750,000.
- Indirect costs are not to exceed 10% of direct costs and are included in total.
- Emerging Leader Awards are granted to a single investigator; co-investigators are not permitted. The award may be used to support projects carried out with collaborators, who may provide letters of support.
- In Year 3, at The Mark Foundation’s discretion, select Awardees may be invited to apply for up to two (2) years of additional funding depending on project progress.
Eligibility
- Applicants must be three to eight years from the start of an independent faculty appointment as of December 31, 2025 (i.e., the official start date of the appointment must fall within the calendar years 2017-2022). Exceptions due to prolonged medical or family leave will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
- This award is not intended to be the main source of funding for the applicant’s laboratory. Applicants must demonstrate multi-year independent funding that sustains the central activities of the laboratory (e.g., at least one or two grants such as NIH/R01, NSF/CAREER, or equivalently substantial multi-year awards).
- Proposed projects must not be supported by other sources of funding. Finalists will be asked to discuss any potential overlap with other current or pending awards during the interview.
- If selected, finalists must be available for virtual interviews in October 2025.
Please consult a complete list of eligibility criteria.
To Apply
Letters of Intent must be submitted through the online application system no later than 2 p.m. Pacific Time on May 5, 2025. Registration and email address verification are required. Notifications will be sent from the application system, so please be sure these emails are not caught in spam filters.
The initial Letter of Intent should include:
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Project Title
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Project Summary: description of the proposed project, including a concise discussion of the rationale, experimental approach, innovation, and potential impact (350 words)
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Statement of Project Distinction: brief paragraph describing how the proposed project is unique from the main focus of the lab and prior research activities.
Applicants will also be requested to provide a biosketch (NIH format or similar) and a list of current grants and other funding supporting the lab.
Timeline
- March 26, 2025 Letter of intent portal opens
- May 5, 2025, 2pm PT Letters of intent due
- Week of June 16 Applications invited
- July 28, 2025, 2pm PT Applications due
- Week of September 29 Finalists notified
- Week of October 13, 2025 Virtual interviews of finalists
- January 1, 2026 Grant start date
Special Requirements
Please notify the Office of Foundation Relations if you are interested in applying to this opportunity (fr@ucsc.edu). For support developing your proposal, please contact the Research Development Specialist assigned to your unit or send a request to resdev@ucsc.edu.
The Office of Foundation Relations is a unit of University Advancement. The FR team creates and maintains mutually beneficial, long-term relationships with private organizations, matching grant initiatives with educational and research programs and centers. FR supports faculty and staff to identify and approach these and other private foundations for funding, to assist in strategic positioning of the grant application, and to facilitate funder campus visits. For a list of recent funding opportunities, please visit the FR website. FR Calls for Funding.