We are pleased to announce the launch of Limited Submission – Mark Foundation – Endeavor Awards 2025. Click on the link below to view more information. Thank you!
- Internal Submission Deadline: Monday, July 14, 2025
- Cycle: 2025
- Discipline/Subject Area: Prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer
- Funding Available: $3,000,000
- Foundation Name: Mark Foundation for Cancer Research
- Foundation Program Name: Endeavor Awards
Description
A joint announcement from the Offices of Research and Foundation Relations
Internal Deadline: July 14, 2025 11:59 PM
Funder: Mark Foundation for Cancer Research
Program: Endeavor Award
UCSC Contacts: Sarah Carle | FR | sacarle@ucsc.edu or Molly McCarthy | OR | moamccar@ucsc.edu
Award Amount: $3,000,000, over 3 years
Overview
The Mark Foundation Endeavor Awards support collaborative research projects that bring together investigators with diverse areas of expertise to tackle challenges in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. These grants are awarded to teams of three or more investigators to generate and integrate data from diverse lines of research and transform those insights into advances for cancer patients that could not be achieved by individual efforts.
A description of the teams granted Endeavor Awards in 2023 can be found here.
Award Amount & Terms
- Endeavor Awards are $3,000,000, disbursed over a 3-year term.
- The requested funding should be divided amongst team members in a manner proportional to the actual cost of the work carried out by each investigator for the project.
- The budget limit includes both direct and indirect costs, with indirect costs not to exceed 10% of the direct costs.
- The letter of agreement will include IP terms with a revenue sharing component.
Eligibility
Institutional Eligibility:
- Open to non-profit academic/research institutions.
- Open to institutions worldwide.
- There is no requirement to include a US-based institution as part of the team.
- Teams may comprise investigators from a single institution or multiple institutions. The PI’s institution will be considered the host institution.
- Institutions are limited to one submission as a host institution.
Investigator Eligibility
- There are no restrictions on citizenship or geography.
- Applicants must have an independent faculty appointment (tenure-track or equivalent) at a non-profit academic institution.
- Investigators may be co-PI or collaborator on more than one proposal but may only serve as Principal Investigator on one proposal.
- Investigators who are currently a co-PI on an Endeavor team are permitted to apply as co-PI or collaborator on a new application.
Project Eligibility:
- Basic, translational, and clinical projects are eligible.
- The project must seek to address an overarching, urgent scientific question.
- Sub-projects should be designed to elucidate various aspects of the overarching question, theme, or focus.
- The output of the individual team members (data, samples, hypotheses, compounds, etc.) must be integrated and/or shared in a way that makes the impact of the project as a whole larger than the sum of its parts.
- 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.
Team Composition:
- Teams must be composed of one PI, and between 2-8 co-PIs (see “Team Roles” section for definitions).
- Inter-institutional collaborations are permitted and encouraged.
- Teams are encouraged to consider diversity in terms of discipline, seniority, gender, race, ethnicity, and any other parameters that will enhance the team’s ability to approach challenging problems from fresh perspectives.
- The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, or any other legally protected characteristics.
To Apply
To be considered for nomination to the Foundation, applicants should submit materials to the internal campus competition via InfoReady. Select “Apply” from the menu on the right-hand side, complete the application form, and upload the following documents:
- Project Description (2 pages maximum) including the following information in order:
-
- Project title
- Name/Title of PI
- One paragraph executive summary
- Background and description of unmet need
- Research plan, including a clear description of project objectives, milestones, and timeline
- Project team, including name, institution, and title for all collaborators
- Description of how the team will work together, and how/why this partnership is important in determining the project’s impact
- An estimated budget broken down by major areas (e.g., personnel, equipment, consumable supplies, etc.). Indirect costs are capped at 10% of the direct costs.
Timeline
July 14, 2025 by 11:59 PM: Submission of internal application materials via InfoReady
By July 28, 2025: Selection of campus nominee(s)
September 3, 2025: LOI submission deadline
November 2025: Finalist teams notified
March 2026: Interviews for selected finalist teams
June 1, 2026: Anticipated award 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.
Call sent: June 2, 2025
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.