Purpose
Cancer Council Victoria’s Grants-in-Aid program funds high quality research into the causes, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. We are committed to funding research projects tackling all cancer types to achieve our vision for a cancer-free future.
Applications will be assessed in a two-phase process consisting of an Expression of Interest and if shortlisted, applicants will be invited to submit a Full Application.
The submission process is now managed directly by Cancer Council Victoria and no longer via the NHMRC.
Eligibility
- Grants-in-Aid are awarded to research conducted in Victorian universities, hospitals and medical research institutes.
- The work to be funded must relate to the causes, prevention, diagnosis or treatment of cancer.
- Funding will not be granted to any researcher who is receiving or who is an applicant for funding from the tobacco industry or any of its agencies or subsidiaries.
Available funding
Our Grants-in-Aid support cancer research for up to $100,000 per year for two or three years.
Additional funding is available for two Low Survival Cancers and one Mesothelioma research project.
- Low Survival Cancers*
Low survival cancers are generally defined as those with a five-year survival rate of ≤50%.
- Mesothelioma*
Submissions must relate to the causes, prevention, diagnosis or treatment of mesothelioma.
*To be eligible for one of these specific funding grants, applicants must answer ‘yes’ to the relevant question in both the EOI and Full Application forms and provide details of the direct relevance to Low Survival Cancers or Mesothelioma.
Salary requests
- Salary requests for CIAs will be permitted provided the CIA’s PhD (or MBBS) was awarded < 13 years ago at the closing date for applications.
Note: In order to verify eligibility, applicants must include the date of the letter advising them of their PhD or MBBS qualification being approved. This is to be provided in the ‘Budget’ question of the Full Application form. Career disruptions will only be considered if applicants provide specific details of their situation.
- Salary requests for CIB, CIC, CID etc will be permitted provided the salary is not being requested to support someone who is a group leader or head of laboratory.
- All requests for salary must be justified. Applicants are asked to include this justification in Budget section of the Full Applications document. This detail is not required for the EOI.
Key Dates
| Expressions of Interest open |
Monday 15 June 2020 |
| Expressions of Interest close |
Friday 10 July 2020 |
| Full Applications open (by invitation only) |
Thursday 3 September 2020 |
| Full Applications close |
Friday 2 October 2020 |
| Cancer Council Victoria to decide funding outcome |
November 2020 |
| Cancer Council Victoria to notify successful applicants |
December 2020 |
| Funding agreement forwarded to applicants/administering institutions |
December 2020/January 2021 |
| Cancer Council Victoria grant payments to commence, provided compliance requirements have been met (funding agreement executed, confirmation of ethics/other approvals received) |
January 2021 |
Please note: individual institutions may have earlier closing dates to allow for internal processing before submitting to Cancer Council Victoria by the specified deadline.
Selection Criteria
Applications are assessed on the following three criteria in both the Expression of Interest (EOI) and Full Application phases.
For the EOI, all criteria are weighted evenly. For Full Applications, the criteria will be weighted as follows:
- Quality/excellence of research including design and methodology (50%)
- Impact and significance to cancer (20%)
- Team track record, collaborative capacity and feasibility (30%)
As of 2020, the Standing Research Subcommittee provides all assessment of Grants-in-Aid submissions. The Medical and Scientific Committee then reviews and ratifies awarding the grants.
Curriculum Vitae
Include the following information in your CV under the following headings. CV’s must be limited to 3 pages.
Qualifications
Provide a list of your qualifications. For each entry include; the name and location of the institution, the degree received (if applicable), the month and year of end date and the field of study.
Career Disruptions
Outline any career disruptions that you have experienced that impact the length of time between your PhD (or MBBS) being awarded and the closing date for applications.
Personal Statement
Briefly describe why you are well-suited for your role(s) in this project. Relevant factors may include: aspects of your training; your previous experimental work on this specific topic or related topics; your technical expertise; your collaborators or scientific environment; and/or your past performance in this or related fields.
Positions and Honors
List in chronological order the positions you've held that are relevant to this application, concluding with your present position.
Contributions to Science
Briefly describe your most significant contributions to science that relate to this project. This section should also highlight your accomplishments, and those of your colleagues, as scientists. This information will be used by the reviewers in the assessment of each of your experience for a specific role in the proposed project, as well as to evaluate the research team as a whole.
Publications (5 years)
List your publications from the last 5 years, particularly those that relate to the project.
The EOI submission only requires the CV for the CIA, where the Full Application will require CV’s for all CI’s.
Conditions of Grants-in-Aid
Relevance to cancer
Relevance to cancer is the fundamental criteria for eligibility for Grants-in-Aid funding. The primary focus of the project must relate to the causes, prevention, diagnosis or treatment of cancer. You must include information on the relevance to cancer in your response, including how you might progress the results of your work and its translation into clinical practice.
The application will be considered insufficiently relevant if the relevance and significance to another disease is greater than to cancer, or if the research is of such a fundamental nature that its likely short or medium term impact on cancer control is low.
Other funding sources
You may seek funding from other sources for the same project, however, there must be no overlap or duplication of funded components.
Limitations on funding for researchers and institutions
The first-named Chief Investigator (CIA) must hold a primary appointment at an institution in Victoria.
Chief Investigator A (CIA) may only submit and hold one Cancer Council Victoria Grant-in-Aid as CIA. This will not affect their status as CIB, CIC, CID etc on other Grants-in-Aid.
Cancer Council Victoria employees are eligible for inclusion on Grants-in-Aid project applications providing:
- The Cancer Council employee is not listed as Chief Investigator A (CIA)
- The project is led by another institution, and funds are awarded to and expended by another institution.
COVID-19
CIA’s that hold current Grants-in-Aid that were due to finish in 2020, but have been extended or will be extended because of delays due to COVID-19 restrictions, will be eligible to apply for this grant round, provided the delayed project ends no later than 30 June 2021.
Role of the Administering Institution
The Administering Institution guarantees that the infrastructure and research environment necessary to support the research will be available. The Administering Institution also provides the administrative framework through which applications are received and payments made.
Should the application be successful, the Administering Institution is required to enter into a funding agreement with Cancer Council Victoria. The conditions in the agreement cover the standard grants contract areas including acknowledgment, intellectual property, reporting requirements etc.
Applications
Applications for Grants-in-Aid comprises an Expressions of Interest (EOI) round and for those that are invited, a full application round.
Download application form
Once the EOI application form is completed and signed by all parties, attach the CV and submit your application to CancerCouncilGrants@cancervic.org.au
Deadline: 5:00 pm Friday 10 July 2020
Format: A PDF document, named in the following format
surname_firstname_GIAApp
e.g. Smith_Jane_GIAApp
Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.
Outcomes from the EOI round will be notified on 3 September 2020. Successful applicants will be invited to submit a full application. The full application form will be sent with the invitation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Download FAQ's
Questions
If you have any additional questions, please contact:
Dorani Lacey
Research Governance & Optimal Care Unit
03 9514 6319
CancerCouncilGrants@cancervic.org.au
Cancer Council NSW Project Grant scheme funding (previously Box Rallies)
Victorian researchers remain eligible for Cancer Council NSW Project Grant scheme funding (previously Box Rallies). For information about how to apply for Cancer Council NSW Project Grant scheme funding click here.
New projects commencing in 2020
Dr Holly Barker, Dr Kristy Shield-Artin, Dr Cassandra Vandenberg and Dr Gayanie Ratnayake
The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
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Co-funded by the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation
Dr Paul Beavis, Prof Phillip Darcy, Prof Benjamin Solomon and Prof Sherene Loi
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
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A/Prof Daniel Buchanan, Prof Mark Jenkins, Prof Ingrid Winship, Prof Finlay Macrae, Prof Alex Boussioutas and A/Prof Christophe Rosty
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Why does colonoscopy fail to prevent cancer of the large bowel in people with Lynch syndrome? (2020 -2022)
Prof Suzanne Cory and Dr Gemma Kelly
The Walter and Eliza Hall institute of Medical Research
Testing a promising new therapeutic target (MNT) to improve treatment of diverse human lymphomas and other cancers driven by high levels of the oncoprotein MYC (2020 -2022)
Prof Paul Donnelly and A/Prof Carleen Cullinane
University of Melbourne
Diagnostic imaging and therapy of cancers with copper radiopharmaceuticals (2020 -2022)
Dr Debra Gook, A/Prof David Westerman and Prof Claus Anderson
The Royal Women’s Hospital
Eliminating leukemic cells from ovarian tissue for safe restoration of fertility (2020 - 2022)
Dr Ian Majewski and Dr Peter Valk
The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
How does the DNA damage that accumulates with age influence cancer risk? (2020 -2022)
Dr Delphine Merino, Dr Melissa Davis and Dr Belinda Yeo
Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute
Design new treatments for patients with aggressive breast cancer using sequencing and drug response prediction (2020 -2022)
Dr Ashley Ng, Dr Kira Behrens, Prof Warren Alexander, Dr Rebecca Feltham, Prof John Silke and Dr David Komander
The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
Drugging Undruggable Targets in Ph+ B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (2020 -2022)
Prof Richard Pearson
University of Melbourne
Combinatorial targeting of cellular “housekeeping” processes to treat cancer (2020 -2022)
Prof Andrew Perkins
Monash University
Towards a cure for myelofibrosis (2020 -2022)
Funded by the Victorian Government through the Victorian Cancer Agency
A/Prof Jake Shortt and Dr Lev Kats
Monash University
Determining the reasons why leukaemia and lymphoma become resistant to treatments that alter
the methylation of cancer DNA (2020 -2022)
Dr Lorey Smith and Dr Brendon Monahan
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
Preventing Resistance to Targeted Therapy in Melanoma (2020 -2022)
Dr Florian Wiede
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
Enhancing the immune system in combating liver cancer in obesity (2020 -2022)
Funded by the Victorian Government through the Victorian Cancer Agency
Projects commenced in 2019
Prof Robin Anderson, Prof Robert Parton
Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute
Dr Nicholas Clemons, Prof Wayne Phillips, Dr Gang Chen, Dr Cuong Duong, A/Prof Sarah-Jane Dawson, Prof David Watson, Prof Reginald Lord, A/Prof David Wang
The University of Melbourne
Development of a simple blood test to guide treatment decisions for patients with oesophageal cancer (2019-2021)
Funded by the Victorian Government through the Victorian Cancer Agency
Dr James Dowty, A/Prof Daniel Buchanan, Prof Ingrid Winship, A/Prof Robert Waterland, Dr Jihoon Joo, Prof Mark Jenkins, Prof Melissa Southey
The University of Melbourne
Dr Moritz Eissmann, Prof Matthias Ernst, Prof Alex Boussioutas
La Trobe University
Testing antibodies inhibiting IL33-signalling against gastric cancer (2019-2021)
Funded by the Victorian Government through the Victorian Cancer Agency
A/Prof Thomas Gebhardt
The University of Melbourne
Dr Catherine Granger
The University of Melbourne
A randomised control trial to evaluate the effect of exercise and self-management on outcomes of people with operable lung cancer (2019-2021)
Funded by the Victorian Government through the Victorian Cancer Agency
Dr Lev Kats, Prof Ricky Johnstone
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
Dr Simon Keam
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
Prof John Mariadason
Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute
Prof Neil O'Brien-Simpson, A/Prof Andrea O'Connor, Prof Michael McCullough, Dr Jason Lenzo
The University of Melbourne
Dr Lorraine O'Reilly, Prof Andreas Strasser, A/Prof Nicholas Huntington
The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
A/Prof Louise Purton, A/Prof Carl Walkley, Dr Meaghan Wall, Dr Helene Jousset
St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research
Prof Andrew Scott, A/Prof Hui Gan, Prof Weisan Chen
Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute
Prof Matthew J. Watt, Dr Renea A. Taylor, A/Prof Daniel Nomura
The University of Melbourne
Projects commenced in 2018
A/Prof Phillip Darcy, Dr Paul Beavis, Prof Dale Godfrey
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
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A/Prof Thomas John, Prof Andrew Scott, A/Prof Hui Gan
The Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute
New treatments for mesothelioma (2018-2020)
Projects commenced in 2017
Dr Peter Janes, Prof Andrew Scott, A/Prof Thomas John
Monash University (2017-2018); La Trobe University (2018-2019)
Targeted antibody therapy for malignant mesothelioma
Lyall Watts Mesothelioma Research Grant (2017-2019)
Projects commenced in 2016
A/Prof Kieran Harvey, Dr Nicola Waddell, A/Prof Kaylene Simpson
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
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Lyall Watts Mesothelioma Research Grant (Sept 2016 - Aug 2019)