The Office of Research Prizes and Awards is calling for internal applicants to the V Foundation's Translational grant competition. UBC and BC Cancer are jointly invited to nominate a single^ candidate for this award, to be nominated ahead of the sponsor's December 5 NOI deadline. To accommodate this, our internal deadline for nominations is November 14.
This grant is 4 years, 800k (USD; 10% indirect) and intended for research on any adult cancer type in the preclinical or translational medicine space. Applicants may propose cancer research that moves a novel strategy from the laboratory into a human clinical trial or uses specimens from a clinical trial to test hypotheses, develop biomarkers, or mechanisms. The research must apply in a direct way to human beings within 3 years from the end of the grant. If biomarker research is undertaken, a validation set or independent clinical trial is essential. A plan for biomarker validation, if applicable, must be included in any proposal. The endpoint of the project should be the planning or initiation of a new clinical trial or conducting an investigator-initiated trial with laboratory correlates that test hypotheses. Research areas not included in this scope are epidemiology, behavioral science, and health services research. For 2025/26, a biostatistical or bioinformatics plan is required for all proposals.
UBC's internal competition requires four components:
1) Draft recommendation letter (3 pages max), with confirmation that this has been vetted by a Department Head empowered to allot resources (e.g. teaching and service release, lab space, etc.), addressing:
- Why you should be selected
- Institutional resources that will be available to you
- If the nature of the research is bench to bedside with patient contact, describe your record and intentions regarding patient advocacy/communication
- Your record and intentions regarding science communication with diverse audiences
2) Summary of research proposal (1 page max)
3) UBC CV
As well, BC Cancer applicants must follow typical BC Cancer procedures for registering their LOI.
^In 2025/26, the sponsor is allowing UBC to nominate a second candidate for an "All-Star" grant. Only those who have previously won and completed a V Foundation grant/award are eligible for "All-Star" grants. Please contact ORPA (Kevin McCartney) if you are considering nomination as an "All-Star."