Updated February 4, 2026
Request for Applications
The George Washington University Cancer Center (GWCC) American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant (ACS-IRG) will award non-renewable pilot grants to two investigators annually, with a maximum of $60,000 each for one year.
This ACS IRG (IRG-25-1515272) is an institutional award that enables GWCC to provide pilot research funding to beginning investigators who have not yet achieved independent funding at the national level.
For additional information, please contact Darrion Sprueill at (d [dot] sprueill [at] gwu [dot] edu (d[dot]sprueill[at]gwu[dot]edu)).
Purpose
The overall goal of this IRG program is to provide seed money for newly independent investigators to initiate cancer research projects that lead to subsequent grant-funded programs. The foundation of this plan is a competitive pilot grant program with strong mentorship to build research networks, research skills and career development activities.
Investigators are expected to identify their own GWCC primary mentor or GWCC member of their faculty mentorship committee, or senior GWCC member who will help to guide the award. The role of the mentor is to provide scientific guidance, oversight, and support that will foster the applicant’s progression toward greater research independence. As part of the application, the primary mentor must submit a detailed letter describing the space and resources that will be made available to support the proposed research. This letter should also outline the nature of the planned mentorship, including how the mentor‑mentee relationship will contribute to the applicant’s career advancement.
Investigators who have difficulty identifying and/or securing a GWCC mentor should contact the Program Directors, Ed Seto, PhD, at (seto [at] gwu [dot] edu (seto[at]gwu[dot]edu)) or Alison Hall, PhD, at (akhall [at] gwu [dot] edu (akhall[at]gwu[dot]edu)) for assistance.
As part of their professional development, ACS-IRG awardees will be invited to serve on the ACS-IRG Local Review Committee after the conclusion of their award, where they will work with an Executive Committee member to review future ACS-IRG proposals.
ACS-IRG awardees are expected to present their research project and findings to the GWCC ACS-IRG steering committee twice a year, and to their colleagues during a GW Cancer Center professional meeting, such as the Clinical and Translational Oncology Program (CTOP) Retreat, the GW Cancer Center Retreat, or another GWCC live or online seminar.
Eligibility
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Applicants must be eligible to apply for independent national competitive research grants but may not currently hold an NIH R01 or R01-like grants. ACS defines an R01-like grant as an award that is more than three years in duration and greater than $100,000 per year in direct costs. Holders of career development awards, such as the NIH K series (including K99/R00) are eligible.
- Applicants should be Assistant Professors (or equivalent) with faculty appointments of six years or less, who are eligible to apply for independent national competitive (peer-reviewed) research grants, but who currently do not hold such funding.
- At the time of the award, applicants must hold a regular GW faculty appointment, although they may be based at GW, Children’s National, or the DC Veterans’ Administration.
Applicants are not required to be United States citizens but must hold a visa that will allow him or her to remain in the U.S. long enough to complete the IRG pilot project.
Application Guidelines
These are internal awards and are NOT submitted through the Office of Sponsored Research.
Review the full instructions here.
We strongly encourage applicants to consult with a biostatistician in planning your study. Initial biostatistics consultations for clinical research proposal development are available for free from GW Office of Clinical Research (here) or CNH Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Research Design (contact James Bost, PhD, jbost [at] childrensnational [dot] org (jbost[at]childrensnational[dot]org)).
Please use the required application to complete the cover sheet and submit all required applicant documents in a single PDF. Letters of support must be provided by two individuals whom the applicant identifies within the application system. Once the application is submitted, these individuals will automatically be contacted with instructions for uploading their letters.
The completed application (and letters of support) must be submitted by 5:00 pm EST on the due date listed (Monday, March 16, 2026).
Review Process
- Each application will be assigned a primary reviewer, a secondary reviewer, and a tertiary reviewer.
- Reviewers use the 9-point NIH rating scale (1 = Exceptional, 9 = Poor).
- Reviewers provide whole number scores for “Overall Impact” plus write a paragraph summarizing the factors that informed the Overall Impact Score.
- Reviewers provide whole number scores for the following criteria, and address the Strengths and Weaknesses of the application for each criterion:
- Extent to which award will nurture innovative ideas and position the applicant for extramural peer-reviewed research funding.
- Cancer significance and relevance
- Extent to which the application uses GWCC cores, addresses cancer disparities, or involves GWCC members
- Scholar investigator
- Mentor investigator
- Reviewers may comment on budget or provide additional optional comments.
- Reviewers will meet to discuss top ranking applications and provide final overall scores.
- Funding for these grants is contingent upon approval by the American Cancer Society. American Cancer Society Awardee Policies.
Previous grantees of the GW Cancer Center’s ACS-IRG:
2023
- Dalia Haydar, PharmD, PhD: “Designing optimized CAR T cell therapies for group 3 medulloblastoma using immunocompetent brain tumor models”
- Yuan James Rao, MD:"Focal Boosting for Prostate Radiation: Artificial Intelligence for Patient Selection and Treatment Planning"
- Elizabeth E. Sweeney, PhD: "Engineering glioblastoma-specific T cells for adoptive therapy via immunostimulatory photothermal nanoparticles"
2024
- Matthew Ng, MD: “Towards HOMe-based Anal Screening (THOMAS) study
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Daisy Le, PhD, MPH/MA: “MySHARE2: A Feasibility Pilot of an Academic-Community Partnership to Concurrently Increase HPV & HIV; Self-Testing among Underserved Women Who Have Never Been or Are Under-Screened for Cervical Cancer”