Osteosarcoma Institute Grant Program

The Osteosarcoma Institute is a science-driven organization established in 2017 with the goal of improving outcomes for patients with osteosarcoma. Its mission is to dramatically increase treatment options and survival rates for osteosarcoma patients by identifying and funding promising and breakthrough clinical trials and science. The organization was envisioned by the What Would Willie Want Foundation following a 2015 conference of osteosarcoma research experts and was established with foundational support from that organization. The Osteosarcoma Institute reports that it has committed $11.8 million to a portfolio of 29 funded studies and maintains involvement with grantees through regular progress reporting. The Grant Cycle supports four principal programs: Clinical Trials, Correlative Science, Preclinical/Translational, and High-Risk/High-Impact. The updated scientific strategy prioritizes minimal residual disease and metastatic progression, DNA damage response, and multi-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Immunotherapy letters of intent will not be considered during this grant cycle while the Osteosarcoma Institute conducts a focused strategic analysis of immunotherapy, although antibody-drug conjugate projects are not necessarily categorized as immunotherapy. Clinical Trials proposals should involve Phase I/II or Phase II trials in relapsed or refractory osteosarcoma with a primary objective of improving event free survival beyond known historical rates. Correlative Science projects should generate data associated with clinical trials, particularly information that can explain trial failure and identify predictors of response. Preclinical/Translational research should identify biological dependencies that can be therapeutically targeted, while High-Risk/High-Impact funding supports bold and scientifically sound ideas for which preliminary data may not yet exist. Funding varies by program. Clinical Trials grants provide up to $800,000 total over two to three years. Correlative Science grants range from $200,000 to $500,000 total over two years. Preclinical/Translational grants provide up to $500,000 total over two years. High-Risk/High-Impact grants range from $25,000 to $125,000 total over one year. These limits are inclusive of indirect costs, and indirect costs may not exceed 10 percent of total direct costs. The Osteosarcoma Institute also adheres to the NIH salary cap for principal investigators. No applicant matching or cost-sharing requirement is stated. Funding generally includes an initial start-up payment after the grantee advises that project work is ready to begin, with subsequent payments dependent on scheduled deliverables demonstrating satisfactory progress and expenditures consistent with the approved budget. Funds must be granted to nonprofit or charitable institutions or organizations, and grantee organizations do not have to be located in the United States. Foreign entities must provide documentation demonstrating that they would qualify as charitable organizations if they were United States-based. Applicants do not have to be United States citizens, but they must hold an MD, PhD, MD/PhD, or equivalent degree and have a faculty or equivalent appointment at an academic institution. Applicants must demonstrate publication and funding productivity sufficient to establish that the proposed project can be accomplished. Projects may extend ongoing research but may not overlap funded studies unless the applicant demonstrates that the requested funding will not duplicate existing support. Each applicant may submit only one letter of intent, and only one resubmission of a previously reviewed application is permitted. The Osteosarcoma Institute uses a two-stage application process through ProposalCentral. Applicants first submit a letter of intent. The letter of intent deadline is September 10, 2026, by 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time, with decisions expected in December 2026. Only applicants whose letters of intent are approved may access and submit a full proposal, and the principal investigator submitting the letter of intent should remain the principal investigator for the full proposal. Invited full proposals are due March 5, 2027, by 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time, with funding decisions scheduled for June 2027. Applications received after their applicable deadline, applications outside the Osteosarcoma Institute mission, and applications that do not follow the required application instructions or submission process will not be considered. Letter of intent requirements depend on the selected program. Clinical Trials applicants submit a project description of no more than 10 pages addressing the trial rationale and impact, hypothesis, objectives, endpoints, inclusion and exclusion criteria, treatment plan and trial schema, statistical plan, data handling and patient safety, trial sites and laboratories, correlative studies, timeline, budget, anticipated support, and references. The other three programs use a project description of no more than five pages covering rationale and impact, hypothesis, specific aims, statistical plan, research strategy, budget, anticipated support, and references. ProposalCentral also requires applicant, institutional, attachment, validation, and submission sections. Invited full proposals require additional program-specific materials, including biosketches, budget justification, project descriptions, and at least two letters of support. Required attachments must be PDFs and follow the stated font, margin, spacing, and pagination requirements. Expert review committees evaluate letters of intent and select finalists for full proposals, after which the full proposals are evaluated for funding. Program-specific priorities include scientific importance, innovation, sound rationale, appropriate design and statistical planning, feasibility, productive use of negative findings, reasonable budgets, and, where applicable, leverage from other institutional, industry, or philanthropic support. Funded investigators must provide scientific and financial progress reports, and continued scheduled funding is subject to satisfactory progress and required deliverables. Grants are not renewable, although one no-cost extension may be requested within the specified limits. Questions about the grant programs may be directed to submissions@osinst.org. ProposalCentral technical support is available at pcsupport@altum.com or 800.875.2562.

Align the project with OSI's osteosarcoma mission and stated therapeutic priorities; immunotherapy LOIs will not be considered for this cycle; follow the required section order and page limits exactly; demonstrate a strong scientific rationale, appropriate statistical planning, feasibility, and potential impact; Clinical Trials applicants should provide specific execution timelines, rigorous trial design and correlative endpoints, reasonable budgets, and evidence of leverage from concurrent support where available; submit by the applicable deadline because late or noncompliant applications will not be considered