The Elsa U. Pardee Foundation Grants

The Elsa U. Pardee Foundation is a private foundation dedicated to supporting innovative cancer research projects that may lead to identifying new treatments or cures for cancer. The Foundation specifically supports early-stage and exploratory cancer research that may have difficulty securing traditional funding sources before preliminary data is established. The grant program is intended to help establish new capabilities for cancer researchers or support novel approaches developed by established investigators. Funding is directed toward projects with clear relevance to cancer detection, treatment, or cure, and the Foundation emphasizes small-scale, innovative, and short-term research initiatives. The Foundation provides funding to investigators affiliated with nonprofit institutions located within the United States. Priority consideration is given to researchers who are new to the field of cancer research as well as established investigators pursuing new and innovative approaches to cancer treatment or cures. Early-career faculty, new faculty members, and postdoctoral researchers are specifically encouraged to apply because they often have fewer funding resources available during early stages of their careers. Postdoctoral applicants are eligible provided they include an independent researcher as a co-Principal Investigator and include a mentor support letter describing oversight responsibilities and confirming the intent to support the postdoctoral researcher’s independent work. Applications are accepted through an online portal administered by the Foundation. There are three application cycles annually with submission deadlines of December 1, April 30, and August 31. Final review decisions occur during board meetings in May, September, and December respectively. Depending on the application cycle selected, projects may begin on June 1, October 1, or January 1. Once an application is submitted, applicants may no longer modify or update the submission. Applicants receive automated confirmation of successful submission through the system, and principal investigators are later notified of final decisions through email communication. The application process requires applicants to provide detailed institutional and project information, including principal investigator information, project title, project duration, budget, and research summary. The project summary is limited to 1700 characters and must describe the project hypothesis, objectives, methods, and relevance to cancer treatment or cure. A more detailed experimental project plan of up to 20,000 characters is also required. Applicants must additionally provide references, preliminary results in PDF format, personnel information including brief CVs, detailed budgets, and current and pending support information for all key personnel. Applications lacking required overlap disclosures or supporting grant abstracts may be removed from review. Funding amounts are not capped by the Foundation, although all requested funding must be justified by the proposed scope of work. Indirect costs are restricted to a maximum of 5 percent of the total request, and essential equipment expenses may not exceed $5,000. Projects are funded for one-year periods only. Tuition expenses are allowable under the program. The Foundation expects funded projects to establish proof-of-concept or preliminary data that may subsequently support larger-scale funding opportunities from federal agencies or other organizations. If multiple grants with substantial overlap are awarded from different sources, investigators are expected to accept only one source of funding. Applicants must provide documentation verifying nonprofit institutional status following funding approval. Human subjects approvals and animal research approvals are also required where applicable before project initiation. The Foundation does not provide reviewer comments or proposal feedback due to its volunteer review structure. Board members and Medical Review Committee members are not available for consultation prior to application submission. At the conclusion of the funding period, grant recipients are required to submit a final report consisting of both scientific and financial summaries combined into a single PDF document not exceeding six pages. Failure to submit final reports may render the institution ineligible for future funding opportunities. The program is recurring and operates on an annual cycle with three recurring submission opportunities each year.

Emphasize innovative small-scale cancer research with clear relevance to cancer treatment or cure. Clearly justify requested funding relative to project scope and maintain indirect costs at or below 5 percent. Include strong preliminary rationale and avoid overlap with existing funded projects.