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Mark Foundation Chemistry in Cancer Research Grants

Mark Foundation for Cancer Research

Grant Amount$435,000 USD

Grant Term3 Years

Start of Grant TermSeptember 1, 2026

Letter of Intent DeadlineDecember 16, 2025 1:00 PM (ET)

Letter of Intent Notification DateMarch 2026

Decision DateJuly 2026

Additional InformationAdditional details regarding this grant can be found in the Program Guidelines and Competitive Letter of Intent Instructions. Final determinations of eligibility will not be completed until the AACR is in receipt of the submitted Competitive Letter of Intent.

Description

The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) are proud to announce the AACR-Mark Foundation Chemistry in Cancer Research Grants. This grant mechanism seeks to support chemists to pursue impactful research in the field of cancer.

Each grant provides $435,000 over three years for research project-related expenses. Grant funds may be used for research expenses attributable to the project, which may include supplemental salary support, equipment, research/laboratory supplies, and other research expenses. Each Grantee will be required to attend an Annual AACR Grantee Recognition Event to formally accept their Grant. Up to $3,000 may be allocated from the Grant to cover expenses for attending the Annual Grantee Summit and the Annual Grantee Recognition Event. Additionally, up to $2,000 per year from the Grant Funds may be allocated to support the Grantee’s attendance at the Mark Foundation Scientific Symposium. For institutions that mandate payment of indirect costs, a maximum of 10% of the direct costs may be used for this purpose.

AI Based Application Success Predictor

✅ 1. Bold, original biological hypotheses

Winning projects are typically:

high-concept

not merely incremental extensions

centered on a meaningful unmet need in cancer biology

Projects that are “safe” or incremental consistently underperform.

✅ 2. Multidisciplinary integration

Awardees often combine ≥2 of:

cancer biology

immunology

computational biology

machine learning

chemistry/biophysics

structural biology

tumor microenvironment

systems biology

Cross-domain novelty is rewarded.

✅ 3. High-risk with plausible feasibility

The Mark Foundation will tolerate:

new models

speculative biology

unvalidated targets

…but strong preliminary data or clear feasibility logic is still expected.

✅ 4. Leveraging emerging technologies

There is a recurring bias toward:

single-cell multi-omics

spatial transcriptomics

AI-driven drug discovery

CRISPR lineage tracing / perturb-seq

novel small-molecule modalities

“Technology + biology + clinical relevance” is the sweet spot.

✅ 5. Applicability across multiple cancer types

Applications that can:

generalize across tumor classes

illuminate conserved cancer mechanisms

yield platform insights

…tend to score better than single-disease n=1 proposals.

✅ 6. Path toward therapeutic translation

Not necessarily immediate, but reviewers like to see:

druggability

medicinal chemistry tractability

biomarker utility

target modulation plans

Even basic mechanistic work benefits from a therapeutic implication narrative.

✅ 7. Strong investigator trajectory signals

Past awardees tend to exhibit:

first/last-author papers in Cell/Nature/Science or high-impact subfields

independent line of inquiry distinctly separate from mentors

evidence of research leadership

Trajectory matters almost as much as the project itself.

✅ 8. Novel target space or biology

Particularly attractive themes:

non-canonical oncogenic drivers

chromatin regulatory vulnerabilities

metabolic rewiring

tumor-immune interactions

stress response pathways

ferroptosis/necroptosis regulatory circuits

“Fresh biology” appears repeatedly in funded abstracts.

✅ 9. Hand-off potential to pharma/biotech

The Foundation has strategic ties to translation ecosystems.
Signals of success:

IP awareness (not necessarily filed)

platform drug-discoverability

biomarker tractability

clear companion-diagnostic logic

✅ 10. Data-rich, model-rich proposals

Mark Foundation reviewers appreciate:

orthogonal model validation

multiple tumor models

high-dimensional datasets

human tissue relevance

Projects limited to a single cell line model underperform.

🧪 Favored methodological fingerprints

Historical awardees frequently use:

in vivo CRISPR screens

genome-wide perturbations

spatial multiomics of microenvironments

longitudinal tumor evolution analysis

AI-integrated vulnerability mapping

🧠 Human tissue anchor points

A common success trait:

The proposal includes analysis of human tumors or patient-derived material.

Purely mouse or in vitro work loses enthusiasm.

🌍 Consistent thematic pillars in funded portfolios

tumor evolution & plasticity

immunotherapy resistance

new protein-degradation approaches

tumor metabolism / nutrient scavenging

DNA repair pathway vulnerabilities

📉 Common Reviewer Critiques (predicted failure flags)

✘ Too descriptive, not mechanistic
✘ Incremental extension of widely studied pathways
✘ Weak translational framing (even for basic biology)
✘ No contingency plan if central hypothesis fails
✘ Overpromised feasibility for high-dimensional platforms

👩‍🔬 Investigator Profile

Awardees tend to have:

strong computational fluency OR

strong chemical biology expertise OR

cross-domain collaboration pedigree

“Just wet lab” is less competitive compared to hybrid skillsets.

🧵 Narrative elements that score well

Applications do best when the story:

identifies a biological blind spot

targets a key translational bottleneck

proposes a technological innovation to crack it

explains why the lab is uniquely positioned

“Unique capability advantage” is a major meta-predictor.

🎯 Ideal Aim Structure

Successful grants often emulate:

Aim 1: Discover pathway/mechanism (innovative tool or dataset)
Aim 2: Demonstrate vulnerability and mechanism of action
Aim 3: Therapeutic targeting logic (+ biomarker potential)

3 aims > 2, when 3 are tightly interlocked.

🧬 Aligned scientific tone

Write like:

an innovator

not a service center

Panels respond to vision + specificity.

💰 Budget behavior

Mark Foundation budgets:

tolerate personnel and sequencing costs

dislike large equipment purchases

want clear rationale for high-dimensional data

Unjustified computational support → penalized.

🧩 Consistent success fingerprint

A competitive Mark Foundation proposal is:

✅ mechanistically novel
✅ platform-powered
✅ translationally plausible
✅ multidisciplinary
✅ supported by preliminary feasibility
✅ anchored in human relevance
✅ trajectory-advancing

Specialties

Cancer

Eligibility Requirements

At the start of the grant term on September 1, 2026, applicants must:

Have a doctoral degree (PhD, MD, MD/PhD, or equivalent) in a related field and not currently be a candidate for a further doctoral degree.
Be an independent investigator working at an academic, medical, or non-profit research institution.
- If eligibility is based on a future position, the position must be confirmed at the time of application, and CANNOT be contingent upon receiving this grant.
- If the future position is at a different institution than the applicant’s current institution, the applicant must contact AACR’s RGA at grants@aacr.org before submitting their application for information on additional verification materials/signatures that may be required.

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: Mark Foundation for Cancer Research

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: 615 Chestnut St., 17th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19106-4404 USA Telephone: 215-440-9300 Email: aacr@aacr.org

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