Up to €6 million grant available; application deadline is April 10, 2013
PHILADELPHIA – January 16, 2013 –  The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is now accepting applications for a Sta Op Tegen Kanker (“Stand Up To Cancer” in Dutch) Dream Team Translational Cancer Research Grant. This grant opportunity will offer up to €6 million (U.S. $8 million, at the current conversion rate) in research funding and is provided by Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) and KWF Kankerbestrijding (the Dutch Cancer Society).

The grant provides four years of funding for a translational cancer research project that will address critical problems in patient care and deliver near-term patient benefit through investigation by a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional team of expert investigators. Research projects must be designed to accelerate the application of new preventive, diagnostic or therapeutic agents to the clinic, and may focus on particular organ sites or on specialized research areas.

Proposals for the Sta Op Tegen Kanker Dream Team Translational Cancer Research Grant must describe plans indicating how the work will be translated into the clinic. To maximize creativity, innovation and collaboration, the projects should span multiple disciplines and use modern biological tools to attack research questions in a coordinated way.

The leader of each project must be from a research institute located in the Netherlands. Co-leaders can be from research institutes in any country. Each project must include at least two research institutes located in the Netherlands and at least one research institute outside the Netherlands. At least 50 percent of the grant funds must be allocated to research conducted in the Netherlands.

Since the launch of SU2C in 2008, the AACR has played an integral role as SU2C’s scientific partner by providing scientific leadership, expert peer review and grants administration. To that end, the AACR will work closely with the Dutch Cancer Society on this project. A SU2C-KWF Joint Scientific Advisory Committee will conduct a unique, rapid and rigorous evaluation of the applications via a multistep scientific review process, and make recommendations on the final grant recipients. The committee is chaired by Arnold J. Levine, Ph.D., chairperson, along with Emile E. Voest, M.D., Ph.D., vice-chairperson, in addition to two distinguished scientists.

• Proposals for Sta Op Tegen Kanker Dream Team Translational Cancer Research projects are due by April 10 via proposalCENTRAL at https://proposalcentral.altum.com.

• For general information on eligibility criteria, the application process and other details about this Dream Team grant, visit http://www.aacr.org/su2cfunding. Inquiries may be directed to the Scientific Review & Grants Administration Department at (267) 765-1049 or su2c@aacr.org.

The Sta Op Tegen Kanker Dream Team Translational Cancer Research Grant is scheduled to be announced in the fall of 2013.

This grant is supported with money raised in connection with a 2011 and a 2012 Dutch version of the SU2C televised fundraising event, broadcast in the Netherlands in cooperation with the Dutch Cancer Society.

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About Stand Up To Cancer
Stand Up To Cancer – an initiative of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, a non-profit organization – began in the USA in 2008 with a landmark telecast on the ABC, CBS and NBC networks. The third U.S.-based telecast was broadcast on ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and 22 cable networks on Sept. 7, 2012. Internationally, in addition to the Netherlands, Stand Up To Cancer launched in the United Kingdom with a four-hour live televised fundraiser on Channel 4 in collaboration with Cancer Research U.K. on Oct. 17, 2012.

Stand Up To Cancer raises funds to hasten the pace of groundbreaking translational research that can get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives. SU2C marshals the resources of the media and entertainment industries in the fight against this disease. Current members of the SU2C Council of Founders and Advisors (CFA) include Talk Show Host, Journalist and well-known Cancer Advocate Katie Couric; Sherry Lansing, Chairperson of the Entertainment Industry Foundation’s Board of Directors and Founder of the Sherry Lansing Foundation; EIF President and CEO Lisa Paulsen; EIF Senior Vice President Kathleen Lobb; Rusty Robertson and Sue Schwartz of the Robertson Schwartz Agency; Pamela Oas Williams, President of Laura Ziskin Productions and Executive Producer of Stand Up To Cancer’s In-house Production Team, and Nonprofit Executive Ellen Ziffren. All current members of the CFA were co-producers of the 2012 televised special. The late co-founder Laura Ziskin executive produced both the Sept. 5, 2008, and Sept. 10, 2010, broadcasts. SU2C was formally launched on May 27, 2008. Sung Poblete, Ph.D., R.N., has served as SU2C’s president and CEO since 2011.

SU2C’s “Dream Team” approach to funding translational cancer research enables scientists from different disciplines at research centers across the country and internationally to collaborate on projects geared toward getting new, less toxic treatments to patients as quickly as possible. Monies also support innovative cancer research projects that are often deemed “too risky” by conventional funding sources. Eighty-seven institutions are currently involved. As SU2C’s scientific collaborator, the American Association for Cancer Research, led by a prestigious SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee, provides scientific oversight, expert review of the research projects and grants administration. For more information, visit standup2cancer.org.

About the Dutch Cancer Society
The Dutch Cancer Society (DCS) is a nation-wide organization for cancer-related work in the Netherlands. We spend 80 percent of our budget to fund cancer research; 20 percent is spent on raising public awareness, providing information, as well as on prevention and patient support programmes. The DCS headquarter is located in Amsterdam; our professional staff amount to 140 persons. Over 100,000 volunteers support the DCS, whether through local or nation-wide fundraising, or scientific or policy advice in several councils and committees. We rely on nearly 1,600 local committees that organize our annual door-to-door knocking campaign to raise funds for the fight against cancer (annual revenue around €8 million). The DCS is supported by 880,000 donors and has been leading the fight against cancer ever since it was founded in 1949. Our goal is less cancer, more cure, and a better quality of life for cancer patients.

About the American Association for Cancer Research
Founded in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world’s first and largest professional association dedicated to advancing cancer research and preventing and curing cancer. AACR membership includes 34,000 laboratory, translational and clinical researchers; population scientists; other health care professionals; and cancer advocates residing in more than 90 countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise of the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, biology, diagnosis and treatment of cancer by annually convening more than 20 conferences and educational workshops, the largest of which is the AACR Annual Meeting with more than 17,000 attendees. In addition, the AACR publishes eight peer-reviewed scientific journals and a magazine for cancer survivors, patients and their caregivers. The AACR funds meritorious research directly as well as in cooperation with numerous cancer organizations. As the scientific partner of Stand Up To Cancer, the AACR provides expert peer review, grants administration and scientific oversight of individual and team science grants in cancer research that have the potential for near-term patient benefit. The AACR actively communicates with legislators and policymakers about the value of cancer research and related biomedical science in saving lives from cancer. For more information about the AACR, visit www.AACR.org. Follow the AACR on Twitter: @aacr #aacr. Follow the AACR on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aacr.org.