CIS Program Special Projects

CIS Program Special Projects

Funding opportunity number

PICR-CIS-FY2026-01

Funding opportunity title

CIS PROGRAM SPECIAL PROJECTS

Key dates
Announcement:	October 1, 2025
Rolling deadline:	Proposals accepted until March 10, 2026
Award Amount:	Varies

Administrative contact

Doug Cuttell (dcuttell@purdue.edu)

Funding opportunity description 

CIS Internal Funding Opportunities

1. Reviewer Response Support and Publication Cost Defrayment

• Purpose: To support faculty responding to reviewer comments for manuscripts submitted to high-impact journals in the cancer field (Impact Factor >8).
• Funding Amount: Up to $8,000 per request. Up to $2,000 additional in publication fees upon acceptance
• Eligibility: Manuscripts must be under revision with reviewer comments in hand.
• Use of Funds: May include additional experiments, data analysis, or other work required to address reviewer critiques.

---

2. Collaborative Intra- and Inter-Programmatic Grants

• Purpose: To foster new cancer-related collaborations within the CIS program or other PICR programs (i.e. DDMS, TSD).
• Funding Amount: Multiple awards at the $10,000 to $20,000 level
• Funding Scope:
  • Intra-programmatic: Within CIS program.
  • Inter-programmatic: Across multiple PICR programs, must contain at least one CIS member.
• Use of Funds: Pilot data generation, shared resource development, or joint publications.

---

3. Proof-of-Concept / Novel Concept Awards

Examples: New assay development, exploratory experiments, or feasibility testing for future grant proposals.

Purpose: To support early-stage, high-risk/high-reward ideas that align with CIS research priorities.

Funding Amount: $2,000-$5,000 (typically small-scale, short-term funding).

Qualifications/restrictions

Applicants must be current members of the Purdue University Institute for Cancer Research’s Cell Identity and Signaling (CIS) program.

Cost share

This announcement does not require cost sharing.

Funds available and anticipated number of awards

The number of awards is contingent upon cancer institute endowments, gifts and other funds and the submission of meritorious applications.

Award budget

The proposal will be funded at a level appropriate for the proposed work. See restrictions.

Award project period

It is expected that work will commence within less than two (2) months of the date of award. A project period of no more than twelve (12) months will be assigned to projects. If funds are not spent in 12 months, funds will be returned to the PICR. If the regulatory process approvals exceed three (3) months, the award may be terminated.  

Award restrictions

The budget cannot be used for PI salary support, clerical staff support, travel or equipment.

Award requirements

Acceptance of an award will indicate your willingness to serve on the Institute’s Pilot Grants Review Committee and to possibly represent the Institute at the annual Indiana Elks Convention and other philanthropic events. The awardee MUST acknowledge the cancer institute. Suggested publication acknowledgement:

“The authors gratefully acknowledge the <insert shared resource name> and support from the Purdue University Institute for Cancer Research, P30CA023168”

Regulatory

Please note the award is contingent upon obtaining all of the necessary regulatory approvals (e.g., IRB, IACUC, PACUC) or a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) pertaining to the work that has pending approvals.

Award setup

PICR Business office will set up one account per award under the Lead PI. Account setup can take up to 4 weeks to complete. 

Reporting

Responding to periodic request of progress is required.  Triage of future applications may occur if reporting requests are ignored.

Proposal Guidelines:

1. Proposal Length: The proposal should be single-spaced and a maximum of two pages in length (Arial, 11pt) with no less than 0.5 inch margins.
2. Required Proposal Structure:
   1. Significance
   2. Innovation
   3. Collaborative features
   4. Plans for proposal submission and manuscript preperation for publications
   5. Budget justification for total project cost

Announcement history and updates

Funding opportunity number	Summary of change
PICR-CIS-FY2026-01	Initiation of announcement