Deadline: 26-Mar-25
The Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance is seeking Letters of Intent for the Collaborative Research Development Grant in partnership with Microsoft AI for Health (CRDG-AI).
The purpose of this grantmaking program is to provide funds for ovarian cancer and/or related gynecologic cancers research projects using AI or machine learning that may involve several investigators within one institution or collaborations between groups in multiple institutions. Interdisciplinary collaborations are encouraged.
For this opportunity, OCRA is partnering with Microsoft AI for Health, a philanthropic program at Microsoft, which offers access to advanced Microsoft Azure cloud computing and collaboration with data science experts for nonprofits, academia, and researchers working on challenges in the area of health, including ovarian cancer. Investigators funded through this grant opportunity have access to support from Microsoft in the form of Azure computing credits, and in-kind data science support. This in-kind support from Microsoft will be in addition to the financial support from OCRA.
Funding Information
- Support of up to $300,000USD annually for three years ($900,000USD total) will be granted to the institution of the Principal Investigator. CRDG-AI grants have an anticipated start date of January 1, 2026.
Eligibility Criteria
- This is a collaborative grant and therefore requires a team of researchers. The Principal Investigator (one Principal Investigator (PI) must be selected and there may only be one PI) and other lead investigators must have full-time faculty appointments in a school of medicine or public health or recognized non-profit scientific research facility. They should not currently be in a training program. International collaborations are welcome.
- At least one key investigator must be a physician with expertise in ovarian cancer and/or related gynecologic cancers.
- Funding is only available to accredited non-profit universities/colleges, non-profit research hospitals, or a recognized non-profit scientific research facility. OCRA does not offer funding to any for-profit entities, consulting companies, or non-profits who are not conducting the research themselves.
- The selection committee will consider most favorably applications that are creative, original, that leverage AI/machine learning, and that hold the most promise in the areas of screening and early detection, etiology and prevention, therapeutics, cancer biology and genetics. Submissions that focus on health services research, quality of life, and epidemiology are also encouraged. Proposed projects should focus on ovarian cancer and/or related gynecologic cancers.
- The primary review criteria will be the likelihood that the investigators can leverage this funding to establish a research team capable of performing high-impact research and competing successfully for additional funding, and leverage the resources provided through Microsoft AI for Health.
- The CRDG-AI grant requires a partnership with Microsoft, investigators who do not wish to partner with Microsoft AI for Health should apply though the other Collaborative Research Development Grant application, which is also available on SmartSimple.
- There are no citizenship requirements for OCRA Grants, international applicants are welcome to apply.
- Each applicant may submit only one LOI per grant cycle.
Selection Process
- Letters of Intent will be reviewed by Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance’s Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), which is comprised of distinguished members of the medical, research and patient advocacy community from across North America. LOIs will also be reviewed by a small group from Microsoft, which will consider the proposed project’s fit with Microsoft’s AI for Health capabilities. The majority of LOIs will be triaged at this stage; only a fraction of those submitting LOIs will be invited to submit full proposals. The final grantee will be selected by the OCRA SAC.
Application Requirements
- Beyond basic contact information about yourself and key personnel, LOIs must include the following:
- Scientific Abstract — Provide a summary of the proposed research project. The abstract should clearly outline your proposed research project & aims, AI components, an overview of the research team, and resources for the project to allow the reviewers a clear understanding of your proposed project. The abstract should be presented in 6,000 characters or less (including spaces). Text only; figures, images, and graphs are not permitted.
- PI Biosketch — A current NIH biosketch for the PI is required (must match the person submitting the LOI in SmartSimple). Please use the NIH Biosketch template available for download in SmartSimple and adhere to its instructions and space limitations.
- Key Personnel Biosketches — NIH biosketches should be provided for anyone you listed in SmartSimple as Key Personnel. All key personnel biosketches should be combined into one document and uploaded as a single PDF. Please use the biosketch template available for download in SmartSimple, and adhere to its instructions and space limitations.
- Budget — Requested total budget amount in USD for the entire grant. A detailed budget is not required during the LOI.
For more information, visit OCRA.