The Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) is offering a targeted grant opportunity in 2025 focused on overcoming resistance in lung cancer. In collaboration with prominent patient advocacy organizations, this grant aims to support research that investigates the mechanisms, development, prevention, and treatment of resistance to lung cancer therapies. It is designed to support innovative and translational work that spans across lung cancer histological subtypes, including adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and small cell lung cancer.

This grant mechanism supports projects that contribute to understanding and overcoming resistance in various areas of lung cancer therapy. Topics of interest include mechanisms of resistance to oncogene-targeted therapies, drug resistance in chemotherapy and immunotherapy, histological transformation, rare mutations, non-genomic resistance pathways, and diagnostic techniques such as biomarkers to monitor relapse. The opportunity also encourages studies addressing resistance in hard-to-treat metastatic sites like brain and leptomeningeal metastases, as well as those proposing novel treatments or therapeutic approaches aimed at mitigating or reversing resistance.

Funding of up to $150,000 is provided for each award, spread over a two-year period. Applicants must be affiliated with a nonprofit academic or research institution and be post-doctoral researchers, clinical fellows, or early- to mid-career investigators with fewer than ten years since their first faculty appointment. Investigators must not have received LCRF funding within the last four years and may apply to only one LCRF program per grant cycle. This grant is open to both U.S.-based and international researchers regardless of citizenship status, provided they meet the institutional affiliation and career stage requirements.

The application process includes two stages: a Letter of Intent (LOI) and a full proposal. LOIs must be submitted by March 3, 2025. Selected applicants will be invited to submit full proposals, which are due by June 2, 2025. Notification of award decisions will be made in November 2025, with project funding beginning December 1, 2025. All applications must be submitted through Proposal Central. Applicants should review the full Request for Proposals for formatting and submission guidelines.

All proposals will be reviewed through a rigorous two-stage evaluation process involving administrative review, assessment by LCRF’s Scientific Advisory Board, and feedback from patient advocates. Selection will be based on the proposal’s rationale, scientific merit, innovation, feasibility, and potential to impact the field of lung cancer research and patient outcomes. Grantees must comply with LCRF’s data sharing and open-access policies and are expected to provide periodic scientific and lay updates throughout the grant period.

Questions about the grant or submission process should be directed to the LCRF Grants Office at grants@lcrf.org. Technical assistance with Proposal Central can be accessed by calling 800-875-2562 (U.S./Canada) or +1-703-964-5840 (International).