American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant (ACS IRG) Pilot Awards

The 2026 IRG pilot awards cycle is now OPEN!

NEW: Required Statement of Intent Due Thursday, August 13th at 4pm CST. Submit Required SOI Today!

2026 ACS IRG Request for Applications (RFA)

The Washington University ACS IRG will award pilot grants for up to FOUR investigators* up to a maximum of $40,000 for one year (non-renewable). These grants are designed to support the development of beginning investigators who have no national peer-reviewed research grant support. The program supports early-career faculty conducting cancer research pilot projects to obtain preliminary results that will enable them to compete successfully for national research grants.

*One award will be reserved for a meritorious project from an Instructor who began their position within three (3) years from January 1, 2027.

NEW Eligibility Requirements: As of January 1, 2027 (date of award), applicants must be either:

• tenure track-bound or clinical track-bound Instructors at WashU AND within three (3) years of their initial appointment (on or after January 1, 2024)
• OR
• tenure track or clinical track Assistant Professors at WashU AND within six (6) years of their first independent research or faculty appointment at any institution (on or after January 1, 2021).
• Postdoctoral fellows, research track investigators, and senior, tenured faculty members are not eligible.
• Applicants must be SCC members or have applied for SCC membership at the time of grant submission.
• Applicants are NOT required to be U.S. citizens, but any applicant who is not a U.S. citizen must hold a visa that will allow them to remain in the U.S. long enough to complete the IRG pilot project and provide SCC with the appropriate documentation at the time of submission.
• Investigators already receiving support from a national competitive research grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)*, National Science Foundation (NSF), American Cancer Society (ACS) or other major organizations are not eligible.
  * As long as the applicant meets all other criteria, holders of personnel awards, such as the NIH K series (except K99/R00), are eligible to receive pilot project money from the IRG.
  
  

Click to read about the projects funded last cycle!

2026 ACS IRG Timeline

Announcement: July 14, 2026
NEW: REQUIRED Statement of Intent Due via Microsoft Forms: August 13, 2026 at 4pm CST
Full Application Due via proposalCENTRAL: September 10, 2026 at 4PM CST
Anticipated Award Decision Date: November 30, 2026
Start Date: January 1, 2027

If you are interested in learning more about the application process, please reach out to Steve Baer at [email protected].

Application Documents

ACS IRG Request For Applications (RFA) (revised July 2026)
ACS IRG Cover Sheet (revised July 2026)
ACS IRG Application Forms (revised July 2026)
American Cancer Society Awardee Policies (revised January 2024)

Previous Awardees

Click for a list of previous ACS IRG Awardees (2015-2026).