Gastric Cancer Foundation Invites Researchers to Apply for Grants to Support Early-Stage Projects

SAN MATEO, Calif., March 30, 2022

The Gastric Cancer Foundation (GCF) has announced the launch of its 2022 grant program. GCF plans to award a total of $200,000 in new grant funding and is now accepting letters of intent from researchers who are working on novel projects aimed at discovering new therapies for this challenging disease. Grant recipients will be awarded one-time grants up to $100,000.

The Gastric Cancer Foundation has prioritized early-stage seed funding, as it enables researchers to generate preliminary data to submit compelling and competitive applications for larger research grants. This type of early funding is often difficult to obtain.

The objective of GCF’s grant program is to support research projects that will facilitate the clinical development of new therapies or regimens for the treatment of gastric cancer. Grant applications will be reviewed and rated by scientific advisors, and funding decisions will be made by the GCF Board of Directors no later than September 30, 2022.

Researchers who are interested in applying for a grant should email a letter of intent to GCF by April 29 to grants@gastriccancer.org. Researchers who are selected to submit full applications will be notified shortly thereafter and invited to submit their applications no later than July 15. More information can be found at https://gastriccancer.org/research/early-stage-research-grants.

Last year GCF awarded two $100,000 grants. The first went to Dr. Nina Salama, Ph.D., of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, who is studying the role of the bacterium Fusobacterium Nucleatum in driving gastric cancer. The second was awarded to Dr. Timothy C. Wang, M.D., of Columbia University, for a project centered around targeting myeloid cells to enhance immunotherapy in gastric cancer.

Since 2009, the Gastric Cancer Foundation has established a track record of strategic investments in early-stage research efforts that have made breakthrough discoveries. The Foundation has granted more than $3 million for gastric cancer research, providing much needed support for this cancer that receives only .04% of all federal funding for cancer research. GCF created the first HIPAA-compliant Gastric Cancer Registry and a perpetual Research Scholar Award to fund talented young scientists who are pursuing research on this often-neglected disease.