Skip to main

Winship Lung Cancer SPORE Pilot Grants

The Winship Lung Cancer Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) offers pilot grants to support projects focused on career enhancement or developmental research in the area of lung cancer.

Advancing Lung Cancer Research

Winship's Lung Cancer SPORE is comprised of a highly collaborative team of dedicated investigators with the aim of achieving substantial improvements in the management of patients with non-small cell lung cancer. The SPORE team conducts activities through a Career Enhancement Program and a Developmental Research Program.

Lung Cancer SPORE at Winship

Career Enhancement Program Pilot Grant

The Winship Lung Cancer SPORE aims to promote the advancement of early career lung cancer investigators through the conduct of a mentored Career Enhancement Program (CEP). The CEP aims to provide an environment that enables talented early career investigators to engage in a two-year mentored research program and to facilitate their success and their academic career development in terms of achieving independent investigator status.

Eligible candidates are encouraged to submit proposals to be funded for two years upon successful completion of the first year, with a maximum of $50,000 per year in direct funds. Proposals relevant to lung oncology with high translational significance and innovation are requested, and will be reviewed by the SPORE's CEP Review Committee prior to any funding decisions. Awardees are expected to provide twice-annual progress reports to the CEP Committee and to present their progress twice annually at the Lung Cancer SPORE investigator meeting. Awardees are granted access to the SPORE Administrative, Pathology, and Biostatistics and Bioinformatics core resources and opportunities for collaboration that arise from membership in the SPORE.

Applications are due on or before 11:59 pm on Wednesday, October 14, 2026 online through the Winship Pilot Grant intranet system. For inquiries regarding Winship's Lung Cancer SPORE, contact the program coordinator via email.

Developmental Research Program Pilot Grant

The Winship Lung Cancer SPORE Developmental Research Program (DRP) aims to identify new and innovative research opportunities by supporting meritorious proposals that could expand into full research projects in the future, including those of high risk-high reward projects that might otherwise not be funded; to foster collaborative research between investigators; and to enhance translational research in lung cancer by increasing the number of meritorious investigators working on lung cancer.

DRP pilot projects must conduct basic, translational or clinical research into the cause, prevention, detection or treatment of lung cancer. Awards will be in the amount of $50,000 for a 1-year project period. Proposals relevant to lung oncology with high translational significance and innovation are requested, and will be reviewed by the SPORE's DRP Review Committee prior to any funding decisions. Awardees are expected to provide twice-annual progress reports to the DRP Committee and to present their progress twice annually at the Lung Cancer SPORE investigator meeting. Awardees are granted access to the SPORE Administrative, Pathology, and Biostatistics and Bioinformatics core resources and opportunities for collaboration that arise from membership in the SPORE. Pilot project renewals for a second year are considered on a competitive basis and will be judged on progress, relevance to lung cancer, translational potential, and the potential to grow into a full project. Individual investigators are eligible to submit additional proposals in subsequent years.

Applications are due on or before 11:59 pm on Wednesday, October 14, 2026 online through the Winship Pilot Grant intranet system. For inquiries regarding Winship's Lung Cancer SPORE, contact the program coordinator via email.

Acknowledgement Policy

Grant support should be acknowledged for all projects, cores, and pilot projects. Each publication, press release, or other document about research supported by a National Institutes of Health award must include an acknowledgment of award support and a disclaimer such as:

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number P50CA302567. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.