BCAN Opens Applications for New Research Awards

BCAN has announced the availability of three research awards of $100,000 each, over a two-year period.  Applications will be accepted from January 9 to March 6, 2013.

BCAN’s Young Investigator Awards seek to fund those researchers who may be working in basic, translational, clinical, epidemiologic, bioengineering or any other scientific or research field, but are also working in a research environment capable of supporting transformational bladder cancer research.

The program was seeded through a $250,000 challenge grant received from the Gerald C. McNamara and Renée K. Petrofes Charitable Fund encouraging outstanding young researchers to focus on bladder cancer research.  BCAN responded by raising more than $500,000 in additional private funds to further develop the program. In its inaugural year, BCAN will distribute three awards with two of them named after prominent supporters of bladder cancer research whose families have been directly affected by the disease: the Raymond and Maria Floyd Family Young Investigator Award and the James Family Young Investigator Award.

BCAN President and Co-Founder, Diane Zipursky Quale, remarked on the impact a program of this magnitude can have on bladder cancer research.  “We are excited about being able to offer awards that are large enough to have significant impact on new research being undertaken throughout the country,” she said.  “Research in bladder cancer is woefully underfunded, so we are incredibly grateful to our supporters for contributing private dollars to help young, innovative investigators stay in the field of bladder cancer research.”

Young Investigator Award recipients will be notified of their selection in late spring of 2013.

Award guidelines available here

Please contact BCAN at grants@bcan.org if you have any questions.

Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network Announces Major Research
Program at Annual Scientific Meeting

BCAN receives lead gift and challenge grant to start new Awards program supporting the development of outstanding research scientists and clinical cancer investigators

The Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network (BCAN) announced that it has received a $250,000 challenge grant from the Gerald C. McNamara and Renée K. Petrofes Charitable Fund to encourage outstanding young researchers to focus on bladder cancer research.

The announcement was made on the opening day of BCAN’s Annual Bladder Cancer Think Tank held in Stowe, Vermont from August 9 – 12.  This is the seventh year of this invitation-only scientific meeting where over 120 of the country’s leading oncologists, urologists, pathologists, researchers and other science experts meet to discuss the future of bladder cancer research.

Mr. McNamara was diagnosed with bladder cancer over three years ago, and at the time was surprised by how little funding there was for bladder cancer research.  “BCAN has been an important resource for me, and I have been impressed by their efforts to boost bladder cancer research funding. Our gift will build on the efforts of previous researchers, and help a new generation of scientists find cures and treatments for this neglected disease.”  Mr. McNamara is being treated at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City by Dr. James McKiernan, the George Cahill Professor of Urology and Director of Urologic Oncology, and his team of fellow physicians and medical professionals.

BCAN’s new Young Investigator Awards are intended to support the development of outstanding research scientists and clinical cancer research investigators who have demonstrated a commitment to improving the understanding and treatment of bladder cancer.  Investigators may be working in basic, translational, clinical, epidemiologic, bioengineering or any other field, but must be working in a research environment capable of supporting transformational bladder cancer research. Each Young Investigator Award will be for $100,000 over a two-year period.

Gerry and Renée’s hope is that with BCAN’s successful fund raising efforts, their grant will generate over $500,000 to support young researchers selected through a competitive proposal process and rigorous review by a national panel. It is anticipated that the new awards program will begin in January of 2013.

BCAN began supporting bladder cancer research in 2010 with an annual $25,000 grant for young physicians and scientists.  The Raymond and Maria Floyd Award for Bladder Cancer Research supports research efforts to help those who have been profoundly affected by bladder cancer, the nation’s 6^th most common form of cancer.

BCAN’s continued commitment to research is demonstrated through its annual Bladder Cancer Think Tank meeting, which focused this year on creating opportunities for collaboration among basic scientists, practitioners, advocates, and industry partners to identify obstacles and create solutions for two of bladder cancer’s basic problems: early detection and treatment of advanced disease.

Past Award Recipients

The 2012 Raymond and Maria Floyd Award was presented to Dr. Ami S. Bhatt of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Broad Institute. The 2011 Raymond and Maria Floyd Award was presented to Dr. Gil Redelman-Sidi, a research fellow at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. The first BCAN Award for Bladder Cancer Research was presented in 2010 to Dr. Elizabeth Guancial, a Fellow in the Dana Farber / Partners Cancer Care Hematology / Oncology program in Boston. Learn more about their research.

Please contact BCAN if you have any questions. You can reach us at grants@bcan.org.