Funder: Chordoma Foundation
Due Dates: December 10, 2026, by 5 p.m. ET (Concept letters) | March 1, 2027 (Invited full applications)
Funding Amounts: Up to $500,000 for up to 24 months, including direct and indirect costs
Summary: Supports basic, translational, and preclinical research enabling therapies against TBXT peptide–MHC complexes and other tumor-specific chordoma surface targets.
Key Information: Principal investigators must be independent researchers employed by nonprofit academic or research institutions; U.S. and non-U.S. entities may apply.
Description
Jointly offered by the Chordoma Foundation and The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research, this ASPIRE Award aims to help chordoma patients benefit from therapies targeting proteins on cancer cells’ surfaces. It supports basic and translational research and preclinical proof-of-concept studies that enable targeting of TBXT peptide–MHC (pMHC) complexes or other tumor-specific surface targets. Competitive projects will generate broadly enabling datasets, tools, technologies, or mechanistic insights supporting multiple therapeutic modalities.
Priorities include understanding TBXT antigen presentation, developing approaches to target these antigens, identifying immune barriers, and expanding the druggable chordoma surfaceome. Discovery approaches beyond RNA expression profiling receive priority, and studies using patient-derived tumor tissues are highly encouraged. Shareable resources and research on resistance mechanisms should help reduce uncertainty in future surface-targeted therapeutic development.
