Pilot Awards Program
Internal — Medical College of Wisconsin only
Pilot Awards Program supports cancer investigators with funding for preliminary research, clinical trial development, patient-cohort studies, and structural biology to advance externally funded research.
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Funder: Medical College of Wisconsin
Due Dates: October 15, 2026 (Clinical Trial full application) | December 1, 2026 (OPP LOI) | January 1, 2027 (Structural Biology final submission) | March 1, 2027 (OPP LOI) | June 1, 2027 (OPP LOI) | September 1, 2027 (OPP LOI) | December 1, 2027 (OPP LOI)
Funding Amounts: Idea/WBCS: $50,000 for one year; Clinical Trial: up to $150,000 for two years; OPP: up to $650,000 over 4–5 years; Structural Biology: up to $25,000 for one year
Summary: MCW Cancer Center pilot awards support preliminary cancer research, clinical trial development, patient-cohort studies, and structural biology to advance externally funded research.
Key Information: MCW faculty eligibility and category-specific team requirements apply; research and expenditures are restricted to six named institutions.
Description
The Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Center runs this program to help investigators test new ideas, generate preliminary data, and position cancer research for external funding. Awards support high-risk, high-payoff research, investigator-initiated clinical trials, correlative studies linked to funded trials, and innovative breast and prostate cancer research. Priorities include multidisciplinary collaborations addressing cancer health disparities, platform or pragmatic treatment trials addressing major clinical questions, and use of Cancer Center Shared Resources.
Our Patient Project (OPP), part of the Precision Oncology initiative, supports detailed characterization of clinically annotated patient cohorts to answer major scientific questions or clinical challenges. Structural Biology awards support protein structure and dynamics studies informing anti-cancer drug development. Team Science awards support multi-investigator program project development.
