Pilot Awards Program
MCW Cancer Center’s Pilot Awards Program funds innovative and collaborative cancer research projects to generate preliminary data and advance prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
Funder: Medical College of Wisconsin
Due Dates: August 15, 2025 (Idea Award LOI) | October 1, 2025 (Idea Award application) | January 1, 2026 (Structural Biology Discovery Program) | February 15, 2026 (Clinical Trial Concept Form & Team Science LOI) | April 1, 2026 (Team Science application) | April 15, 2026 (Clinical Trial Concept application) | September 1, 2026 (Our Patient Project LOI)
Funding Amounts: $25,000–$650,000 per award, 1–5 years depending on mechanism; most awards $50,000–$150,000 for 1–2 years.
Summary: Supports MCW faculty for innovative, collaborative, and translational cancer research to generate preliminary data for future external funding.
Key Information: Only MCW faculty (or affiliates) are eligible; most mechanisms require an LOI or concept form before full application.
Description
The Pilot Awards Program at the Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Center aims to accelerate cancer research by providing seed funding for laboratory, translational, and clinical projects led by MCW faculty. The program offers several award mechanisms—each tailored to support specific research needs, such as collaborative team science, innovative single-investigator ideas, early-career faculty projects, clinical trial concepts, and multidisciplinary translational studies. The overarching goal is to generate preliminary data that strengthens future applications to external funding agencies, fosters collaboration, and advances cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
