AVAHO Catalyst Grants
AVAHO provides grants to members in good standing who wish to further care for Veterans with cancer. The 2022 Catalyst Grant is $25,000. The deadline for 2022 applications is July 15, 2022. AVAHO will notify the winners by September 1, 2022, and will announce the winner at our 2022 Annual Meeting in San Diego (September 16-18, 2022).
Purpose
Support investigators who conduct studies that aim to:
(1) Improve the care of Veterans with cancer, and/or
(2) Expand Veteran access to cancer clinical trials
Eligibility
- Minimum 4/8ths appointment at a VA medical center
- Masters or doctorate degree in a healthcare related area of study
- Completed terminal degree or fellowship training within past 10 years
AVAHO 2022 Cancer Research Catalyst Grant
Application Process
Submit the online submission form or submit a letter of intent that addresses each of the following (max 5 pages)
- Title and Abstract with Background, Objective(s), and Study Design
- Discuss relevance to VA cancer care
- Address feasibility to complete in 12 months
- Summarize any preliminary findings which would support this research
- State VA employment status in n/8ths
- State academic employment status and rank
- Describe resources available to help with data collection and analysis
- Provide justification for each budget request
Review Criteria
Application reviews will prioritize proposals that are:
- Innovative
- Relevant to Veterans and the VHA
- Conducted by investigators who have experience with the proposed methodology. (Mentored support is optional, and if included requires a 1 page letter of support)
- Collaborative with other investigators in the VA [Note: the AVAHO research committee is a highly valuable resource to identify other investigators in the VA (e.g. biostatisticians or clinical trialists)]
- Designed to support the pursuit of future funding
Budgets may support, but are not limited to: employing research assistants, providing patient incentives, purchasing equipment and/or supplies, and up to $2,000 per year for travel to present data at a national meeting from this research proposal.
Projects for consideration do not need to be IRB approved except in situations where the investigation meets the VHA Handbook definition of “research”.
Expectations
All presentations, whether at a meeting or in publication, will disclose funding support from the “Association of Veterans Affairs Hematology/Oncology Cancer Research Catalyst Grant”.
An oral presentation will be made the following year for presentation at the AVAHO annual meeting.
A summary will be due at 12 months, recognizing that the project may still be ongoing. Progress reports should be no more than one page and should include a summary of
- project milestones and findings
- key challenges and next steps or plans for future funding.
Email completed proposals to Julie Lawson, AVAHO Executive Director, at execdirector@avaho.org.