Breast Cancer Research
2013 Program Guidelines
Thank you for your interest in our Research Grant program. The Letter-of-Intent (LOI) process for Avon Foundation's Research Grants is now closed.
LOIs for 2014 will open in early January and will be due by Jan. 31, 2014.
The Avon Foundation for Women continues its search for new preventive strategies to address the growing number of breast cancer cases around the globe. To develop new strategies to prevent breast cancer, we need to understand the causes of breast cancer in people, changes in breast cells that give rise to cancer, markers for disease, and how breast cancer progresses. The 2013 Avon Foundation Research Program seeks proposals in these areas to advance understanding of causes of breast cancer and prevention.
Learn more about funding objectives, funding guidelines, and eligibility criteria:
Avon Foundation
Summary of Funding
Initiatives
Please review the full program details:
Review Cycles
| LOI Due Date | LOI Decisions / Invitations for Full Proposals | Invited Full Proposals Due Date* | Funding Decisions Rendered | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 Dates | Feb. 4, 2013 | March 4, 2013 | April 1, 2013 | June 30, 2013 |
*Only a small subset of LOI submissions will be invited to submit a full proposal.
Application Process
For 2013, there is one-application cycle (now closed) and a two-stage application process:
- Stage 1: LOI – Open to all research organizations: universities, nonprofit organizations, or in rare instances, for-profit organizations.
- Stage 2: Full Proposal – By invitation only, based on the review of your LOI submission.
An LOI is completed online. Please refer to the LOI guide to learn about required information. Please note: The .pdf is for informational purposes only and cannot be used for submission. Only LOIs received via the online system will be considered. Only a small subset of LOIs received will be invited to submit a full proposal.
Funds Available
Proposals may request up to $150,000 total costs per year (this limit is inclusive of 10% indirect costs), for up to two years in duration. Thus, the total award budget can be up to $300,000 to cover up to two years duration. Applications involving multiple institutions or collaborators in need of a higher level of funding may contact the Avon Foundation to inquire whether an increased amount may be requested. A detailed budget and budget justification are required in the online application.
Priority Areas
Research questions we hope to answer to further the development of breast cancer prevention strategies include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Understanding the potential causes of breast cancer and research to develop new preventative strategies
- Understanding the role of endogenous and exogenous environmental factors in the development of breast cancer
- Understanding whether viruses or infectious agents play a role in breast cancer
- Validation of markers/biomarkers of breast cancer risk
- Development or validation of clinically applicable assays or diagnostic tests that are predictive of breast cancer risk or that can be used to monitor changes in breast over time
Love/Avon Army of Women
To facilitate research towards these strategies in the areas of breast cancer causes and prevention, the Avon Foundation and the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation partnered to launch the Love/Avon Army of Women in October 2008. To date, more than 370,000 women have joined the Army of Women, expressing their willingness to learn about and take part in research studies. The Army of Women has launched e-blasts to its members for 60 research studies, and more than 55,000 AOW members responded with interest.
Research project proposals submitted to the Avon Foundation must utilize human studies, and researchers are highly encouraged to access the Army of Women to obtain volunteers. You should include costs for the Army of Women e-blast in your proposal, and we encourage you to notify the AOW staff of your proposal and obtain budget information from them (e-mail research@armyofwomen.org). For details about the Army of Women, please visit www.armyofwomen.org and review the “For Researchers” section. If a study is not utilizing the Army of Women, then the proposal must include a description of the samples that will be used in the study.
Public Access Policy (NEW)
The Avon Foundation for Women funds biomedical research in order to better understand the causes of breast cancer and to advance its prevention, treatment, and cure. The main output of this research is new knowledge. To ensure this knowledge can be accessed, read, applied, translated and built upon in fulfillment of our goals, Avon Foundation for Women expects its researchers to publish their findings in peer-reviewed journals.
In addition, it is a condition of Avon Foundation for Women funding that all peer-reviewed articles supported in whole, or in part, by its grants must be made available in the PubMed Central online archive.
Authors are to deposit an electronic copy of their final peer-reviewed manuscripts in PubMed Central. The manuscript is to be made publicly available in PubMed Central no later than 12 months after the official date of journal publication. This requirement applies to all Avon Foundation for Women grants awarded after Jan. 1, 2012.
PubMed Central is a database of full-text biomedical journal articles available online without a fee. It is hosted by the National Library of Medicine in the National Institutes of Health. Once posted in PubMed Central, results of research become more accessible, prominent, and integrated, making it easier for scientists worldwide to pursue breast cancer research. Equally important, families, clinicians, patients, educators, funders, and students reap the benefits of information arising from funding by accessing publications on PubMed Central at no charge. An author must acknowledge Avon Foundation for Women support in every article arising from such funding. The acknowledgement statement must include the applicable Avon Foundation for Women grant number. This will enable Avon Foundation for Women to link the published outputs of research to the support it has provided.
Links, Information, & Tutorials
- Application / Grants Management Account Link (Access your previously created applications)
- Research Program E-application Tutorial (.pdf)
- Research Program RFP (.pdf)
- Animal Research Policy (.pdf)
Templates for Required Attachments
Stage 1 - Letter of Intent
Research Program Biographical Sketch (.doc)
Stage 2 - Invited Full Proposal
Research Program Detailed Program Description (.doc)
Research Program Detailed Project Budget (.xls)