Current announcement

Request for Application (RFA) Call for Biomarker Research

World Cancer Research Fund International launched a call for proposals for the development and evaluation of biomarkers relevant to the influence of food, nutrition (including body fatness) and physical activity on cancer.

Please note that the deadline for receiving letters of intent for this call is closed. Shortlisted applicants have been invited to submit a full application. The information provided below is for reference purposes only.

• Justification and focus
• Objectives of this RFA call
• Examples of potential topics
• Funding available
• Panel members
• Eligibility
• Assessment process and funding decision
• WCRF International RFA Application Timeline and Deadlines
• Contacts

Justification and focus

Nutritional epidemiology research provides a direct approach to the assessment of risk from diet, body fatness and physical activity in humans, but there are well known limitations related to conventional measurement methods of exposure. The limitations of the current tools lead to considerable measurement error, which affects the magnitude of the risk estimates and even the ability to detect an association. Objective markers of these exposures are critically needed. In addition, the identification of better markers of cancer risk and progression is critical. Markers of early life exposures related to food, nutrition and physical activity, that influence cancer risk are also of great relevance.

The focus of this call is on identifying and validating biomarkers relevant both to exposure (diet, nutrition – including body fatness - and physical activity) and cancer risk. We particularly welcome applications addressing the identification of biomarkers of early cellular transformation or disease recurrence that would be valuable in nutritional epidemiology, both in observational studies and in intervention trials. We also encourage proposals to develop biomarkers that will provide improved assessment of dietary intake and/or nutritional status including metabolic markers of body fatness or physical activity relevant to cancer risk, progression or recurrence.

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Objectives of this RFA call

For the purposes of this call a biomarker is defined as a measurement using biological material (including blood and urine) that:

• provides an accurate reflection of short, medium or long term exposure to dietary constituents demonstrably relevant to the development, progression or recurrence of cancer

OR

• reliably indicates the presence of otherwise undetected cancer or precancerous lesions, or of processes involved in the development, progression or recurrence of cancer relevant to food, nutrition or physical activity.

Identifying and validating robust biomarkers of relevant exposures is a high priority as there are few such biomarkers for limited dietary factors. New technologies offer considerable potential for identifying novel markers that might practically be included in clinical or epidemiological studies. Measures that more accurately and precisely characterise dietary intake, relevant metabolic processes or other nutritional states, or physical activity, and also identify risk of relevant cancer outcomes including incidence, progression and recurrence, have important potential application in better establishing the relationships between such exposures and outcomes in future studies.

A major goal of this pilot RFA will be the development and validation of biomarkers for application in nutritional, clinical or epidemiological studies of cancer incidence, progression or recurrence. Markers of early life exposures relevant to nutrition and cancer are also of relevance.

The following points should be addressed in the proposal:

The biomarkers should be relevant to the influence of food, nutrition (including body fatness), and physical activity on cancer.

The biomarkers should be of demonstrable mechanistic relevance (e.g. clear evidence for a relationship to cancer or cancer subtypes in terms of underlying mechanisms/biologic pathways).

Applicants should demonstrate a broad range of the skills necessary to conduct biomarker research or have previous experience in biomarker research. Applicants should be able to document that appropriate collaborations are in place.

Any appropriate technological approach will be considered. Only human studies will be accepted.

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Examples of potential topics

NOTE: These topics are not intended to be exclusive - other topics could also be proposed.

• Development of biomarkers of cancer risk relevant to meat exposure, such as new/improved biomarkers of exposure or susceptibility to N-nitroso compounds or other alkylating agents contained in meat)
• Identification and validation of markers of important pathways in carcinogenesis, such as insulin resistance and chronic inflammation, potentially influenced by dietary factors
• Analysis of biomarkers of dietary carcinogens in relation to cancer risk (e.g. exposure to heterocyclic amines from meat or exposure to acetaldehyde from alcohol)
• Identification of markers of relevant environmental causes (e.g. dietary factors or physical activity) either of mutations in oncogenes, tumour suppressor genes, or mismatch repair genes, or of epigenetic alteration in relevant gene function
• Identification of biomarkers of relevant early life exposures (e.g. dietary exposures during pregnancy in relation to later cancer risk)
• Identification of markers of oxidative stress predictive of cancer
• Proteomic or metabolomic approaches to develop intergrated biomarkers of altered metabolism relevant to risk of cancer development, progression or recurrence in relation to food, nutrition or physical activity

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Funding available

Up to £350,000 will be available for up to three years for this RFA call and one proposal will be funded.

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Panel members

• Hilary Powers - Chair, Professor of Nutritional Biochemistry, Human Nutrition Unit, University of Sheffield School of Medicine, UK
• Michael Leitzmann, Professor and Chair, Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Regensburg University, Germany
• Elio Riboli, Professor and Chair in Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention, Division of Epidemiology, Public Health and Primary Care, Imperial College London, UK
• Elisa Bandera, Associate Professor of Epidemiology, The Cancer Institute of New Jersey, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, USA
• Will Steward, Professor and Head, Department of Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine, University of Leicester, UK
• Ellen Kampman, Professor in Diet and Cancer, Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University, The Netherlands

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Eligibility

The first step in the process is to submit a letter of intent. The RFA call is open to any senior investigators from any research institution anywhere in the world. Applications should build on the Principal Investigator’s existing expertise and track record in biomarker research.

Proposals may involve co-applicants from more than one institution or be based around new collaborations within a single institution or between more than one institution.

The usual WCRF International eligibility rules apply, please see Appendix 1.

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Assessment process and funding decision

Any investigator with a strong research portfolio on biomarker research is encouraged to submit a letter of intent (maximum 5 pages of A4).

The letter of intent should include the following:

• Cover page – including a descriptive title of the proposed research, the name and contact details of the principal investigator (PI), and where you heard of the RFA call (max 1 page).
• Relevance to the RFA call – describe the relevance to the focus of the RFA call. Please note that this call is limited to research into biomarkers that are relevant to the influence of food, nutrition (including body fatness) and physical activity to cancer in humans (max 0.5 pages).
• Study design – a brief description of the proposed study and main specific aims (max 2 pages).
• Budget and justification – for up to 3 years, maximum total of £350,000. At this initial stage it is sufficient to include an outline of support requested for up to 3 years broken down into main cost headings (max 0.5 pages).
• List of other collaborators - key personnel and collaborators/participating institutions (max 1 page).

The letter of intent will be reviewed by the Panel and recommendations will be made for selecting the shortlisted three applications.

The three successful applicants will be invited to bid for this call by submitting a full application. The relevant forms will be provided at that time. Full proposals will be reviewed by external peer reviewers and the Panel. The final decision of the RFA award, based on the recommendations of the reviewers and the Panel, will be announced in April 2010.

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 WCRF International RFA Application Timeline and Deadlines

Process	Date
RFA Announcement; invitation to all research institutions to submit letter of intent	11 May 2009
Deadline for submitting letter of intent	6 July 2009
RFA Panel meeting	August 2009
Call for full applications for shortlisted 3 applicants	28 Sept 2009
Deadline for submitting full application	14 Dec 2009
Full applications and peer review comments sent to Panel for review	Feb 2010
Panel meeting to determine funding recommendation	Mar 2010
RFA award	Apr 2010

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Contacts

If you have any queries regarding this call, please contact research@wcrf.org.

The letter of intent should be sent to:

The Science and Research Coordinator
WCRF International
Science and Research Department
22 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3HH

or by e-mail: research@wcrf.org

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Appendix 1. Eligibility Information

Institutions

The WCRF global network funds research in universities, medical schools, NHS Trusts, research institutes and other academic centres anywhere in the world. Research for a commercial organisation is not eligible for a grant.

WCRF International does not assume any responsibility for the conduct of the investigation or the acts or omissions of the PI, since both are under the direction and control of the institution given the grant and subject to its medical and scientific research policies.

Personnel

Principal investigator (PI)
The PI must hold a research position at the institution for the duration of the project and should demonstrate expertise in biomarker research.

Only one person can act as the principal investigator. The PI’s salary is not covered by the grant.

Co-applicants
Any co-applicants should be senior scientists and must have expertise in the area of biomarker research.

Staff
Those compensated in whole or in part with funds from a grant shall not be considered as employees of the WCRF global network, but of the organisation awarded the grant. The grant may cover the salary/stipend of staff, including PhD students or other junior investigators involved in the WCRF funded project.

PhD Students:
If a PhD student is to be included on a research grant project, the following criteria must be met:

• The PhD student must not be the PI;
• The host institution must be responsible for the progress and training of the PhD student and must ensure adequate supervision and assessment of the student’s progress and the research training to be provided, including seminars;
• The PhD student should be a full-time student, spending 100% of their time on the project.

Maternity and long term sick leave arrangements:
Staff employed on a WCRF International research grant are employees of the institution awarded the grant. Therefore, all employee benefits, including those pertaining to maternity and long-term sick leave (over one calendar month), will be the responsibility of the institution awarded the grant.

The PI is responsible for ensuring that the project for which the grant is made is carried out. If staff essential to continuing the project become unable to work due to maternity leave or long term sickness, WCRF International will expect a temporary replacement to be sought. If this is not possible, WCRF International will consider suspending the grant and all funds would be frozen from this time until the person returns from maternity or long term sick leave. The grant would then be extended and would resume using the remaining funds. In the event that a staff member on maternity or long term sick leave decides not to return, the PI is responsible for the recruitment of a replacement member of staff to conclude the project.

WCRF International requires the host institution to identify any risks which could affect the health of ‘a new and expectant mother’, and to take the necessary action as a result of the risk assessment.

Limit

Only one RFA application per PI will be acceptable.

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