Blue Sky Grant for Innovative Cancer Research & Technology 2024
Cancer Research KI hereby announces up to six project grants in cancer research for well-defined innovative pilot projects that aim to demonstrate proof-of-principle ideas.
About the grant
The project should be of Blue Sky-nature, meaning high risk and high reward, that cannot yet attract funding from conventional funding agencies, but is likely to attract substantial funding in case of success. The explicit aim should be to obtain proof-of-principle/feasibility within the duration of the project. The project should not be a continuation or expansion of already funded projects. However, a general thematic alignment to the applicant’s previous research is possible.
The Blue Sky grant call will consider all types of research projects relevant to the cancer field.
The call is open for researchers at Karolinska Institutet (including post-docs) and the research must be performed at KI. All employees and affiliated staff with a Ph.D. working at least 50% at any KI department or working at least 50% at the Karolinska University Hospital with an affiliation to any KI department are eligible to apply for funding. If you recieved a Blue Sky grant last year you should wait one call period befor you can reapply.
The grant is for one year, amounts to SEK 500 000 + 25 % INDI, and can cover all kinds of project-related costs, except stipends.
The applications will be reviewed by external reviewers. Five aspects will be assessed; (1) the scientific quality, (2) the novelty, (3) the chances to acquire subsequent funding after the funding period, (4) the merits of the applicant in relation to career stage, and (5) the Blue Sky-nature of the project, each with a score from one to five (1= Weak, 2= Good, 3 = Very good, 4 = Excellent, 5 = Outstanding).
Detailed application instructions
The application should be written in English and contain:
· Research program (five pages maximum, including references). It should be explicitly described what makes this a Blue Sky Grant project.
· 2-page CV of the principal investigator (including current funding).
· Publication list for the last eight years (2016-2024) in reversed chronological order. Please mark your five most important publications with an asterisk and emphasize your own name in bold. Please categorize your publications (1. peer-reviewed original articles in international journals, 2. peer-reviewed conference contributions, 3. review articles/ book chapters, 4. Patents, 5. other publications including preprints). Indicate equal contributions of first and last authorships.
· Project budget (simple project budget for the Blue Sky grant sum).
Please submit your application on the PRISMA platform: https://prisma.research.se no later than 30th of August 2024.