The Mark Foundation Endeavor Awards support collaborative research projects that bring together investigators with diverse areas of expertise to tackle challenges in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. These grants are awarded to teams of three or more investigators to generate and integrate data from diverse lines of research and transform those insights into advances for cancer patients that could not be achieved by individual efforts.

Institutional Eligibility:

• Institutions are limited to one or two submissions as a host institution (see below for details).
  • The first submission from a given institution may address any cancer type.
  • Institutions will be allowed a second submission as a host institution only for a translational or clinical stage project that primarily focuses on one of the following four cancer types: upper GI, glioblastoma, triple-negative breast cancer, or pancreatic cancer.
  • No more than two applications may be submitted by any one institution.
  • The “host institution” is the institution of the Principal Investigator on the application. There are no institutional restrictions for Co-Investigators – investigators from a given institution may be Co-Investigators on an unlimited number of applications.
  • The term “institution” will be interpreted broadly – for example, a medical school and academic department at the same university will be considered the same institution. Please direct questions about institutional eligibility to grants@themarkfoundation.org.
• Open to non-profit academic/research institutions worldwide.
• There is no requirement to include a US-based institution as part of the team.
• Teams may comprise investigators from a single institution or multiple institutions. The PI’s institution will be considered the host institution.

Investigator Eligibility:

• There are no restrictions on citizenship or geography.
• Applicants must have an independent faculty appointment (tenure-track or equivalent) at a non-profit academic/research institution.
• Investigators may be a co-PI or collaborator on more than one proposal, but may only serve as Principal Investigator on one proposal.
• Investigators who are currently a co-PI on an Endeavor team are permitted to apply as co-PI or collaborator on a new application.

Project Eligibility:

• Basic, translational, and clinical projects are eligible.
• The project must seek to address an overarching, urgent scientific question.
• Sub-projects should be designed to elucidate various aspects of the overarching question, theme, or focus.
• The output of the individual team members (data, samples, hypotheses, compounds, etc.) must be integrated and/or shared in a way that makes the impact of the project as a whole larger than the sum of its parts.
• Proposed projects must not be supported by other sources of funding. Finalists will be asked to discuss any potential overlap with other current or pending awards.
• We welcome projects addressing substantial unmet needs in any type of cancer. We particularly encourage teams with innovative ideas for therapeutic strategies for upper GI, glioblastoma, triple-negative breast cancer, and pancreatic cancer to consider applying in this round.

Team Composition:

• Teams must be composed of one PI and 2-8 co-PIs (see “Team Roles” section for definitions).
• Inter-institutional collaborations are permitted and encouraged.
• Teams are encouraged to consider diversity in terms of discipline, seniority, gender, race, ethnicity, and any other parameters that will enhance the team’s ability to approach challenging problems from fresh perspectives.
• The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, or any other legally protected characteristics.