The O’Neal Invests program at the UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center seeks to promote excellence in the areas of basic, population and translational science research relevant to cancer. The program supports nascent, paradigm-shifting cancer research proposed by UAB faculty. These are novel ideas with considerable promise and potential impact in the field of cancer care; they are likely to lead to extramural funding, as determined by a peer-reviewed panel of experts.
The schedule for the O’Neal Invests 2025 Cycle is listed below. To download the cover sheet, click here.
To submit a Letter of Intent, please send an email to CCC-oneal-invests@uab.edu with your name, the names of Co-PIs (if any), the mechanism for which you will apply and a tentative title for your application (80 characters or less). Please do not include a description of your project. The Letters of Intent are for planning purposes only; they will not be triaged. Everyone who submits an LOI is expected to send in a full application.
Spring 2025
January 10
RFA announcement
January 25
Letters of Intent due
March 15
Applications due
Fall 2025
June 10
RFA announcement
June 25
Letters of Intent due
August 15
Applications due
O’Neal Invests: Cancer Research Support Mechanisms for Basic and Population Sciences
O’Neal Invests provides support for UAB faculty to generate data that will provide a strong premise for extramural cancer-focused basic and population science research grants.
By investing in our researchers and their work, the UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center hopes to make our investigators’ best ideas competitive for large extramural grants that will allow them to do paradigm-shifting work that will impact cancer prevention and care. Investigators who apply to the O’Neal Invests program but who are not awarded funding for a particular project receive feedback on their proposals from the review panel and are encouraged to address the reviewers’ comments – strengthening their science – and reapply. This peer review process and the resulting improvement of proposals is foundational to making our investigators competitive for extramural funding.
O’Neal Invests provides different funding opportunities (see below) along the full continuum of a research project, from its inception to its evolution into team science, and allows investigators to become competitive for five-year grants from the National Cancer Institute and other extramural funding organizations. The grants range from $2 million (R01) to $12 million (SPORE, P01) in research support. These NCI awards will provide the long-term support needed to fuel transformative cancer research and exceptional cancer care at the UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center.
By donating to the O’Neal Invests program, you can help support cancer research throughout the UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center. To give to O’Neal Invests, contact Lisa Roth at leroth@uabmc.edu or (205) 934-0930.
How the Program Works
The O’Neal Invests program was designed to do exactly what it sounds like – invest in our cancer scientists, their novel ideas and, ultimately, the future of cancer prevention and care. By supporting the best nascent research at UAB and encouraging investigators to pursue grants that have the potential for NIH funding, the O’Neal hopes to create a culture where novel ideas come to life.
There are two funding cycles per year – one in the spring and one in the fall – where the Catalyst, Pre-R01, Pre-P01 and Pre-SPORE awards are reviewed. The Shared Resource Vouchers are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Check out the UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center’s list of active funding opportunities to learn more about eligibility and how to apply for the current funding cycle.
O’Neal Invests Grants
Shared Resource Voucher
Goal: To support the use of an O’Neal Shared Resource in carrying out an analysis that could lead to a new direction in cancer research in the investigator’s laboratory.
Support: Up to $10,000. If the cost is more than $10,000, then the source of the balance should be indicated. Awarded funds must be utilized within 6 months.
Catalyst
Goal: Supports new avenues of unfunded population or basic science cancer research in the investigator’s laboratory. The proposed work should be based on a hypothesis that has the potential to move on to form the basis of an R01 application. The results of the proposed experiments should provide clear “go, no-go” information as to whether the investigator should proceed with this line of investigation. Minimal preliminary data is needed for the application. It is expected that if the completed work indicates that this a potentially fruitful line of investigation that the investigator could write a competitive Pe-R01 as a next step. Therapeutic clinical trials cannot be supported by this mechanism, but the inclusion of diagnostic or biomarker correlative studies related to a therapeutic protocol that are within the budget constraints will be considered.
Support: $50,000 for one year.
Multi-PI Catalyst
Goal: Supports new avenues of unfunded population or basic science cancer research being carried out collaboratively by two or more UAB investigators. The proposed work should be based on a hypothesis that has the potential to move on to form the basis of an R01 application. The results of the proposed experiments should provide clear “go, no-go” information as to whether the investigators should proceed with this line of investigation. Minimal preliminary data is needed for the application. The PIs should contribute significantly to the development of the proposed research project and must have complementary expertise in similar or disparate scientific disciplines clearly need for success of the project. The application should clearly demonstrate that both PIs have equal intellectual input into the design of the project and will devote appropriate levels of effort to the conduct of the project. It is expected that if the completed work indicates that this is a potentially fruitful line of investigation the investigators could write a competitive Multi-PI Pre-R01 as a next step. Therapeutic clinical trials cannot be supported by this mechanism, but the inclusion of diagnostic or biomarker correlative studies related to a therapeutic protocol that are within the budget constraints will be considered.
Support: $50,000 for one year.
Pre-R01
Goal: Supports new avenues of unfunded population or basic science cancer research that is well positioned to be a competitive R01 within 2 years. Experiments should be proposed that will clearly provide a strong premise for the hypothesis for a proposed R01 submission. The proposal should make clear why these studies are key to providing a strong premise for this hypothesis. The work should not have substantial overlap with ongoing extramurally funded work in the investigator’s laboratory. However, it can have significant, or complete, overlap with pending extramural grants from the investigator’s laboratory. Therapeutic clinical trials cannot be supported by this mechanism, but the inclusion of diagnostic or biomarker correlative studies related to a therapeutic protocol that are within the budget constraints will be considered.
Support: $160,000. $80,000 for the first year with an additional $80,000 for a second year based on successful completion of work the first year.
Multi-PI Pre-R01
Goal: Supports new avenues of unfunded population or basic science cancer research being carried out collaboratively by two or more UAB investigators and that is positioned to be a new competitive Multi-PI R01 submission within 2 years. The PIs should contribute significantly to the development of the proposed research project and must have complementary expertise in similar or disparate scientific disciplines clearly need for success of the project. The application should clearly demonstrate that both PIs have equal intellectual input into the design of the project and will devote appropriate levels of effort to the conduct of the project. The proposal should describe experiments that will provide a strong premise for a competitive Multi-PI R01 within two years. Therapeutic clinical trials cannot be supported by this mechanism, but the inclusion of diagnostic or biomarker correlative studies related to a therapeutic protocol that are within the budget constraints will be considered.
Support: $160,000. $80,000 for the first year with an additional $80,000 for a second year based on successful completion of work the first year. It is up to the discretion of the Co-PIs to decide how the monies will be divided based on the work being done by each laboratory.
Pre-P01
Goal: This mechanism will support team thematic science involving a group of well-established investigators that have come together to propose 3-4 independent research projects that are highly scientifically integrated. The group should be within 2 years of submitting a P01, which would mean that the premise for each of the projects is well established with the remaining work focused on integration. Therapeutic clinical trials cannot be supported by this mechanism, but the inclusion of diagnostic or biomarker correlative studies related to a therapeutic protocol that are within the budget constraints will be considered. Investigators interested in applying for this mechanism should discuss their interest with the Cancer Center Director before applying.
Support: $500,000. $250,000 for the first year with an additional $250,000 for a second year based on successful completion of work the first year.
Pre-SPORE
Goal: This mechanism will support work that represents team thematic science involving a group of well-established investigators that have come together to propose 3-4 independent research projects that all have a translational component with at least one, and preferably more than one, leading to an investigator initiated clinical trial. The group should clearly be within two years of submitting a SPORE, which would mean that considerable work has already been completed and some final key experiments are needed. Therapeutic clinical trials cannot be substantially supported by this mechanism, but IIT support in lines with current O’Neal IIT support is possible.
Support: $500,000. $250,000 for the first year with an additional $250,000 for a second year based on successful completion of work the first year.
Who Can Apply for O’Neal Invests Grants
UAB faculty who are O’Neal members: The O’Neal is committed to supporting the work of O’Neal members carrying out basic and population science research.
UAB faculty who are not O’Neal members: The O’Neal is especially interested in supporting UAB faculty that are not currently working in cancer but wish to apply their expertise to answering important questions in cancer. You do not have to be an O’Neal member to apply for O’Neal Invests funding opportunities. The O’Neal has established advisory groups to help investigators who are not working in cancer formulate their proposals and find cancer-focused collaborators if needed. To be put in touch with an appropriate advisory committee, contact Dr. Susan Ruppert at CCC-oneal-invests@uab.edu.
O’Neal Invests Funding
As of November 2023, O’Neal Invests has funded a total of 43 pre-RO1 grants, 5 Catalyst grants and 11 Shared Facility Vouchers worth a total of $7.13 million, since the program’s first funding cycle in Spring 2020.
The O’Neal Invests program distributes funds from individual gifts made by donors like you, as well as a variety of other funding sources, including:
