Participate in the Grant Review Process

The Melanoma Research Foundation is committed to advancing a broad scientific agenda across the disciplines of prevention, diagnosis and treatment. The MRF proudly partners with advocates, scientists, professional societies, the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the Department of Defense (DoD), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Congress, other nonprofits and industry to create an environment that stimulates the best research and accelerates its translation into options for patients and their families. These critical partnerships aim to improve the quality and length of life for melanoma patients.

Peer Review Process

The MRF, as well as many other organizations, utilizes a peer review process for its grant program. A peer review process simply means that the grants are evaluated by an applicant’s peers in the melanoma field. In addition to an applicant’s peers, MRF advocates may also review the grant proposals to provide the patient perspective. Any reviewer must not hold a conflict of interest due to collaborations or financial support which would inhibit them from objectively reviewing the proposal.

Incorporating the Patient Perspective

In 2019, the MRF began incorporating a patient-centric approach into the grant review process. Our patient review panel (advocates) is made up of men and women, individuals with or without formal science training, and/or melanoma patients/caregivers/friends or family. The main goals of incorporating the patient perspective into the grant review process are to: ensure that the melanoma patient’s point of view is critically represented during the grant proposal process and increase the pool of skilled melanoma advocates to participate in other scientific advisory or review committees at cancer centers or various drug development stakeholders such as the FDA, NCI, DoD, PCORI, and/or biotech/pharmaceutical companies

If you are interested in serving on the MRF patient review panel, please submit your contact information below or email [email protected].

What is a Research Grant?

A research grant is a financial, non-repayable award provided to an investigator to pay for scientific research. Grants can cover any area of research including basic, preclinical, clinical, and/or translational. A description of the different areas of research are noted below:

• Basic Research: according to the National Science Foundation (NSF), a basic researcher is “motivated by a driving curiosity about the unknown.” Although this work may be relevant to the study of human diseases, its impact on humans may take a significant amount of time (as that is not the primary objective).
• Preclinical Research: according to MedicineNet, preclinical studies “test a drug, a procedure, or another medical treatment in animals. The aim of a preclinical study is to collect data in support of the safety of the new treatment. Preclinical studies are required before clinical trials in humans can be started.”
• Clinical Research: according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), “research in which people, or data or samples of tissue from people, are studied to understand health and disease. Clinical research helps find new and better ways to detect, diagnose, treat, and prevent disease. Types of clinical research include clinical trials, which test new treatments for a disease, and natural history studies, which collect health information to understand how a disease develops and progresses over time.”
• Translational Research: according to the NCI, translational research is “a term used to describe the process by which the results of research done in the laboratory are used to develop new ways to diagnose and treat disease.”

Spectrum of Grant Funding

Many different organizations provide funding to researchers, including federal, foundation, academic and industry supporters. A description of each is outlined below:

• Federal: government-provided support. The government body providing the support may include such institutes as the NCI, National Institutes of Health (NIH), DoD, as well as many others.
• Foundation: support provided by an independent entity not related to the government, generally a nonprofit organization or a charitable trust. The MRF and the Society of Melanoma Research (SMR) are examples of foundations.
• Academic: related to an educational body, such as a cancer center or a medical center, college, or university.
• Industry: funds provided by a for-profit organization, such as a pharmaceutical company.

MRF’s Grant Program

The MRF has been funding peer-reviewed research since 1998. The foundation provides emerging and established scientific investigators with highly sought-after grants that allow them to explore new, high-impact avenues in melanoma research. To learn more about the MRF Grant Program, please click here.