HERA funds scientists, Ph.D. and M.D. fellows, with new ideas. The goal of the HERA OSB1 Grant (Outside-the-Box Grant or Ovarian cancer Seed Bursary Grant) is to support up-and-coming talent. It is awarded annually to scientists with “outside-the-box” ideas regarding the research of new directions in the treatment, early detection and prevention of ovarian cancer. Applications for the OSB1 grants are currently by invitation only and are institution specific.
HERA grants are reviewed by a committee comprised of HERA scientific committee members, advocates, senior scientists, and clinicians. While reviewing the applications we consider:
- Relevance to Ovarian Cancer/Importance of the problem
- Originality of Approach, Innovation
- Feasibility/Methodology
- Candidate: Research experience and qualifications
- Environment: Ability to do the proposed work
Applicants may budget the money for salaries or fellows, experimental supplies.
Applicants may not budget the money for indirect costs (per HERA Bylaws), attending meetings, administrative costs, Dean’s Taxes.
Some grants have been awarded for fostering collaborations.
We do not fund chemo-based solutions as we feel there are adequate dollars from pharma and the NCI to explore new directions and drugs in this field.
The aim of the OSB1 Grants are to provide fertile ground to grow new ideas that when germinated will produce sufficient data to allow the scientist and his or her lab to apply for a large ASC or NIH grant, to take their ideas from the bench to the bedside, and eventually to market. Jonas Salk would have a hard time getting his idea of a polio vaccine funded under today’s system. How many brilliant ideas are we missing? HERA’s goal is to nurture these ideas and talent, allowing them to successfully create innovative solutions for tomorrow.
We also want to retain promising young scientists in the field of ovarian cancer. When a young investigator has to publish and get grants to stay at an institution, they are more apt to pick disease indications where there is a lot of funding, like breast, colon and prostrate. To move research along it is important to have many post docs and clinical fellows choosing ovarian cancer. Our other aim besides funding these brilliant minds to do research is to get them to stay in the ovarian cancer field to produce tomorrow’s breakthroughs.
Request for Applications
Currently HERA is not accepting applications for the OSB1 grants.
