For Researchers

Our Current Grant Programme:

The Bone Cancer Research Trust supports innovative and creative research that has the potential to make an impact into the lives of Primary Bone Cancer Patients. Funding is available for researchers at all career stages, working at an institution in the UK, Co-Applicants and Collaborators may be based elsewhere. For International calls, eligibility is extended to researchers working at any institution, not just the UK.

We fund research into all forms of primary bone cancer; although some funding calls are limited to specific types Primary Bone Cancer. Projects may focus on any or multiple forms of Primary Bone Cancer; however, following consultation with our patients, their families and supporters; quality of life or epidemiology-based projects are not currently being considered.

All our funding calls are announced on our website and social media channels.

IDEAS GRANTS

• Up to the value of £20,000-25,000.
• Ideas grants can be used to collect preliminary data for a larger application, or to demonstrate the validity of a hypothesis/study.
• Available for bursaries for undergraduates to undertake a research project.

INFRASTRUCTURE GRANTS-Support for sample collection

• Funding is available for surgical centres to support the collection of patient specimens and to prepare and store samples to be sent to active, ethically approved research projects.
• Up to the value of £25,000 -The level of funding available varies depending on the number of patient samples collected by the centre.
• Once awarded, continuation of funding up to 5 years will be reviewed yearly and will depend on the success of the previous year in collecting and sharing samples for research.

EXPLORER GRANTS

• Up to the value of £70,000.
• Explorer grants can be used to further substantiate studies for which some preliminary work/consolidated hypothesis/demonstrated interest already exists.
• We particularly welcome applications focusing on the rarer forms of Primary Bone Cancer, or applications that demonstrate a strong element of collaboration.
• These grants should not be used to support PhD studentships.
• Research can be done in any area of laboratory and medical/surgical research from discovery to implementation.
• The projects must demonstrate clear relevance to primary bone cancer.

• The perceived outcomes should lead to a significant advance in our understanding of Primary Bone Cancer and therefore, have a positive impact into patients’ lives.

STUDENTSHIPS

• Up to the value of £225,000.
• For committed Primary Bone Cancer researchers that wish to acquire a PhD/MD qualification.
• The principal investigator or candidate may apply.
• The grant will fund up to 4 years of study.

FELLOWSHIPS

• Up to the value of £400,000.
• For committed post-doctoral candidates that want to establish themselves as leading Bone Cancer researchers.
• Funding can be used to provide data for larger/program funding applications or to further substantiate studies for which some preliminary work/ consolidated hypothesis /demonstrated interest already exists.
• The applicant must apply.
• The grant will fund up to 3 years of study.

CLINICAL/TRANSLATIONAL GRANTS

• Up to the value of £450,000.
• These grants support research that has reached a point of development to be progressed from the laboratory to patients.

SKILLS DEVELOPMENT GRANTS

• Up to the value of £3000.
• We provide funding to enable researchers to learn new skills through short-term laboratory visits.
• Funding is also available to attend conferences where new research findings are presented.
• Available to all Primary Bone Cancer researchers based at a recognised UK institution. There are no limitations based on career development stage; however, applications from early stage career researchers are particularly encouraged.

If you require any further information or have any queries regarding our grant programme or the grant types we fund, please contact a member of our research team at research@bcrt.org.uk

To date, the Bone Cancer Research Trust has committed £4.1 million to research; our current portfolio includes the following types of awards:

Since 2006, we have assessed 191 research applications, involving approximately 380 peer reviewers in the UK and across the world.

Locations

We fund research at institutions across the UK. In 2019, we introduced our first International Explorer Grant, the outcome of this funding call will be announced in the Summer of 2020. Figure 1 indicates the number of research projects we have funded across the different UK regions since 2006.

Primary bone cancer research area and types of primary bone cancer

The Bone Cancer Research Trust supports research into all forms of Primary Bone Cancer. Figure 2 breaks down the projects we have funded by primary bone cancer type. Most of our awarded grants aim to find a cure for Primary Bone Cancer, we also support projects that investigate the causes of Primary Bone Cancer and support improvements to the care options for our patients. Figure 3 indicates the percentage of funding dedicated to each of those categories.

Application success rates:

We have maintained an overall success rate of 48%. In the early years since our charity was established, percentages of success were high; however, we also received less applications. More recently, the success rates have decreased; yet, is worth noticing that, particularly in 2018 and 2019, we received a larger number of applications, so as a result, although we have maintained our commitment proportionally, the success rates have gone down.

The increased number of applications for funding received by the Bone Cancer Research Trust in recent years is a positive sign and evidences a growing community of Primary Bone Cancer researchers.

The Bone Cancer Research Trust is proud to be a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC), the national membership organisation of leading medical and health research charities

AMRC membership is the hallmark of quality research funding. To be accepted into the AMRC membership, charities must demonstrate that they follow the AMRC's rigorous standards in peer review, and therefore, providing supporters with reassurance that their money is being spent on only the highest quality research.

Membership also helps our research money go further:

• Funding from AMRC members that is awarded via open competition is eligible for the Charity Research Support Fund (CRSF). This means that for every pound BCRT fund another 20p is invested in universities. This means that BCRT funding can be spent purely on research and the CRSF can allow the maintenance of labs, lighting and heating – the full economic costs of conducting research.
• The AcoRD agreement ensures that AMRC members only pay the direct research costs of clinical research in the NHS. The Department of Health will meet all costs for local trial co-ordination and management, data collection, and regulatory fees.

By working with member charities and partners, the AMRC aims to support the sector’s effectiveness and advance medical research by developing best practice, providing information and guidance, improving public dialogue about research and science, and influencing government policy.

As a member of the AMRC, we support their statement on the use of animals in research and their statement on supporting research in universities.

Ewing sarcoma grant call - now open!

In collaboration with the Ewing Sarcoma Research Trust, we are delighted to open a Ewing sarcoma restricted grant call for funding of up to £150,000 per project. These projects should be collaborative and include researchers and/or clinicians from at least 2 different institutions. We are particularly interested in translational research that may be taken forward into clinical trial or larger clinical biological study and should have a clear line of sight to patient benefit.

To request an application form, please contact our research team. The closing date is COP on 22nd January 2021, with awards in July 2021.

To view our full 2017-2022 Grant Programme in line with our 5 year strategy, please view the full strategy document here.

If you would like to be added to our 'Researcher Database' in order to be the first to hear of our future grant openings, conferences of interest or to find out more information on our research, please contact our research team at research@bcrt.org.uk.

Funding Remit

The Bone Cancer Research Trust are dedicated to improving the outcomes for patients with primary bone cancer. One of the main ways in which we aim to do this, is by funding cutting edge research. Our funding is dedicated to projects that are genuinely centered around improving knowledge of this disease, with a clear line of sight to patient benefit and with good prospects of being published in high impact journals.

We fund research into the causes of the disease, research looking at cures and treatments and also research looking at care and quality of life; funding basic ideas through to translational research projects. Please download our full Research Funding Remit here to learn more (Updated February 2017).

Resubmission Policy

At the Bone Cancer Research Trust, we do not allow the resubmission of any previously unsuccessful proposals, unless you have been explicitly invited to resubmit.

Details of any requirements for resubmission, as requested by our Independent Scientific Advisory Panel, will be described in detail in the application and review feedback. You can download our resubmissions policy here (updated January 2017).