INSPIRE Research Challenge

The PI should be an early career researcher – defined as not less than 2 years but not more than 6 years post-doctoral degree (PhD or MD research). Extensions to this period due to career breaks eg for maternity or paternity leave will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Applicants must currently be employed on a research contract within a department at a research institution affiliated with a university or medical school.

The eligibility timepoints are calculated from your graduation date to the application date.

No, a PhD student cannot be the PI. However, they can be included on a research grant project, providing that they are a full-time student, spending 100 per cent of their time on the project.

Yes, a postdoc can be the PI, as long as they are within the early career researcher timeframe.

The INSPIRE Research Challenge accepts applications from anywhere in the world.

The INSPIRE Research Challenge accepts applications from universities, medical schools, hospitals, research institutes and other academic centres. Applications from commercial organisations are not eligible.

PI: 1 application per PI per grant cycle is accepted.
Research organisation: A maximum of 5 applications will be accepted from 1 institution in any 1 grant cycle.

Changing institutions does not impact eligibility as long as any institution involved in the disbursement of funds falls within our eligibility parameters. Any funds that have already been sent to the old institution will need to be directly transferred by the old institution to the new institution, and we will facilitate changing the payment details for future funds.

There can only be 1 PI and thereby 1 lead institution, but the application may include collaborators or other team members from other institutions.

We award £75,000 for up to 1 year for the INSPIRE Research Challenge.

Monthly payments will be transferred to the specified institution account of the PI at the end of each month, after the project start date.

No, our deadlines are fixed.

Both letter of intent and full stage applications should be submitted via our Grant Management System. Please see our application form guidance for more information on how to fill this in (link to come).

Proposed projects must have direct relevance to cancer prevention, treatment or survivorship and may address any or all stages of the cancer journey.

Proposals should address modifiable factors including lifestyle factors, such as diet, nutrition, physical activity, or environmental factors, such as pollution/contaminants and pathogens. Particular priority will be given to novel exposures including stress, sleep and host factors such as immune function.

Proposed projects should have an original and sound hypothesis, a clear study design, and be relevant to the INSPIRE Research Challenge remit. They should also be achievable within the timescale and budget, and include power calculations and relevant statistics.

The budget can cover the applicant’s salary or salary of staff/personnel that will be involved in the project. If the applicant holds a faculty position, their salary can still be covered by the grant budget.

Experimental designs outside in vivo human settings, such as animal models, will only be considered for studies that examine relevant mechanistic pathways of the cancer process. Exposures in animal research need to be justified in terms of their relevance to exposure in humans and as to why a human research model is not used.

Applications that propose exclusively cell line studies will not be accepted.

No. The application will progress, but if awarded it will not be allowed to start until you have provided proof of ethical approval.

Over the past 4 decades, the World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research network has built a reputation as the global authority on diet, nutrition, physical activity and cancer. The network, led by World Cancer Research Fund International, comprises World Cancer Research Fund in the UK, Wereld Kanker Onderzoek Fonds in the Netherlands, and American Institute for Cancer Research in the US.

We only accept applications in English.

Budgets should be submitted in pounds sterling (£) only.

World Cancer Research Fund International’s INSPIRE Research Challenge can award funding from the 3 World Cancer Research Fund network charities. The charities are:

• World Cancer Research Fund – paid in pounds sterling (£)
• Wereld Kanker Onderzoek Fonds – paid in euros (€)
• American Institute for Cancer Research – paid in USD ($)

Please note: if the host institution uses another currency than the funding body, the monthly payment will be subject to fluctuations in the exchange rate.

Notification of successful award and any unsuccessful application feedback will be provided at the end of the grant cycle, in early October.

Time spent on official parental or medical leave may be subtracted from the time since PhD completion.

No, we do not permit any overhead costs to be included in the budget of the application for the INSPIRE Research Challenge.

• Prof Richard Simpson (Chair) – Professor of Exercise Physiology and Immunology, School of Nutritional Sciences and Wellness, The University of Arizona Cancer Center, US
• Prof Ellen Kampman (Co-Chair) – Chair in Nutrition and Disease, Wageningen University, Netherlands
• Prof Yikyung Park – Professor of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, US
• Prof Kathryn Beck – Professor of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Massey University, New Zealand
• Assoc Prof Christina Dahm – Associate Professor of Public Health, Aarhus University, Denmark
• Assoc Prof James Turner – Associated Professor in Exercise Physiology and Immunology, University of Birmingham, UK