VSSO Grant proposal

The Veterinary Society of Surgical Oncology (VSSO) was developed to bring together individuals with various backgrounds but similar goals: to more effectively treat veterinary patients with cancer and to advance the understanding of cancer across species. The goal of this VSSO grant is to provide funds for projects that will have a direct impact on the field of veterinary surgical oncology. To be eligible for this award, the primary investigator must be an active member of the VSSO. The $10,000 USD award is presented at the annual ACVS Business Meeting. Pre-proposal abstracts will be accepted from all interested individuals based on the guidelines listed below. Each abstract will be reviewed for scientific merit and potential impact and the top 5 pre-proposal abstracts will be invited to submit a full grant proposal. 

 

Specific Requirements and Limitations

  • The proposed project should be directly relatable to surgical oncology. Projects of more general basic or applied oncologic topics would be better directed to different funding sources

  • 1-2 primary investigators (PI) can be listed per proposal and must be VSSO members

  • No more than one pre-proposal may be submitted per PI

  • No studies involving research animals/ experimental models (clinical trials accepted)

  • All projects should be undertaken with the intention of publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal

  • All titles will include “a veterinary society of surgical oncology study” when submitted for publication. When this is not possible due to journal regulations, this information should be included in the acknowledgements.

Style and Format

  • Please pay attention to formatting for titles, etc.

  • Do not alter margins, font or page size on the template

  • Pre-proposals must be written in English.

  • All information for each pre-proposal must be contained to the cover letter + asingle one-page document (using the attached template). Supporting documents will NOT be accepted for the pre-proposal phase of grant selection (supporting documents are accepted during the full grant proposal phase).

  • Pre-proposals must be submitted in Microsoft Word format

  • A maximum of 5 proposals will be invited to submit full proposals

  

Submission

Each pre-proposal must contain the following categories USING THE TEMPLATE PROVIDED:

  • Title of Research Project (not to exceed 10 words)

  • Principal Investigator (s), including name and degree(s), title, department (if any), institution or practice, mailing address, phone number, fax number, and email address(es)

  • Co-Investigator(s), including name and degree(s), title, department (if any), and institution or practice

  • Rationale of Proposal

  • Statement of Research Objectives / Hypothesis (not to exceed 150 words)

  • Summary of Experimental Methods and Design

  • Impact and Relevance to Surgical Oncology

  • Timeline

    • The full project, or portion of the project for which funding is requested, data collection must be completed within one (1) calendar year upon acceptance

  • Estimated Budget

oGrants are limited to $10,000 USD for individual projects.  

oCosts including as travel expenses, publication costs, investigator, student or technician salaries, major equipment purchases, and overhead will not be funded.

CLICK HERE FOR TEMPLATE

IACUC Approval

  • All prospective clinical studies funded must receive full approval by the facility’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) or equivalent research review entity. If IACUC (or equivalent) approval is pending at the time of full proposal submission, proof of subsequent complete approval must be made available before funds will be released for the research project.

Submission

Pre-proposal(s) must be submitted as word processing document (not pdf) email attachments to vssoresearch@gmail.com 

Research Progress Report and Publication

  • The selected principal investigator will be required to provide a brief update at the end of the first calendar year from funding (if the project is not yet fully completed), and/or to submit a final, brief research summary suitable for publication on the VSSO website once the project is completed. The PI is also expected to inform the VSSO of any publications or manuscripts arising from the grant