FACCA Pilot Funding Program 2026 Guidelines

PURPOSE

The Florida Academic Cancer Center Alliance (FACCA) Pilot Funding Program supports early-stage, collaborative cancer research among FACCA member institutions to foster transdisciplinary, translational studies that address statewide cancer needs. Awards are intended to generate preliminary data and refine study design for future competitive extramural funding and should not bridge existing research studies.

1. Provide developmental support for promising, cancer-focused collaborative research projects between participating FACCA Centers.
2. Promote new transdisciplinary research initiatives with a strong translational focus, stimulating novel cancer research across FACCA Centers’ respective catchment areas, with the goal of translating discoveries to our patients and communities.
3. Create synergy between cancer researchers at the collaborating FACCA Centers that will lead to impactful publications, generate data for Multi-PI (MPI) peer-reviewed funding, and address the state cancer burden.

A successful Pilot Research Grant application is a preliminary investigation of the feasibility of broader study, intended to help the collaborating investigators refine the data collection and instruments, study design, and hypothesis, and acquire preliminary results to submit a competitive extramural research proposal.

ELIGIBILITY, PRIORITIZED THEMES, & DEADLINES

Eligibility  Proposal submissions must emphasize cross-institutional collaboration and include Co‑Principal Investigators (PI) from at least two of the four FACCA Centers with at least one Co-PI having attended the 2026 FACCA Retreat. Center Members may only submit one application as Contact PI or Co‑PI but may serve as co‑investigator, collaborator, or as a consultant on additional applications within the same cycle.
Prioritized Proposal Themes  Proposed projects should reflect a strong translational focus, address clearly defined state-wide cancer needs, and leverage cross-institutional collaboration to generate impactful outcomes for cancer research, clinical care, and communities across Florida. The following themes will be prioritized:

• Aging and cancer
• Precision cancer prevention
• Transdisciplinary team science
• AI & data integration
• Translational discovery | shared resources
• Supportive oncology
• Cancer metabolism
• Community outreach | mobile services

 
Submission Deadlines  All applicants must work with their Center’s pre-award teams to prepare and submit their application. Submission, review, and selection steps include:

Institutional proposal review & approval > Proposals submitted centrally to Moffitt > Peer review by Special Emphasis Panel > Ranked scores reviewed and awardees selected by FACCA Center Directors > Notices of award sent by Moffitt > Awards activated by individual Centers
Funding Opportunity Announcement: July 9, 2026
Full Application Due:
August 10, 2026 | 5:00 pm
Earliest Start Date:
September 15, 2026
Project start date is contingent upon receiving all institutional compliance approvals (IRB; IACUC; etc).
  

AWARD, BUDGET, & SPENDING TERMS

Proposal budgets are limited to $75,000 per collaborating Center, up to a total of $300,000 for projects that involve all four participating FACCA Centers. Awards will be made for a term of 12 months, during which time all funds should be expended. Each institution reserves the right to clarify award terms and no-cost extensions for their institution (see attached Center-specific appendices). Funds may not be shared between institutions through sub-contracts. Each institution will monitor project spending, and awards that have not been activated in a timely manner (within 3 months of receiving the notice of grant award) will need to provide a written justification to continue the pilot project.

With agreement from all Co-PIs, a one-time no-cost extension (NCE) for a period of up to 12 months beyond the original project end date may be available but is not guaranteed. To request an NCE, the contact PI will need to submit a written request to intramuralprograms@moffitt.org on behalf of the awarded team, with an explanation of why the project was delayed and a clear plan to achieve the originally proposed goals. Each Center Director must review and approve the NCE for their Center’s awarded component.
Institutional Contacts:
Moffitt Cancer Center: Maureen Ahearn (intramuralprograms@moffitt.org)

Mayo Clinic Florida: Carey Drourr, MBA (FLAMCCCCFlorida@mayo.edu)

Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center: Divya Subramonian, PhD (SylvesterIFP@med.miami.edu)

UF Health Cancer Institute: Eric Miller, MBA, CRA (ebmiller0428@ufl.edu)

APPLICATION PACKAGE & SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

All applicants are required to submit their proposals using the specified template package. Template instructions and formatting must be adhered to including 0.5” margins, Arial 11pt font for body text, Arial 9pt font for figure legend text, and use of single (1.0) line spacing. Proposal components include:

• Face Page (with applicable approvals)
• Research Strategy (4 page maximum)
• Budget Form for each participating Center
• References Cited (no page limit)
• Budget Justification (no page limit)
• Biosketches (Co-PIs & Key Personnel)
• Specific Aims (1 page maximum)

FACCA Application Template Package 2026

 See also Appendix 1 for allowable and unallowable cost table.
*NOTE: If selected, you will be asked to submit an abstract of your proposal using lay language. This will assist the participating Centers in reporting pilot project selection, progress, and outcomes to the state. Max 30 lines.
Statistical Considerations  All applicants are encouraged to work with a biostatistician and/or bioinformatician on experimental design, data management, data analysis, and statistical power estimations.
Submission Instructions  All PIs must follow their Center’s internal pre-award policies and procedures, including seeking all applicable institutional approvals prior to submission of applications to the FACCA program. See attached appendices for Center specific guidance.

All applications must be submitted as a single PDF document to Moffitt Cancer Center by 5pm August 10, 2026 and should be emailed to intramuralprograms@moffitt.org. No late applications will be accepted.
Compliance Approvals  If selected, all applicants are responsible for obtaining the requisite institutional approvals for all studies involving animals or human subjects. Due to the time needed to obtain approvals, applicants must submit the proposal to the appropriate IRB/IACUC as soon as the award notification is received. It is the PI’s responsibility to notify the appropriate office overseeing award activation (e.g., Sponsored Research, Sponsored Projects, Intramural Funding Program) after IRB/IACUC approval has been received to proceed with award activation and release of funds.

REVIEW PROCESS & CRITERIA

Administrative Review  All submitted applications will be administratively reviewed for completeness and potential scientific overlap with currently funded awards (internal and external) by the same PI(s).

Proposed projects must not fall within the specific aims of an already funded and currently active project of any of the collaborating PIs. Investigators are encouraged to anticipate concerns of overlap by providing a succinct justification within the scientific and/or budget overlap section of the application template.

Scientific Peer Review  All applications will be reviewed and scored by a Special Emphasis Panel with appropriate scientific and clinical expertise from each of the participating FACCA Centers. At least one community stakeholder will be included in the review process to provide perspectives on relevance, feasibility (if applicable), and community impact. If community stakeholders are included, each Center will be responsible for orienting their community stakeholder to the specific FACCA requirements and peer review process.

Each application will be assigned a primary and secondary reviewer. The Center Directors will convene to discuss the evaluations and scores and make final funding decisions.  

All projects will be reviewed based on NIH review criteria listed below with additional score-driving considerations for 1) impact on the respective catchment areas; 2) potential for successfully obtaining extramural funding; and 3) potential impact on the cancer burden in the State of Florida.

Significance: Does the project address an important problem or a critical barrier to progress in the field? Does the project have a clear translational objective? Is there a strong scientific premise for the project? If the aims of the project are achieved, how will scientific knowledge, technical capability, and/or clinical practice be improved? How will successful completion of the aims change the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventative interventions have an impact on the Catchment Areas of the collaborating centers and/or drive delivery of clinical care and services? How will successful completion of the aims change the concepts, methods, technologies, treatments, services, or preventative interventions, have an impact on the Catchment Areas of the collaborating centers and across the state of Florida, and/or drive delivery of clinical care and services in ways that are responsive to community needs?

Investigators: Have the Co-PIs demonstrated complementary and integrated expertise, with clear and necessary roles? Is there a bona fide collaboration among the Co-PIs? Are the collaborators, and other researchers well suited to the project?

Innovation: Does the application challenge and seek to shift current research or clinical practice paradigms by utilizing novel theoretical concepts, approaches or methodologies, instrumentation, or interventions?

Approach: Are the overall strategy, methodology, and analyses well-reasoned and appropriate to accomplish the specific aims of the project? Have the investigators presented strategies to ensure a robust and unbiased approach, as appropriate for the work proposed? Are potential problems, alternative strategies, and benchmarks for success presented? If the project is in the early stages of development, will the strategy establish feasibility and will particularly risky aspects be managed? Have the investigators presented adequate plans to address relevant biological variables, such as sex, for studies in vertebrate animals or diversity in human subjects?

Environment: Will the scientific environment in which the work will be done contribute to the probability of success? Are the institutional support, equipment and other physical resources available to the investigators adequate for the project proposed? Will the project benefit from unique features of the scientific environment, subject populations, or collaborative arrangements?

Potential for Extramural Funding: Is the proposed study likely to lead to the award of a competitive external, peer-reviewed single or MPI proposal? Is a plan present to pursue follow-on funding?

AWARDEE OBLIGATIONS

Outcomes Reporting  Awardees will complete an outcomes report annually for 5 years past the end of the project period.Moffitt’s Office of Scientific Development coordinates the reporting process for all FACCA Centers, and questions may be directed to scientificdevelopment@moffitt.org. Awardees are expected to provide a brief narrative of major findings, list of extramural grant applications, list of peer reviewed publications, list of clinical trials, and list of patent applications or other related return on investment. 
Service  FACCA awardees must present their research progress and/or results at the annual FACCA retreat. Awardees may also be asked to serve as a reviewer of pilot proposals for future funding cycles.
Acknowledgement of Funding   Awardees must acknowledge the State of Florida and Florida Academic Cancer Centers Alliance (FACCA) in any publications or presentations by including the statement “This publication is supported, in part, by the State of Florida Casey DeSantis Cancer Research Program and the Florida Academic Cancer Center Alliance (FACCA).”
Extramural Proposal Submission: Awardees are expected to submit at least one grant application to an external peer-reviewed funding sponsor within eighteen months of the award ending.
 

APPENDIX 1: Allowable & Unallowable Costs

Common Research Expenses
ALLOWABLE:

• Co-PI salary (required) – effort and salary are required. Co-PI effort must be at least 1% each and no more than 5% each. Full salary costs must be applied
• For Co-Investigators (key personnel) and other non-key personnel, the effort proposed should be reasonable for the scope and role on the project. Full salary costs must be applied
• Research supply expenses
• Shared resources costs
• Participant stipends (IRB approved only)
• Animal expenses (IACUC approved only)
• Domestic travel directly related to conducting the research project (e.g., community-based participant recruitment events)
• Publication costs including reprints and open access fees
• Stipends for graduate students and/or postdoctoral fellows if their role supports the aims of the project
• Minor equipment under $1,000 may be purchased in alignment with State of Florida’s capital equipment policy for grant supported research
• Data management and sharing costs

UNALLOWABLE:

• Facilities and administrative costs (F&A)
• Cost share (including salary cost share)
• Secretarial/administrative salaries
• Tuition
• Foreign travel of any kind
• Domestic travel for scientific conferences, meetings, and workshops
• Registration fees for scientific meetings and conference-related travel
• Honoraria and travel expenses for visiting lecturers
• Books and periodicals
• Membership dues
• Office and laboratory furniture
• Office equipment and supplies
• Food, beverages, and alcohol
• Data plans for it-related technology
• Rental of office or laboratory space
• Recruiting and relocation expenses of faculty and/or research staff
• Patient care costs (e.g., standard of care)
• No equipment over $1,000.
• Construction, renovation, or maintenance of buildings/laboratories

APPENDIX 2: MOFFITT CANCER CENTER SPECIFIC GUIDELINES

Moffitt investigators must follow all instructions within the guidelines above. Additionally, Moffitt investigators must also follow the proposal submission and award activation instructions below.
Proposal Submission  All applications must be provided to the appropriate academic Division Administrator for review and approval no later than 9am one day prior to the due date. Approved applications should be submitted as a single PDF document to intramuralprograms@moffitt.org as specified in the guidelines. Applications are not expected to be submitted through M-RAIN at the proposal stage and will only be entered should the application be awarded (see below).
Award Activation  Awardees will work with their assigned Grants Management Administrator to enter their application into M-RAIN and complete the PI certification and division approval process. Any awards proposing to use animals or human subjects must provide IRB and/or IACUC approval before activation. Following division approval, the Office of Sponsored Projects will facilitate award activation.
 

APPENDIX 3: SYLVESTER COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER SPECIFIC GUIDELINES

In addition to the guidelines above, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center (SCCC) members must meet the following eligibility and compliance conditions:

• The Principal Investigator(s) named on the application, whether Contact PI or Co-PI, must be SCCC members affiliated with a research program.
• For budget assistance, please contact the Sylvester PreAward (SylvesterPreAward@miami.edu) team at least two weeks before the deadline.

As a condition of this award, Principal Investigator(s) must be registered participants in the current or most recent Dolphins Cancer Challenge (DCC) event, Sylvester’s flagship fundraising initiative. Continued participation in future DCC events is required to maintain eligibility, and proof of registration may be requested.
 

APPENDIX 4: UF HEALTH CANCER INSTITUTE SPECIFIC GUIDELINES

UF investigators must follow all instructions within the guidelines above in addition to the below:

Eligibility UF investigators must be a UFHCI member and able to independently apply for funding as a PI at UF. 

Submission Routing through UFIRST is NOT required for these proposals. Please submit directly following the instructions in this document with a copy to researchadmin@cancer.ufl.edu

Award Activation and Management Awards will be established under the UFHCI’s master pilot award and managed through the UFHCI Office of Research Administration.

APPENDIX 5: MAYO CLINIC COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER SPECIFIC GUIDELINES

MCCCC FL investigators should follow all instructions in the guidelines above. All Mayo Clinic in Florida-based faculty are eligible to apply. 

Please submit directly following the instructions above with a copy to FLAMCCCCFlorida@mayo.edu. Awardees will develop the research project budget with the MCCCC FL Sr. Program Manager.

Questions:

Contact the Moffitt Cancer Center: Maureen Ahearn (intramuralprograms@moffitt.org)