NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE - CANCER.GOV

STARS Submission Instructions

Supplemental funding to offset exceptional experimental costs for ongoing projects.

The Supplemental Technology Award Review System (STARS) can be used to request supplemental technology funding to offset exceptional experiment costs (e.g., core or vendor services or specialized reagents) in support of ongoing CCR research.

  • STARS applications are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the fiscal year.
  • STARS is not designed to initiate new projects or develop new directions for an ongoing project.
  • Eligible expenses include cores & external vendors but cannot include costs for animal resources. For all animal resources and related funding requests, please contact Mary Custer (CCR Animal Resource Program)
  • 50% supplement is offered for projects up to $20,000 ($10,000 supplement maximum per fiscal year/PI) and should be requested following the ‘support below $10,000’ tier guidelines listed below.
  • If the PI has reached the $10,000 subsidy limit for the year, or if the supplement requested is more than $10,000, applications must be submitted following the ‘support above $10,000’ tier guidelines listed below.

STARS Submission Instructions:

From the STARS overview page, click the “STARS request form” tab.

Requests for support below $10,000: Require the Requestor and PI information, a brief description of the requested service, name of the core/company, and the total cost of the project. Requests will receive technical review/approval by OSTR within a few days.

Requests for support above $10,000: Require all information listed for ‘support below $10,000’, as well as both scientific and budgetary justification, and should be proposed in the context of a specific project resulting from the PI’s ongoing research. Select members of the CCR Science Board (CSB) will review proposals for technical appropriateness, scientific merit, and potential impact, and make funding recommendations. The following elements should be prepared in advance and entered into the corresponding fields in the STARS application.

Title: Brief, informative title indicating the technology or reagents sought, and disease, pathway or model system under study.

Research Plan (Limit 4000 characters, including spaces): Briefly describe the project’s background, significance, overall aims, and any key preliminary data. Explain the proposed experimental design, highlighting how the experiments for which you are requesting support will advance the project goals. If alternative approaches are possible, please indicate the advantages of the proposed approach(es).

Scientific Justification (Limit 2000 characters, including spaces): Discuss how this project fits within the context of your overall research program. Assess the potential impact of this project and highlight if the proposed research will produce key insights on particularly difficult or important problems or contribute to the development of new diagnostics or therapeutics. Please indicate major collaborators and their roles.

Budgetary Justification (Limit 2000 characters, including spaces): Discuss the relative priority of this project within the context of your overall research program, addressing how your base budget is allocated among your major projects areas. Explain how you arrived at the proposed PI contribution for this specific project and why this project cannot be accommodated within your base budget.

Supporting Documentation: Note that only figures or data referred to in your research plan or justification may be uploaded using the supporting documentation link on the submission form. Please ensure that your proposal text does not exceed the character limits, as additional information other than figures or data will not be considered. Do not upload extended proposals or reprints. Acceptable files include: doc, docx, xls, xlsx, txt, rtf, pdf.