Lung Cancer Research Grant Mechanisms Open for Submission

NEW YORK, Jan. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) announced today that its 2026 funding opportunities are officially open for applications.

Despite being the leading cause of cancer death for men and women worldwide, lung cancer research remains critically underfunded. LCRF was founded to address critical gaps in lung cancer research funding, a mission made more essential as resources for research remain unstable. By partnering with like-minded individuals and organizations, LCRF’s research investment through these grant mechanisms will help to sustain the progress made to date and maintain momentum in lung cancer discovery.

LCRF’s primary funding mechanisms are designed to advance its mission of supporting researchers committed to addressing critical challenges in lung cancer by improving early detection, deepening understanding of lung cancer biology, exploring mechanisms of drug resistance and strategies to overcome it, and developing innovative treatment approaches.

LCRF’s Research Grant on Prevention and Early Detection in Lung Cancer is focused on identifying, characterizing, and developing approaches and techniques that will allow early detection and/or prevention of lung cancer and gaining insight into pre-neoplastic processes in the lungs. When detected at an early stage, the prognosis is better for most patients. Given the significance of and need for early detection of lung cancer and advancements in molecular screening, this mechanism supports research projects that facilitate prevention or approaches for early detection of lung cancer. The goal is to detect lung cancer at the earliest stages and subsequently increase survival and survivorship.

The LCRF Leading Edge Research Grant, seeks to fund innovative projects across the full spectrum of basic, translational, clinical, epidemiological, health services, disparities, and social determinants of health research to help close the research funding gap and improve outcomes for people with a lung cancer diagnosis. This funding mechanism seeks novel ideas, approaches, methods, and techniques that promise to have a profound impact on people living with lung cancer and their treatment teams.

The LCRF Research Grant on Overcoming Resistance in Lung Cancer will support research projects with an emphasis on characterizing, identifying, treating, overcoming, or preventing resistance to therapies in lung tumor cells, tissues, mouse models, or patients. In the last 10 to 15 years, there have been accelerated clinical trials and FDA approvals of several targeted therapies and immunotherapies for lung cancer. Despite these advances, drug resistance limits the therapeutic potential of these treatments. There is an urgent need to understand the mechanisms of drug resistance and to develop ways to overcome and prevent resistance. This grant mechanism will focus on furthering the understanding of the development, prevention, and therapy of resistance by supporting projects that seek to identify, characterize, treat or prevent resistance to lung cancer therapies and increase survival.

“The opening of LCRF’s Requests for Proposals marks the beginning of a new year and brings with it a renewed sense of hope,” says Kathryn O’Donnell, PhD, Chair of LCRF’s Scientific Advisory Board, Associate Professor, Molecular Biology at UT Southwestern Medical Center. “Each year, we receive proposals with groundbreaking ideas that seek cutting-edge solutions to the complexities of lung cancer, and with them, hope for improved outcomes for people living with lung cancer. The LCRF Scientific Advisory Board looks forward to reviewing these proposals.”

“As a person with lung cancer, I am impressed and inspired by the proposals we receive from talented investigators,” remarks Colleen Conner Ziegler, lung cancer survivor and LCRF board chair. “Being able to see scientific advancements in their earliest stages and being a part of moving them forward for the lung cancer community is an incredibly rewarding experience.”

Each of these funding mechanisms will award $150,000 over two years for selected projects, and all mechanisms will be reviewed through a two-step process: Letters of Intent will be accepted until midnight on March 10, 2026; if selected, investigators will then be chosen to submit full proposals following a rigorous scientific review. More details about each of the Requests for Proposal, along with eligibility, requirements, and deadlines can be found at LCRF.org/Funding.

About the Lung Cancer Research Foundation
The Lung Cancer Research Foundation® (LCRF) is the leading nonprofit organization focused on funding innovative, high-reward research with the potential to extend survival and improve quality of life for people with lung cancer. LCRF’s mission is to improve lung cancer outcomes by funding research for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure of lung cancer. To date, LCRF has funded 450 research grants, totaling nearly $53 million, the highest amount provided by a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding lung cancer research. For more information about the LCRF grant program and funding opportunities, visit LCRF.org/research.

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