Current MHF Centre Funding Rounds

• The lead Chief Investigator (CIA) listed on the submitted application must be employed by an institution based in Australia.
• CIs can be listed on a maximum of one (1) application as CIA.
• A maximum of two (2) applications will be accepted per lab.
• Submitted applications must be approved by the CIA’s employer or equivalent representative.
• A maximum of five (5) CIs are allowed per application.
• Applications are to be submitted by the CIA, who must clearly outline the intended use of funds and the benefits their project will make to brain cancer research.
• For an application to be considered eligible, all fields must be completed, and the final form submitted with attachments as PDFs to MHFCentre@newcastle.edu.au by the closing deadline of 5pm 2 October 2024.
• Consideration will be given to applications with co-funding from other sources (department, supervisor, or institution).
• Special consideration will be given to applications that involve early to mid-career researchers (EMCRs). This is defined as < 10 years post-PhD or beyond 10 years post-PhD with documented career interruptions equating to less than 10 cumulative years of research experience.
• Projects previously funded by the MHF requiring next stage funding or early-stage projects looking to gather pilot data are encouraged.
• All ineligible applications will be removed prior to assessment at the discretion of the selection committee.

Forfeiture of Grants

• Funding not spent in the timeframe indicated will revert to the MHF Centre: upsent funding will be re-allocated by the MHF Centre in future grants rounds. Failure to meet the conditions of funding may limit your eligibility for funding in future grant rounds.
• Recipients must acknowledge both the MHF and the MHF Centre for the life of the grant. This acknowledgement includes, but is not limited to, media releases, promotional materials such as brochures and newsletters, publications and articles submitted to journals, presentations at conferences, oral presentations, attendance at meetings and community/ supporter’s events. Recipients may be requested to participate in selected public speaking and/or public appearances and media interviews to be coordinated through the MHF Centre.
• Acknowledgements should include the below-specified wording as per quotations: “This grant was funded by the Mark Hughes Foundation through the Mark Hughes Foundation Centre for Brain Cancer Research.”

Reporting Requirements

• Recipients must comply with grant reporting and compliance requirements within the specified timeframe. These reporting requirements will be outlined to recipients on award of the grant. Of note, you will be asked to submit a Progress Report at the end of the first year of funding and a Final Report (and project end financial acquittal statement) at the end date of your project. Recipients will also be asked to provide a short video update of your project outcomes in lay terms for release on the MHF Centre media channels. More details will be shared with successful applicants.

Budget

• Administration fees (otherwise referred to as overhead or indirect costs) are not an eligible budget expense.

PRIMARY SELECTION CRITERIA

Applications will be review by a scientific panel of leading scientists and cancer experts formed by the MHF Centre, against the following primary selection criteria:

Readability (Plain English Summary + Section 1):

• Each application must demonstrate the ability to communicate the concept of the project to a lay audience and articulate the pathway to translation.
• Readability score for these sections should be between 70.0 and 60.0. For assistance in checking your readability score in Microsoft Word, please refer to this support article.

Innovation (50%: Q1.2, 1.4-1.6)

• Innovation of the approach (imaginative/creative use of resources, new hypothesis, outside of the box, availability of unique data set or patient resource, unusual combination of skills).
• Applicability of the innovative approach to the research question.
• Potential benefit and value of the innovative approach.

Scientific Quality and Team (20%: Q2 + Q3)

• Soundness of the methodology (scientifically rigorous hypothesis, the ability of the experimental approach to answer the question within the time frame of the project, appropriateness of techniques and experimental design including sample size).
• Adequacy of resources (includes availability of appropriately trained personnel, facilities, and time to undertake the project). Special consideration will be given to application involving EMCRs.
• Appropriateness of budget (ability to undertake the project within the available budget). Consideration will be given to applications with co-funding.

Relevance and Significance for Brain Cancer (30%: Q1.1-1.4, Q1.6)

• Relevance of the research question to brain cancer.
• Potential impact of the question being addressed in terms of patient care, disease prevention, understanding biological processes, social policy, and economic benefits.
• Likelihood that the outcomes will leverage external funding.
• Track record of high impact medical research into brain cancer.

SECONDARY SELECTION CRITERIA

Grants that rate equally on the above criteria may be further differentiated based on whether the project:

• Is cross institutional.
• Is interdisciplinary and/or involved Chief Investigators from different research programs.
• Is focused on translational clinical research.

Please note that your application requires certification/sign-off from your employer. Generally, this may mean sign off from Head of School for university employees; research program leaders for research institute employees; line/service manager and relevant general manager for health district employees; and line manager/supervisor and director/department heads for hospital employees (other than health district).

We recommend that you flag your intention to apply for this grant with your relevant certifiers as soon as possible and confirm their availability and requirements for sign-off, to ensure you can submit your application with the appropriate certification.

A selection committee shall be responsible for the award of the grant/s. The selection committee may comprise:

• The Foundation MHF Chair and Director of the MHF Centre for Brain Cancer Research
• The College of Health, Medicine, and Wellbeing Assistant Dean of Research at the University of Newcastle
• Selected members of the MHF Centre Scientific Committee
• External reviewers as required.

STEP 1          DETERMINE YOUR ELIGIBILITY

Please refer above to the General Eligibility and Conditions tab.

STEP 2          COMPLETE YOUR APPLICATION

Submissions for the 2024 Mark Hughes Foundation (MHF) Centre for Brain Cancer Research Innovation Grants will be managed via the MHF Centre email (MHFCentre@newcastle.edu.au). To commence an application, please download the word document from the MHF Centre website.

Complete your application ensuring all sections are addressed. Incomplete applications, or those that do not have all certifications completed at the time of submission will be deemed ineligible and removed prior to assessment. Please include a list of key references as an Appendix to your application, combined into the one PDF document, and saved using the following naming convention:

[CI-Surname_First name]_2024_MHF Centre_Innovation_Grant. For example: Jones_Matt_2024_MHF Centre_Innovation_Grant

Should you have co-funding for this grant proposal, we ask that you also include a signed letter of support confirming the total cash/in-kind support which should also be combined into the one PDF document. No further attachments or documentation are permitted. Any graphs or diagrams are to be inserted into the PDF of the completed application.

If the CIA is a University of Newcastle researcher, please complete an Application e-form. There is no earlier internal university deadline for this scheme.

STEP 3          LODGE YOUR APPLICATION

Be sure to lodge your application in PDF format using the naming convention above to MHFCentre@newcastle.edu.au by the deadline of 5:00pm, Wednesday 2 October 2024.

For assistance with the submission, including any eligibility questions, please contact the MHF Centre’s Manager, Kylie Hugo at Kylie.Hugo@newcastle.edu.au