Funding Oppurtunities

2011 ASPIRE Awards in Pediatric Vaccine Research

In 2011 Pfizer will supprt a competitive grants program in pediatric vaccine research: Community Based Iniatives to Decrease Barriers to Pediatric Immunization.  Eligibility- Junior Investigators Only.  Funding research awards up to a maximum of $40,000 each for one year.  Vist the ASPIRE website for more information.  Applications due July 15, 2011.

The CATCH Planning Funds Grant

The Community Access To Child Health (CATCH) Planning Funds Program provides grants from $5,000 to $12,000 to pediatricians to develop innovative, community-based initiatives that increase children's access to medical homes or to specific health services not otherwise available.  Applications Due July 29, 2011.  For grant eligibility, aplication and other details visit the Community Pediatrics website.

Healthy People 2020 Community Innovations Project                            This project will fund non-profit, community-based organizations with budgets less than $750,000 to implement projects that address Healthy People 2020 overarching goals, topic areas and objectives and integrate at least one of the following Healthy People 2020 Community Innovation Project priorities: environmental justice, health equity, and healthy behaviors across all life stages. As many as 170 projects will be given between $5,000 to $10,000 to conduct projects between December 1, 2011 and May 31, 2012. The deadline for submitting an application in response to this Request for Proposal (RFP) is Friday, August 5, 2011.

 Some Thoughts from our OCE Partners

 Zul Sarani

Community Outreach/ Partnerships Specialist

USC Patient Education and Community Outreach Center

 Zul Surani is a member of the Office of Community's Engagement's Community Leadership Council. He has been part of SC CTSI since its inception, contributing to its planning two years before it got funded by the NIH.

Zul has worked at USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center for over a decade. In 2000, he helped launch NCI's Cancer Information Service Partnership Program Office for Southern California along with Dr. Lourdes-Baezconde Garbanati. Since then, the Partnership Program grew to over 200 community organizations, providers, policy advocates and community researchers. The main goal for USC Norris' community outreach program is to identify and address cancer health disparities among the medically underserved through capacity building, providing the latest, science-based cancer information and translating scientific advances to the surrounding communities. In 2007, USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center established the Patient Education and Community Outreach Center (PEOC) in response to an NCI mandate for Comprehensive Cancer Centers to address cancer disparities in surrounding communities and enhance its community outreach efforts. Zul manages the PEOC which also includes a high-tech patient and community education center.

Here are some examples of the work the PEOC has undertaken:

1. Lead the development and dissemination of a cancer needs assessment in Los Angeles to further identify local communities in need of interventions and help local policy makers and funders establish cancer control priorities. For example, the PEOC has collaborated with the Cancer Surveillance Program to develop and use of cancer control data tools and processes to aid community outreach efforts targeting high-­risk areas and populations. Through this effort, it was identified that Los Angeles County Service Planning Area 4 or Metro area is one of the areas with densest concentration of invasive breast cancer among Spanish-­surnamed and Asian populations. This led to the development of the Comprehensive Cancer Control Coalition for Service Planning Area 4 (C4-SPA4) in 2010, a unique collaboration of community and faith based organizations, government officials, businesses, foundations, hospitals, universities and community clinics, pooling resources to reduce the burden of cancer by focusing on early detection, better treatment, and enhanced survivorship. Several meetings and forums were held in 2010-2011 and a community cancer screening event is scheduled in the fall. A readiness survey to adopt evidence-based programs in areas most affected by invasive breast cancer is planned for organizations in November/December.

2. Provide science-based cancer education and research support to NCI funded Community Networks Programs through WINCART (Weaving an Islander Network for Cancer Awareness Research and Training) which is dedicated to reducing cancer disparities among Pacific Islander communities of Southern California. Pacific Islanders are comprised of Samoans, Tongans, Chamorros, Native Hawaiians, Marshallese and other communities who experience high disparities in cancer incidence and mortality. The PEOC is working with Pacific Islander grass roots community organizations, lay health advisors and navigators to increase awareness and impact of personalized medicine, bio-specimen collection and banking and clinical trials in advancing research in this community to benefit Pacific Islanders nationwide.

3. In a unique collaboration with Charles Drew University, UCLA's Community Research in Cancer (CORICA) and the L.A. County Department of Public Health, promote the use of CDC's Community Guide and NCI's Cancer Control PLANET to identify and select appropriate cancer control programs for use at the community level. Over 200 community organizations have been trained and many have already selected and adopted effective programs in cancer prevention and control.