Special Initiatives

Since its inception in 2021, the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network has made significant progress towards building its Gold Cohort, a cancer case resource that includes clinical and genomic data from 15,000 cancer patients treated in centres across the country. Sharing this data is a key rationale for the Network to accelerate research, support collaboration and ultimately benefit patients. The Network is now seeking to demonstrate the feasibility and scientific value of sharing and using the Gold Cohort through pilot projects. 

Purpose 

The aim of this call is to support pilot projects with a 6-month timeframe that demonstrate: 1) the feasibility and scientific value of accessing and using the Gold Cohort, 2) the power of the Gold Cohort to support collaborative and innovative approaches to data use (e.g., increased statistical power, sharing of complementary data), and 3) the feasibility of Network data sharing mechanisms. 

Examples of project topics include: 

• Discovering or validating biomarkers across Cohorts or cancer types
• Developing or validating analytic workflows
• Validating treatment effectiveness indicators
• Assessing eligibility criteria for whole genome sequencing as standard of care 

Eligibility and Evaluation Criteria 

To receive funding, studies must: 

• Be led by a Network Investigator at a Network Member Institution, 
• Involve cross-site access to and use of Network Data, which will require a complete data access request and approval by the Network Data Access Committee.  
• Clearly define the data needed for the study and demonstrate the data is available (e.g., on CanDIG Portal or confirmed with other Site(s)).
• Demonstrate the ability to begin work immediately and have appropriate resources available to complete the work in the short timeframe, including:
• Ability to obtain REB approval (or amendment) and any other institutional approvals in a defined timeframe. 
• Analysis team and methods are already established. 
• Ability to access/download data on approval (using the CanDIG download mechanism or other mechanism – confirm with other Site(s) as needed).   
• Demonstrate how the project will keep data received secure.  

Applicants are encouraged to: 

• Involve the use of Network Data from multiple Sites, to demonstrate value of the Gold Cohort.
• Involve cross-Site collaboration between Network researchers in data use where feasible.
• Access and use companion data beyond Gold Cohort data (to demonstrate complementarity of the Network). 

The demonstrated readiness of the applicant Site/Investigator to make data available for pilot projects led by other Sites will also be considered as part of the evaluation (e.g., case completion, CanDIG node implementation, data ingestion, CanDIG node connection, confirmation from legal teams of readiness to share).

Resources Available 

Applicants and successful projects will have access to the following through the Network: 

• Approximately 6000 cases from Years 1-3 (fiscal years 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24) completed and ingested into multiple regional CanDIG Nodes and available for Network access,
• CanDIG Portal for data discovery (summary view and search) across connected Nodes to prepare a project application and data access request. Contact regional Consortium for access to the portal. 
• Access to Gold Cohort data for REB-approved Studies through the Network Data Access Procedures. 
• Sharing under the Network Master Agreement and Schedule H Data Access and Use Terms for the purpose of the approved Study. 
• The ability for approved users to view and download Network Data securely through CanDIG. Additional data transfer mechanisms may be proposed as needed. 
• Support from Consortia managers and IT teams to navigate data access processes and CanDIG data sharing mechanisms. 
• Support from TFRI and the Data Sharing Sub-group with cross-site coordination.  

Support Offered 

• Up to $100,000 of MOHCCN (Health Canada) funding will be available per Project for a 6-month period
• A 1:1 cash match funding requirement applies (total project budget: $200,000)
• A maximum of five Projects will be supported; one from each MOHCCN Consortia
• Activities eligible for funding include those necessary to conduct the study, including:
• IT and project management support with data transfer, download, storage, and analysis
• Storage and compute resources 
• Bioinformatics salaries
• Bioinformatics analyses 

Review and Approval Process 

• Successful applications will need to pass a two-stage review: 1) funding applications will be reviewed by TFRI and 2) the data access request from provisionally approved projects will need to be approved by the Network Data Access Committee. 
• Successful projects will be funded through a non-case Research Project Grant Agreement (RPGA).
• Data access approval is conditional on obtaining local REB approval (or amendment) for the Study. 
• Subject to required approvals and available resources, projects may request access to data to continue study activities beyond the funding period (default access period of 2 years). 

Key Dates & Deadlines 

Documents 

• Request for Applications
• Application Template (Includes Data Access Request Form and Cash Match Commitment Letters)

PLEASE NOTE: TFRI and MOHCCN hosted an open-access webinar on April 3, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. PDT / 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. EDT to outline the application process for the TFRI-MOHCCN Technology Development Awards and to answer any questions. This recorded webinar and corresponding slides are available below:

Download slides

Purpose 

This co-funding opportunity from the Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI) and the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network (MOHCCN) aims to support the development of proof-of-principle or proof-of-feasibility data for additional profiling approaches to be used in future developments for the MOHCCN. These projects will support existing or new precision cancer research using the MOHCCN model with significant potential for impact on outcomes for patients.   

Scope of the Program 

Projects may involve, but are not limited to, the following topics: 

• Proteomics and protein-based technologies  

• Metabolomics   

• Liquid biopsies and longitudinal samples for assessment of metastasis or heterogeneity  

• Flow Cytometry, CyTOF, Imaging mass spectrometry.  

Applications should detail the technology, evidence of its use in the applicant’s labs, plan for standardization, reproducibility (at more than one site), and data processing/export. Applicants must have appropriate access to samples (include letters to demonstrate consent for sample analysis and access for sharing, as appropriate) and must detail the number of samples to be included in the project (minimum 20).  

Support Offered 

Funding will be available for the remaining two (2) years of the MOHCCN project, Fiscal Years 2024–25 and 2025–26. Projects may apply for up to $250,000 (total amount; delivered over one or two years, depending on project scope). Applicants must demonstrate the ability to begin work in August 2024, have appropriate access to samples and to complete work within the timeframes.