Ten-year awards for scientists who commit to one hard problem
Give a small number of scientists a decade of guaranteed funding to work on a single hard problem such as dormant cancer cells, with no pressure to publish quickly.
The typical grant cycle of three to five years pushes researchers towards problems that yield papers on that timescale. Metastasis, dormancy, cachexia, tumour immunology in cold tumours and undruggable drivers need longer bets. A funder would award 10-year, person-based grants to mid-career investigators who commit to one such problem, assessed at year five on process (data shared, tools built, negative results published) rather than publication counts. Precedents are the Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator model and the Wellcome Trust's long-term fellowships.
- Funding follows fashion, not burden · Money goes to the cancers and questions that are easy or popular, not the ones that kill most or where a dollar would do most.
- Metastasis is understood least and studied last · Metastasis causes about nine in ten cancer deaths but gets a small fraction of research money and almost no trials of its own.
- Dormant cells and minimal residual disease · After a 'successful' treatment, cells can sleep for years then relapse. We can barely detect them and cannot target them.
Pages like this
not linked directly; found by shared links- IdeaTake the blood test, and give the drug, at the right time of day
Shares Klaus Pantel, Dormant cells and minimal residual disease.
- IdeaCirculating tumour cell clearance as the phase 2 gate for anti-metastatic drugs
Shares Klaus Pantel, Metastasis is understood least and studied last.
- IdeaRing-fence a fifth of national cancer research money for metastasis
Shares Metastasis is understood least and studied last, Funding follows fashion, not burden.
- IdeaBlunt the inflammation that wakes sleeping cancer cells
Shares Metastasis is understood least and studied last, Dormant cells and minimal residual disease.
- IdeaFlush dormant cells out of bone marrow, then kill them
Shares Metastasis is understood least and studied last, Dormant cells and minimal residual disease.
- IdeaTreat brain metastases as a disease with its own trials programme
Shares A ring-fenced metastasis programme with metastasis-specific endpoints, Funding follows fashion, not burden.
- IdeaA blood test for the pre-metastatic niche
Shares Metastasis is understood least and studied last, Dormant cells and minimal residual disease.
- IdeaA global rapid tissue donation network for metastatic disease
Shares Charles Swanton, Metastasis is understood least and studied last.