2025 Bridge Project RFA
June 11, 2025
Dear DF/HCC Colleagues,
We are pleased to release the 2025 Bridge Project RFA. Please note that there have been some eligibility changes that should be noted. Full applications are due by 10AM ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14th, 2025.
The Bridge Project, a collaboration between MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research (KI) and the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC) consortium, brings together the expertise of these two organizations to tackle complex translational problems in cancer research. We fund collaborative approaches in translational cancer research led by teams of engineers, cancer scientists, and clinical investigators from these institutions.
Eligibility
- Teams must be composed of at least one Principal Investigator (PI) from MIT and at least one PI from DF/HCC institutions: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Each named applicant must have PI status at their host institution and must meaningfully participate in the project as part of their team. Preference will be given to teams employing unique and highly innovative approaches and technologies.
- Teams may submit proposals focused on any aspect of translational cancer research in any tumor type. Preference will be given to projects addressing significant unmet clinical needs requiring improved or new methods for early detection, more accurate diagnosis, monitoring, treatment, and prevention. A subset of available funding will be awarded with preference for projects focused on drug discovery and development, brain cancer research and/or immunotherapy.
- We further encourage applications in the Expansion category of award types; such teams normally have been funded previously via Traditional or Footbridge awards from the Bridge Project, but this is not required.
- Priority will be given to new teams or previously-funded investigators who have demonstrated an ability to conduct work, spend awards, and submit updates on time
Eligibility Restrictions*
- To maintain strong, collaborative teams, investigators can be listed as a PI on no more than 2 Bridge Project applications per cycle, with a maximum of 1 Traditional orExpansion, and 1 Footbridge, application
- PIs currently ending the 1st year of a Traditional Award can apply only for Footbridge awards
- PIs with current Footbridge or Expansion Awards, or in the 2nd year of Traditional Award, are welcome to apply as outlined in the first bullet point, above
*Verify that all PIs on the team conform to these restrictions before applying; applications in excess of the allowances specified must be withdrawn.
Award Types
Footbridge Grants provide $200,000 (total cost) per team per year, for 1 year. Funding for the project should be allocated evenly (50/50) between MIT and DF/HCC. Footbridge grants allow newly formed teams to obtain necessary preliminary data/proof of concept, to develop cohesion as a true team, and to strengthen future Bridge Project applications that may emerge from this work.
Traditional Bridge Grants provide $400,000 (total cost) per team per year for up to 2 years ($800,000 total). Funding for the project should be allocated evenly (50/50) between MIT and DF/HCC. Funding may be requested for up to a two-year period. Renewal at the end of Year 1 is subject to performance review.
Expansion Bridge Grants provide up to $750,000 (total cost) per team to support the initiation of a Phase I clinical trial or a clinical application. Funding allocations between institutions for Expansion Bridge Grants are decided on a per-project basis. Applications for this award type are particularly encouraged. Expansion projects may be based on research funded previously via Footbridge or Traditional awards, but this is not required.
Submission information
Submit applications to ki-bridge@mit.edu (cc all involved PIs) by 10 AM Tuesday, October 14, 2025. Please see Acceptance of Terms on pages 3 and 4 of the RFA—by submitting the application, PIs agree to abide by these terms.
Application Format
All materials should be submitted as a single PDF document
Use 12-point Calibri, or 11-point Arial font and margins of 0.5 inches or greater
Contact Information
Additional information about the Bridge Project can be found here.
Please direct questions to ki-bridge@mit.edu or, if appropriate, to the Bridge Project Directors, Tyler Jacks tjacks@mit.edu and James DeCaprio James_DeCaprio@dfci.harvard.edu.