India has tremendous potential for innovation in healthcare products. This is yet to be fully realized because of the lack of strong coupling mechanisms that match pull forces based on clinical need and push forces based on research output. The CANDO-ETR grants aim to provide bridge funding to enable the transition from early translational research towards clinical application.

They will fund Early Translational Research, defined in this context as research done to prove at a laboratory level any idea/​hypothesis/​principle related to a human healthcare intervention (therapeutic, vaccine or diagnostic). The idea/​experiments proposed should have a clear connection with a potential clinical application and should be robust enough to eliminate confounding interpretations or obvious downsides that can prevent development for clinical use.

Since this Grant is governed by Government CSR funding rules, we have to restrict eligibility for funding to full time faculty at Government research institutions/​universities.

The idea/​hypothesis/​principle espoused in the proposal should have plausibility based on prior data (preferably from the proposers laboratory).
The proposer should have access to needed animal models/​instrumentation for carrying out the experiments proposed.

Please submit your proposal via email to andrea@​ignitelsf.​in

The subject line of the email should say: CANDO-ETR Proposal 2023, Your Name and Institution

The proposal (maximum 10 pages) should contain the following sections:

1. A high level SUMMARY of the proposal (150 words or less)
2. Background science in support of this proposal (ideally ONE page)
3. The central hypothesis or idea (ideally half a page)
4. The experimental design to test your hypothesis/​idea; experiments that are definitive in their outcomes and constitute a go/no-go decision point for further work are preferred (ideally ONE page)
5. Possible outcomes and next steps (ONE page)
6. List of References in support of (2) above (ONE page)
7. Six monthly Milestones, and Funding (with breakup) required to be disbursed in six monthly tranches (ONE page). If your project timeline is only 6 months or less, then you can ask for the entire fund release to be disbursed at the start of the project.
8. Name of PI, co-PIs, list of relevant papers published by the PI and Co-PI, address, email ID and mobile phone numbers
9. If funding announcements are made in the last week of July, on what date can you commence work on your proposal
10. Self-certification that this Proposal does not overlap with any other ongoing funded proposals OR proposals submitted to other agencies for funding. Please do list ALL proposals of a similar nature that are funded in your laboratory as well as proposals of a similar nature submitted by you for funding to other agencies

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