Scientific Challenges

Background

Collaborations across the biomedical research ecosystem are essential for advancing cancer care. ASTRO recognizes that key innovations in cancer medicine are often driven by partnerships between basic and clinical researchers with industry. The ASTRO Advancing Medicine Together Scientific Challenges (“Challenges”) program exemplifies ASTRO's commitment to fostering these collaborations and supporting radiation oncology researchers as principal investigators (PIs) in industry-sponsored studies.

Scope

The ASTRO Challenges program aims to introduce and catalyze new collaborative research opportunities for the ASTRO membership and to facilitate radiation oncology leadership in scientific discovery and engagement with industry partners.

Description

1. Potential Partner and ASTRO discuss the alignment with ASTRO’s strategic goals/priorities and feasibility to design a new ASTRO-Partner Challenge. Partnership agreements will define the scope and implementation plan for a specific Challenge. For any specific Challenge, a Partner must commit to supporting at least one of the three best-scored researchers of the specific Challenge, as ranked and recommended by the specific Challenge’s Judging Panel (outlined in section 2 below). ASTRO and Partner would then collaborate to design and finalize the Challenge Request for Proposals (RFP).
2. ASTRO would manage Challenge advertising, application submission and review processes, judging and recognition. ASTRO would:
   • Publish and advertise the RFP to the community of experts and researchers and develop FAQs for the RFP and answer questions from potential entrants.
   • Assemble an independent Judging Panel (“Panel” hereafter) with needed expertise relative to the scope of the Challenge. Partner may send up to three non-scoring observers to the Panel discussions to observe and share perspectives and insights they may have about the scope of the specific Challenge.
   • Coordinate with Panel to facilitate review and fair/open competitions for submissions.
   • Organize Panel’s scoring and recommendation for Challenge winners.
   • Announce and celebrate Challenge winners in ASTRO’s media channels.
3. Partner would provide resources to collaborate with Challenge winner(s).

Win/Win Model

Value to ASTRO Members:

• Provides opportunities to forge new collaborations
• Increases funding opportunities for radiation oncology researchers
• Enhances visibility, opportunities to demonstrate scientific research capabilities and excellence

Value to Partners:

• Identifies best scientific research solutions and/or proposals through a fair and open competition organized by a premier medical specialty society
• Accesses the brainpower of leading radiation oncology experts and researchers
• Has potential to broaden the scientific base of a specific field of research, such as increasing studies that explore new indications or combinations