CRUK-EPSRC Early Detection Innovation Sandpit and Award
Deadline: 23rd May 2019, Workshop held on 14 – 17th July 2019
Amount: £100k
Duration: 1 year
In partnership with EPSRC, Cancer Research UK administers the Early Detection Innovation Sandpit and Award which aims to catalyse new multidisciplinary collaborations to drive forward earlier detection of cancer.
Their goal is to improve deployment of early cancer diagnostics to the population, recognising that the innovations made at this sandpit workshop will likely be upstream of clinical impact.
Applicants attend an intensive and interactive three-day residential workshop where they have the opportunity to:
- Network and form new collaborations spanning diverse research areas and organisations.
- Work in broad, multidisciplinary teams to generate new and innovative research ideas.
- Pitch projects for seed funding to test the feasibility of their ideas.
The theme for the July 2019 workshop is applying robotics and robotic technologies for diagnostic delivery and cancer early detection. Research ideas developed at the workshop should:
- Consider how robotic technology could aid in diagnostic delivery/guidance.
- Aim to minimise invasiveness of diagnosis (e.g. through localised imaging, real-time histopathology/biopsy).
- Improve speed and precision of the diagnostic workstream, simplify delivery, lower costs.
- Explore opportunities for both cancer detection and delivery of treatment, if necessary.
Applicants from a wide range of disciplines are eligible including those working in the fields of cancer biology, healthcare professionals, computer scientists, mathematicians and statisticians, engineers, physical scientists, and those working in the digital and technology space.
Applicants must be:
- Creative, open-minded, and able to work effectively as part of a team.
- Willing to engage with those working in other disciplines from a variety of backgrounds, and other key stakeholders.
- Able to attend all three days of the workshop in Oxfordshire, 14–17 July 2019.
- Based in the UK.
Applications from those working in clinical technologies, control engineering, human-computer interaction, image and vision computing approaches which have not previously been explored in cancer detection and from people representing organisations (large or small) that will contribute new expertise and new thinking in early detection research are particularly welcome.
Accommodation and meals are provided for the workshop, as well as standard class travel costs.
Teams who successfully pitch proposals at the workshop will receive seed funding for one year to cover the costs of pilot/feasibility studies (up to £100K).
Please ensure to read the full call text and workshop specification available through the link above.