1. La strategia di AIRC per la ricerca
Riunione Nazionale COMU
(3-4 Febbraio 2017)
La ricerca in oncologia:
il ruolo degli attori istituzionali
La strategia di AIRC per la ricerca
Federico Caligaris Cappio direttore scientifico AIRC

2. Some information about AIRC
Founded in 1965 at the National Cancer Institute in Milan
AIRC has become the major Italian charity with:
more than 1,500,000 donor members
more than 20,000 volunteers for voluntary services
about 5,000 researchers supported all over Italy
Our mission in a nutshell
Finding the Cure of Cancer through Research

3. Some information about AIRC
Our mission more extensively
Funding the research on cancer carried out at scientific institutions, universities and hospitals in Italy
Completing the education of young researchers in Italy and abroad
Informing the public and raising awareness of progress in cancer research

4. 8 million visitors on airc.it 493,000 likes 21,400 followers
AIRC COMMUNITY
20,000 volunteers
4,5 million supporters
8 million visitors on airc.it
493,000 likes
21,400 followers
17 REGIONAL COMMITTEES

5. How AIRC raises funds AIRC raises funds in different ways:
Membership fees
National fundraising campaigns
“5xmille” of income taxes
Local events (e.g. concerts, shows, sport tournaments, auctions)
Other donations (corporate, partnerships, co-funding)

6. AIRC main activities and priorities
To support junior and senior scientists
Grants for
junior
scientists
Grants for
senior
scientists
Fellowships
In Italy
Fellowships
abroad
multi-unit
Grants
The selection of applications to be funded is based uniquely on merit
Publication
of the
Call
Peer
review
Applications
submission
Ranking
Funding

7. AIRC peer review system
A panel of approx. 600 international investigators working abroad
Internationally recognized Italian scientists, members of the “Comitato Tecnico Scientifico” (CTS)
Three reviewers for any application selected on the basis of their competence and absence of conflict of interest

8. An example: evaluation of Investigator Grants 2016
First phase: 413 applications assigned to 400 international reviewers and 27 CTS members
Rejected
(143)
Approved
(63)
“Gray zone”
(207)
An example: evaluation of Investigator Grants 2016
Second phase: 27 CTS members study section
Zona grigia:
respinti (146)
TOTAL APPROVED: 124 (30%)
Total Rejected: 289
Gray zone:
rejected (146)
Gray zone:
approved (61)
Zona grigia:
approvati (61)

9. AIRC activity
Publication
of the call
Applications
received
Peer Review
Evaluation
Ranking
Funding
85%
NON-Clinical
(Basic, Translat)
15%
Clinical
CALLs published 21
Number of eligible investigator-initiated applications received and sent out for review:
Research projects1852
Fellowship 995

10. Timeline (grants) February: January 2nd 2017: Call for proposals
Start of grant
November:
Board of Directors
meeting and
notification of results
February:
Call for proposals
March:
Deadline for applications
April:
Reviewers assignment
October:
Study section
Meeting (IG, MFAG)
September:
evaluation of
final report
of previous funding (IG)
June:
Deadline for review
August:
Analysis of reviews,
initial ranking

11. What AIRC is financing (2016)
AIRC supports junior scientists
Borse per
l’Italia
Fellowships
Abroad
in Italy
One year
Two yrs
Three yrs
AIRC
FIRC
Received (2016): 267
Approved:
69 (26%)
One year
Two yrs
AIRC
AIRC-EU
FIRC
Received (2016): 20
Approved:
9 (45%)

12. What AIRC is financing (2016)
AIRC supports junior scientists
Borse per
l’Italia
Grants for
Junior
Scientists
MFAG (2016):
Presubmissions: 158
Accepted: 55
Funded: 19 (34.5%)
My First AIRC G:
€ /yr/3 years. Age < 40
Start-Up:
€ /yr/ years. Age ≤ 35
Start Up (2016):
Presubmissions: 47
Accepted: 17
Funded: 3 (17.6%)

13. What AIRC is financing: senior scientists
Investigator Grants (IG):
5 years
Average request:
50,000 – 550,000 €/yr
Grants for
Senior
Scientists
Investigator Grants 2016
RECEIVED: 413
APPROVED: 124 (30%)
Rejected:289

14. What AIRC is financing (2016)
AIRC supports both junior and senior scientists
Borse per
l’Italia
Multi-Unit
Grants
Special Programmes 5xmille (5 yrs + 2 yr extension)
Molecular Clinical Oncology Programme (2010): N. 10 Projects funded;
2-3 M€/year/each
Innovative Tools for Cancer Risk Assessment and Early Diagnosis (2011): N. 4 Projects funded; 2-3 M€/year/each

15. Activity of the past three years How much money has AIRC invested?
2012
2013
2014
2015
AIRC
FIRC
Sostegno ai giovani ricercatori
(Fellowships, MFAG, Start-Up, TRIDEO) € € € € € € €
Programmi 5 x mille e progetti speciali € € € €
Investigator Grants € € € €
Totale € € € €

16. How much money has AIRC invested in science in 2016?
Individual grants
€ ,32
Grants 5 x mille
€ ,46
Extension 5 x mille
€ ,99
Special Regional Grants
€ ,00
Multi-User Equipment Grants
€ ,00
Sub-total Grants
€ ,77
AIRC Fellowships Italy 2016
€ ,00
AIRC/FIRC fellowships Abroad 2016
€ ,49
AIRC/EU fellowships – Mini Extension
€ ,00
Sub-total fellowships
€ ,49
Total
€ ,26

17. Percentage of male and female PIs and staff in AIRC funded projects
PI vs Staff
Funded projects ( ) all Calls (IG, 5 per mille, MFAG, Start-up, Trideo)

18. Percentage of male and female senior and junior PIs
in AIRC funded projects
Senior PI (IG, 5 per mille) vs junior PI (MFAG, Start-up, Trideo)
Funded projects ( )

19. International collaborations of AIRC-funded
Italian scientists
Dataset AIRC
Thomson Reuters

20. National and International partners of AIRC-funded Italian scientists
Number of publications
Dataset AIRC
Thomson Reuters

21. Some Aspects of the Strategic Plan 2016 – 2018 Facts and Discussions
Cancer knows no boundaries: why should cancer research ?
Partnership between AIRC and other major international charities and/or Institutions e.g. Cancer Research United Kingdom (CRUK)
A critical issue: the career of young scientists
AIRC- financed PhD in Molecular Oncology
Critical Career Awards: discussions ongoing

22. My First AIRC Grant (MFAG) transition to independence
max 40 anni
Funding: 5 anni con un mid-term report al terzo anno più site-visit a campione
Budget: €/anno, include 50% stipendio
Applications attese: circa 200
Funding: circa 15 applications

23. Start-Up – reintegration
Max 35 anni
Funding: 5 anni con site-visit al terzo anno
Budget: euro/anno incluso stipendio
Applications attese: circa 50
Funding: circa 3 applications

24. Finding the Cure of Cancer through Research
AIRC Historical Timeline
INTERNATIONAL
PARTNERSHIPS
AIRC/ EU Marie Curie Actions Fellowships
TRIDEO
AIRC 5 x mille
Multi Unit Grants
My First AIRC Grant
Technology Platforms
Regional Grants
Start Up Grants
Investigator Grants
Fellowships
Finding the Cure of Cancer through Research
1965
1998
2004
2008
2009
2010
2014
2018 (2019)

25. AIRC Career Pipeline AIRC pipeline grants
AIRC SUPPORTS BOTH JUNIOR AND SENIOR SCIENTISTS
AIRC Career Pipeline
Grants Junior Scientists
Grants Senior Scientists
(MFAG)
Transition
toward
Independence
Fellowships
Italy and
abroad
Start-up
Reintegration
Investigator
Grants
Multi-unit
Grants
Including
PhD
Scholarships
INTERNATIONAL GRANTS

26. How can we do what we do ?

27. How can we do what we do ? AIRC Peer Review Office (APRO)
Lisa Vozza (AIRC chief scientific officer)
Degree in Biological sciences
Research Fellow at New York University, USA ( )
Editorial coordinator for the European editions of Scientific American ( )
Joined AIRC in 2004
Edits and writes popular science books in parallel to her work at AIRC
Alessandra Mazzoni
Degree in Biological sciences
Research fellow at the National Cancer Institute, Milan ( )
Research fellow at the National Institutes of Health, USA ( )
Intern at the NIH Center for Scientific Review, USA (2008)
Joined AIRC at the end of 2008
Laura Galbiati
Degree in Biological sciences
PhD and Post Doctoral fellow at SISSA/ICGEB, Trieste ( )
Research fellow at the University of Sussex , UK ( )
Business developer at Nature Publishing Group and free-lance editor (IT, FR, ES) ( )
Joined AIRC in 2010
Ilaria Guerini
Degree in Biotechnologies
PhD and Post Doctoral fellow at the University of Milan-Bicocca ( )
Post Doctoral fellow at the Gurdon Institute in Cambridge, UK ( )
Free-lance scientific writer for Springer Healthcare Italy (2012)
Joined AIRC at the beginning of 2013

29. Number of Grant applications AIRC (grants and fellowships) in Peer Review (2008-2015)

30. RESEARCH SPEND: OUR BREADTH AND DEPTH OF CAPABILITY
RESEARCH PIPELINE FUNDING:
BREAKDOWN:
AIRC
53%
Basic
45% - Biology
2% - Prevention AI
2% - Cancer control,
survival & outcomes
7% - Causes
85%
NON-Clinical
(Basic, Translat)
Information from 13/14 data- Received from Research Strategy and Evaluation team Feb 2016
14% - Early diagnosis,
Detection &
prognosis
26%
Translational
15%
Clinical
21%
Clinical
30% - Treatment

31. Monitoring the productivity of AIRC researchers
• Publications on scientific journals
(AIRC scientific officers)
• Final report analysis in case of previous fundings
(reviewers)
• Site visits for 5-yr grant programs, e.g. Start-Up, 5 x mille
• Attendance at scientific meetings, retreats, etc.

32. Piano Strategico Scientifico
Il Punto di Partenza:
Cosa AIRC finanzia e a quale fine
AIRC finanzia ricercatori giovani e ricercatori affermati
Grants per
ricercatori
giovani
Grants per
ricercatori
affermati
Borse per
l’Italia
Borse per
l’estero
Grants
multi-unit
Missione di AIRC Trovare la Cura del Cancro attraverso la Ricerca
Piano Strategico Scientifico

33. Piano Strategico Scientifico
Implementare l’esistente
Ideare nuove modalità
Internazionalizzazione
Carriere giovani
Tradurre risultati in reali benefici per i pazienti
Forme di finanziamento esistenti
B. Nuove forme di finanziamento a tempi brevi-medi
C. Nuove forme di finanziamento ipotizzabili a lungo termine e potenziali novità dall’esito non ancora prevedibile

34. Quanti revisori valutano ogni progetto?
Ogni richiesta di finanziamento viene valutata in maniera indipendente da almeno 3 revisori competenti nella specifica area di ricerca del progetto
La composizione del gruppo di valutazione varia a seconda del tipo di finanziamento:
Investigator Grants: 2 revisori internazionali e 1 membro del CTS
MFAG: 3 revisori internazionali
Start-Up: 3 revisori internazionali
Borse di studio (Italia): 3 membri del CTS
Borse di studio (estero): 2 membri del CTS and 1 revisore internazionale

35. Our review criteria (input to reviewers)
• significance and impact on cancer
• innovation
• approach and feasibility
• expertise and track record of the applicant
• adequacy of the budget requested
• experience in mentoring and training (fellowships)