EACR-Mark Foundation-Pezcoller Foundation Rising Star Award

About the Award

The EACR-Mark Foundation-Pezcoller Foundation Rising Star Award is open to EACR members with an unfunded Score ‘A’ cancer-related project from the 2026 ERC Starting Grant calls. Established in 2023, this prestigious award aims to support pioneering projects that can have a transformative impact on the cancer research field.

Application deadline: Wednesday 14 October 2026 at 23:59 CEST

The awardee will receive funding of up to €100,000 to begin their project. Institutional overheads of 10% will be added to this amount. The award is intended to bridge the period before re-submission to the ERC. Following acceptance, the awardee will be invited to give a talk at the EACR Congress in Bilbao, Spain, 14-17 June 2027. They will also be invited to give a lecture at the Pezcoller Foundation in Trento, Italy, at a date to be agreed.

Eligibility

Applicants must be current EACR members. If you want to apply for this award but are not yet an EACR member, you can sign up to become a member now.

Applicants must have an unfunded Score ‘A’ cancer-related project from the 2026 ERC Starting Grant calls. The ERC defines Score 'A' as "Fully meets the ERC excellence criterion and is recommended for funding if sufficient funds are available".

How to apply

Application deadline: Wednesday 14 October 2026 at 23:59 CEST

Download the Terms and Conditions
Download the Application Form

Please email your completed application form and the below accompanying documents as a single PDF to catherine.burns@eacr.org. Applicants can expect to hear the result of the evaluation by the end of November 2026.

Documents to send:
1.   Completed Application Form
2.   Concise curriculum vitae (CV) [1 page maximum]
3.   A copy of your ‘B1’ ERC Starting Grant application
4.   Confirmation of your unfunded 2026 Score ‘A’ cancer-related project. Please include the first page of your Evaluation Report, and the ERC letter confirming that you have not been awarded funding.

Any use of AI in the preparation of your application should be disclosed, except where it was used solely for simple language translation or grammar checks. Please refer to our Policy for AI use by applicants for further information. This disclosure is for transparency and monitoring purposes only and will not affect the assessment.

About the EACR

The European Association for Cancer Research, a registered charity, is a global community for those working and studying in cancer research.

About the Mark Foundation

The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research is a philanthropic organisation committed to accelerating cancer research and translating discoveries into improved patient care.