Hidden Help for SWOG Members and Researchers

Everyone knows about our terrific protocol teams and the big grants for research and career development from The Hope Foundation for Cancer Research. But we’ve got lots of hidden gems also available to help – resources that can advance your work by helping you get grants, assisting with your study budget, or aiding in developing presentations.

I wanted to share some of these resources, and connect you with the folks who can help:

- Travel support – Hope might be able to get you to SWOG group meetings! The foundation has a new travel program for CRAs and nurses and also funds meeting travel for our patient advocates and board of governors. Committee chairs also have $15,000 a year to tap to bring speakers and special guests to San Francisco or Chicago. Learn more here and contact morgan@thehopefoundation.org.

- Grant writing – Hope also hosts a grant-writing course, led by SWOG Executive Officer Kathy Crew. It has been wildly successful in landing young investigators the public and private grants so critical to launching their careers. Applications for this small-group, online course (due May 1) are simple. Learn more here and contact morgan@thehopefoundation.org

- Accrual help – We have a full-time recruitment and retention manager to assist study teams, especially those leading complex trials, by brainstorming and executing strategies to increase enrollment. We also have the expertise of the recruitment and retention committee, with an emphasis on underrepresented patients. The committee also provides educational opportunities to SWOG members on topics which impact upon accrual. Contact jenniferm@crab.org

- Advocate advice – Patient advocates are assigned to committees to provide a patient voice to the design and conduct of our trials. Now we also have a new group of community advocates who can provide fresh voices from Black or Latinx or Asian Pacific-Islanders, older adults or AYA patients, military veterans, and other communities and help provide input on the needs of these same communities and how to accrue within them. To see our full advocate roster, visit here and contact rbangs@thehopefoundation.org

- Study budget assistance - Every SWOG trial has a budget and many require complex contracts with pharmaceutical and other companies. Our budget and contracts staff help study teams identify funding needs, execute agreements, and manage resources so trials run efficiently and effectively and so sites and patients avoid unnecessary costs. Contact dawsoca@ohsu.edu

- Federal grant assistance – If you’re submitting an NIH grant that includes support for a SWOG project or correlative study, we’re here for you! Our grants and contracts team can help. This includes providing templates for several required documents needed for the Human Subjects Study Record section of the application. Our team can also help investigators and their staff with SWOG specific information as well as letters of support, and answer general application questions. Contact mizep@ohsu.edu

- Member surveys – If you want to send a survey to members as part of a SWOG trial or a special SWOG project, the digital engagement committee is there to help. A small group from that committee provide feedback to investigators, and make sure they’ve got the proper leadership approvals to proceed. Contact lawtonw@ohsu.edu

- Publications assistance – SWOG members are productive – making a total of nearly 80 presentations and publishing nearly 100 manuscripts each year. In the “member resources” section of the website, get the SWOG PowerPoint template and logo for your slides and posters and get help with processing your abstracts and manuscripts by contacting pubs@swog.org

I encourage you all to check out The Hope Foundation for Cancer Research website, which lists every type of grant and financial assistance they offer, including deadlines.

I also encourage you to log into SWOG.org and check out the “member resources” portion of the site. You not only can find our patient advocate, digital engagement, recruitment and retention, and publications resources, but contacts for our pharmaceutical sciences and oncology research professionals committees as well as information on our training programs, safety reports, and more. There’s also an online SWOG directory, where you can find contact information for all your SWOG colleagues – and all of our SWOG and Hope staff.

Save this post – and reach out to staff. They’re always here to help.