OVERVIEW: This Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation’s niche is getting behind the best and brightest early career cancer researchers. It offers several fellowships that support high risk/high reward cancer research.
IP TAKE: To DRCRF, risk equals reward. It funds some really speculative stuff, and does not want anyone to be shy about putting unconventional ideas out there for consideration. These individual fellowships are accessible, but require an appropriate degree background to qualify like an MD or Ph.D.
PROFILE: The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation dates back to 1946. Damon Runyon was a journalist and short story writer who passed away from cancer that year. His friend, radio broadcaster Walter Winchell, went on the air to solicit contributions for cancer research. He received so many donations that he was able to establish the Damon Runyon Cancer Memorial Fund, which later became the Research Foundation. Today, the foundation prides itself on investigating innovative, high-risk projects and seeking out talented young researchers.
Grants for Diseases and Science Research
DRCRF’s grantmaking supports cancer research at academic institutions and other research organizations through a series of award programs. Deadlines and application procedures for these programs are currently in flux as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, so new grantseekers should be sure to check the individual requirements for their program to ensure they have the most recent updates.
The Damon Runyon Fellowship Award is a four-year fellowship that provides a $52,000 stipend to support the training of postdoctoral scientists at the beginning of their research careers. This “enables them to be mentored by established investigators in leading research laboratories across the country.”
The Damon Runyon-Sohn Pediatric Cancer Fellowship Award is a four year postdoctoral fellowship providing a stipend starting at $52,000 that “provides funding to basic scientists and clinicians who conduct research with the potential to significantly impact the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of one or more pediatric cancers.”
The Damon Runyon-Dale F. Frey Award for Breakthrough Scientists is a $100,000 award for outstanding Runyon Fellows.
Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award is an award of $450,000 over three years that “supports early career physician-scientists conducting patient-oriented research […] to increase the number of physicians capable of moving seamlessly between the laboratory and the patient’s bedside in search of breakthrough treatments.”
The Damon Runyon Rachleff Innovation Award is a two year award of up to $300,000, with the possibility of extension for another two years that “supports the next generation of exceptionally creative thinkers with “high-risk/high-reward” ideas that have the potential to significantly impact our understanding of and/or approaches to the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of cancer.”
Damon Runyon Physician-Scientist Training Award is a four year award that provides a stipend beginning at $100,000 to encourage “outstanding physicians to pursue cancer research careers by providing them with the opportunity for a protected research training experience under the mentorship of a highly qualified and gifted mentor.”
Damon Runyon Quantitative Biology Fellowship Award seeks to “to encourage quantitative scientists (trained in fields such as mathematics, computer science, physics, engineering, and others) to pursue research careers in computational biology under the joint mentorship of leaders in both computational science (‘dry lab’) and cancer biology (‘wet lab’).”
Important Information Information
Damon Runyon accepts applications online for all of its awards. Grantseekers should review the Application Guidelines carefully, as requirements and deadlines may vary among programs.
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