Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation

Achieving breakthroughs in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer requires brilliant minds that are capable of translating laboratory findings into new and improved treatments for patients. Trained as both physicians and researchers, clinical investigators play this critical role.

While many of the most important advances in the fight against cancer have come from clinical investigators, a “perfect storm” has developed in which top young physicians are not choosing careers in clinical research. The reasons for this decline include the length of training required, the difficulty obtaining research funding and tenure as compared with laboratory scientists, and the staggering debt of many medical school graduates (averaging $125,000), which compels them to choose clinical practice over research.

Accelerating Cancer Cures is a historic collaboration of the biopharmaceutical industry, academia, and the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation formed to rebuild the ranks of high-caliber clinical investigators capable of achieving breakthroughs against cancer. Under the leadership of the Foundation, this new model for collaboration will raise $25 million over the next five years to fund 50 of the most brilliant young physician-scientists with promising ideas for curing cancer.

Accelerating Cancer Cures builds on the success of the Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award, which has made possible some of the most critical breakthroughs in oncology research of the last decade.

In addition to funding, Accelerating Cancer Cures will:

• Provide clinical researchers with access to the expertise of senior oncology executives and leaders in academic cancer research to help translate discoveries into therapeutic treatments.
• Create opportunities for the investigators to collaborate with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and learn about industry science as visiting scientists.
• Foster collaboration between researchers by hosting an annual translational research summit that connects young scientists and leaders from industry and academia.