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Deadline

(Please note: completed applications and CDs or DVDs must be in our office by the deadline—not simply postmarked by March 1, 2011)

Application Deadline: March 1, 2011 (both for new Awards and Continuation Grants)

Review Panel Meeting: April 2011

Award Announcement: May 2011

Funding Begins: July 1, 2011

Application Materials

All application materials should be submitted to the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation for arrival at our offices on or before the March 1 deadline.  Along with the original application (hard copy), applicants must submit a CD or DVD of all the required materials.  Please see application submission instructions below for detailed directives.

The complete application should be assembled in the following order:

1. Cover Sheets
Please fill in all required information on the provided forms and make sure all signatures are in place.

2. At-a-Glance Form
Complete all sections of the provided form.

3. Nomination Letter From Institution/Department
A letter endorsed by both the Dean or Center Director and the Head/Chair of the Department should (1) identify the applicant as their nominee, (2) confirm the applicant’s and mentor’s academic appointments and address the applicant’s status in securing a tenure-track position,* (3) state the institution’s willingness to support the applicant’s research efforts and guarantee 80% protected time for the applicant’s research to fulfill the terms of the award, (4) address the institution’s/department’s commitment to the development of the awardee as a clinical investigator, and (5) detail the laboratory and office space allotted to the applicant.  If the applicant is not occupying the space at the time of the application, please provide a time line of when this will occur.
*This appointment should not be contingent upon the applicant securing funding.

4. Applicant’s Letter
This should outline the applicant’s long-term vision and goals in the field of clinical cancer investigation and their future commitment to clinical/patient research.

5. Applicant’s Curriculum Vitae
This should include education and training information, research and professional experience, a statement of board eligibility and a bibliography of the candidate.  In the bibliography, (1) the candidate’s name must be highlighted for each entry, (2) original, peer-reviewed research articles must be listed separately and first, (3) and next list review articles, chapters, editorials, etc. (do not include presentations, abstracts, “in preparation” or “under review” articles).  Also, the candidate should list up to five of their most important publications, providing a brief (1-2 sentences) annotation with respect to the importance of findings and the candidate’s role in the project.

6. Applicant’s Accomplishments
The applicant should list and describe his/her three most important professional accomplishments.

7. Other Sources of Funding
A list of all current and pending funding sources, including the specific aims of each grant and the degree of overlap with the applicant’s proposal.  (Please note: Scientific or budgetary overlap with other funded projects is not allowed.)

8. Mentor’s Letter of Support
The Mentor should (1) evaluate the applicant’s qualifications for the proposed research project, (2) assess their potential for successful independent research and (3) must guarantee that the awardee is under no obligation to any industrial ties or obligations the Mentor may have.
If there are two Mentors, each Mentor must provide a letter of support.

9. Mentor’s Biographical Sketch
This should include (1) a biographical sketch, (2) a bibliography of recent publications (not to exceed two pages) and (3) a list of current and pending funding.
If there are two Mentors, each Mentor must provide a biographical sketch.

10. Research Proposals
The research proposal should be in two parts as follows:

A. Mentor’s Proposal for Training
(In addition to Mentor’s Letter)
This should be no longer than five pages of single spaced, 12-point type and include (1) a plan for how the Mentor will ensure the development of the candidate into an independent clinical investigator, (2) a statement of the number of hours he/she will commit to the investigator’s training each week and (3) a description of any formal courses and training programs developed and offered by the sponsoring institution for the training of clinical investigators that would be included in the applicant’s curriculum.

B. Applicant’s Research Proposal
The research proposal, including references, figures, tables and legends, is limited to ten pages of single spaced, 12-point type and should outline concisely (1) the aim(s) of the proposed research project(s), (2) the significance of the research goals, (3) the plan of research proposed and the experimental designs, strategies and methods to be used in the conduct of the research.  Where applicable include, (4) biostatistical methods used for design and analysis.  If any part of the research proposal falls outside of your or your mentor's research expertise, (5) please explain and identify the expert consultant who will guide you.  The following items should be included in the appendix:  Institutional Review Board (IRB) approvals (do not include protocols) and a biohazard/safety statement if applicable.

11. Human Subjects, Radiation Safety and Environmental Health Issues Statement
A written statement testifying that adequate safety precautions will apply for projects that involve any biohazards (e.g., recombinant DNA, chemical carcinogens, etc.) and that the research project has been (or will be) approved by the appropriate Institutional Review Board, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee and/or Biohazards Committee.

12. Summary of Research Form
Fill in form provided.  (Not to exceed one page—no attachments.)

13. Applicant’s Reprints
Up to three reprints from the applicant.   (No hard copies. PDF format on the required CD/DVD only.)

Letters of Recommendation
Two letters of recommendation from qualified individuals best able to assess the applicant and their potential for conducting meaningful clinical cancer research should be sent by email or fax directly to the Foundation.  The quality and depth of these letters will be pivotal in deciding the candidate’s suitability.  (Recommended sources:  residency program and/or fellowship training period.)

Referees must submit their letters on their institution’s letterhead by email (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)) OR fax (917.591.4780) on or before the application deadline (March 1).  Do not follow-up with a hard copy.

For referees who are writing letters on behalf of more than one candidate, please submit each letter separately.

Application Submission Instructions

The above application materials should be submitted to the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation for arrival at our offices on or before the March 1 deadline. Along with the original application (hard copy), applicants must submit a CD or DVD of all the required materials.
ALL FILES MUST BE IN PDF FORMAT.

Please number your PDF files to correspond to the listing below. To ensure proper organization of the files, please name all your files as:

“Applicant’s last name, #” *

Example: If the applicant’s name is John Smith, this is how the files should be named:

Smith, 1.pdf
Smith, 2.pdf
Smith, 3.pdf and so on, so that the files correspond to the following documents:

REQUIRED MATERIALS

1. Application Cover Sheets (Smith, 1.pdf)
2. At-a-Glance Form (Smith, 2.pdf)
3. Nomination Letter from Institution/Department (Smith, 3.pdf)
4. Applicant’s Letter (Smith, 4.pdf)
5. Applicant’s CV (Smith, 5.pdf)
6. Applicant’s Accomplishments (Smith, 6.pdf)
7. List of Other Sources of Funding (Smith, 7.pdf)
8. Mentor’s Letter of Support- include co-mentor’s letter in same file, if applicable (Smith, 8.pdf)
9. Mentor’s Biographical Sketch- include co-mentor’s biosketch in same file, if applicable (Smith, 9.pdf)
10. Research Proposals

A. Mentor’s Proposal for Training- include co-mentor’s proposal in same file, if applicable (Smith, 10A.pdf)

B. Applicant’s Research Proposal (Smith, 10B.pdf)

11. Safety Statement (Smith 11.pdf)
12. Summary of Research Form (Smith, 12.pdf)

13a,b,c. Up to three different reprints of the applicant’s work- PDF only (Smith, 13a.pdf; Smith, 13b.pdf; Smith, 13c.pdf)
AND
Two reference letters (sent directly to the Foundation by referees)

ON THE CD or DVD (NOT THE CASE), PLEASE CLEARLY LABEL THE APPLICANT’S NAME.

Send Complete Application and CD/DVD to:

Award Programs
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
One Exchange Plaza
55 Broadway, Suite 302
New York, NY 10006

FAXED OR E-MAILED APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED

Contact Information:
Award Programs | 212.455.0520 | .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)