The Damon Runyon Fellowship Award is the Foundation’s oldest and most well recognized award.  It is one of the highest accolades an early career scientist can receive.  The grant is designed to give the nation’s top minds the resources to further hone their cancer research skills and explore their own innovative ideas, while working with mentors in top universities and cancer research centers.

The Damon Runyon Fellowship Award is the scientist’s primary source of funding for three years – $140,000 for PhDs and $174,000 for MDs.  Your support allows us to fund the cancer research projects of approximately 30 new Fellows each year.

• Videos: Meet some of our Fellows.
• View a listing of all current Damon Runyon Fellows’ projects.
• See an interactive map showing where Fellows conduct their research.
• Scientists: Learn about Fellowship Award applications and more in our 'For Scientists' section.

The Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award was launched in 2000 to help speed the process of moving laboratory discoveries to the patient bedside.  It is designed to support and encourage physicians committed to translating cancer treatment research into cures, helping to address a national shortage of these specially trained scientists.

The Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award provides $450,000 over three years to each recipient for salary, research and staffing expenses.  To address one reason for the decline of physician-scientists, the Foundation will also pay up to $100,000 of recipients’ medical school debt.  Thanks to your support, Damon Runyon is currently funding 23 Clinical Investigators.

• Meet some of our Damon Runyon Clinical Investigators.
• View a listing of all current Clinical Investigators’ projects.
• See an interactive map showing where Clinical Investigators conduct their research.
• Scientists: Learn about Clinical Investigator Award applications and more in our 'For Scientists' section.

The new ideas and fresh perspectives of early career scientists often lead to breakthroughs.  Yet the largest funder of biomedical research in this county, the federal government, is notoriously conservative, requiring that successful investigators show extensive preliminary data that essentially proves that their proposed research will succeed.  As a result, bold, risky ideas remain on the shelf.

Recognizing this paradox, venture capitalist Andy Rachleff, with his wife Debbie, combined forces with the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation to create the Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award.  The Award funds cancer research by exceptionally creative thinkers with “high-risk/high-reward” ideas – ideas that have the potential to significantly impact cancer, but lack sufficient preliminary data to obtain traditional funding.

The Innovation Award provides a total of $450,000 over a three-year period for salary and cancer research expenses.  In its first year, the Award attracted more than 400 applicants from top scientists across the US, highlighting the urgent need for this award.

Meet our Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovators:

2008
Nathanael S. Gray, PhD  video | profile
David G. Kirsch, MD, PhD  video | profile
Sarkis K. Mazmanian, PhD  video | profile

2009
Ivan Maillard, MD, PhD  profile
John L. Rinn, PhD  profile
Muneesh Tewari, MD, PhD  profile
Yi Zhang, MD, PhD  profile

2010
Heather R. Christofk, PhD  profile
Joshua C. Munger, PhD  profile
Raffaella Sordella, PhD  profile