Damon Runyon funds eight distinct award programs designed to support early-career investigators pursuing bold, high-risk research. These programs provide critical funding where traditional mechanisms fall short, enabling scientists to explore paradigm-shifting ideas that have the potential to transform the field. By investing in the next generation of innovators, Damon Runyon accelerates groundbreaking discoveries that could lead to new ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer.

 

Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award

Supports the next generation of exceptionally creative thinkers with high-risk, high-reward ideas that have the potential to significantly impact our undestanding of and approaches to the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of cancer.

Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award

Supports early career physician-scientists conducting patient-oriented research. The goal of this innovative program is to increase the number of physicians capable of moving seamlessly between the laboratory and the patient's bedside in search of breakthrough treatments.

Damon Runyon Fellowship Award

Supports the training of the brightest postdoctoral scientists as they embard upon their research careers. This funding enables them to be mentored by established investigators in leading research laboratories across the country.

Dale F. Frey Award for Breakthrough Scientists

Supports a select few Damon Runyon Fellows who have greatly exceeded the Foundation's highest expectations. This additional investment in these exceptional individuals will help catapult their research careers and their impact on cancer.

Damon Runyon Physician-Scientist Training Award

Supports and encourages outstanding physicians to pursue cancer reasearch careers by providing them with the opportuinity for a protected research training experience under the mentorship of a highly qualified and gifted mentor.

Damon Runyon Quantitive Biology Fellowship Award

Supports quantitive scientists (trained in fields such as mathematics, computer science, physics, engineering, or related) to pursue research careers in computational biology.

Damon Runyon-St. Jude Pediatric Cancer Research Fellowship Award

The Damon Runyon-St.Jude Pediatric Cancer Research Fellowship Award provides funding to early career scientists conducting research with the potential to significanly impact the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of one or more pediatric cancers.

Damon Runyon Scholars Program for Advancing Research and Knowledge

Damon Runyon wants to ensure that the best young college students and recent college graduates are encouraged to pursue rigorous scientific education and to commit their talents to tackling longstanding challenges in cancer research. We recognize that these emerging scientists will come from a variety of backgrounds. To provide those with the talent, passion, curiosity, and determination to pursue a career in cancer research with an opportunity to do so, we are introducing the Damon Runyon Scholars Program for Advancing Research and Knowledge (SPARK).