For a quarter-century, Conquer Cancer has strived to help early-career investigators and the brightest minds in cancer research turn promising ideas into lifesaving realities.
Securing Young Investigator Award (YIA) endowments is part of a larger-scale, 5-year, strategic campaign that calls for raising more than $200 million. Much of that funding will support Conquer Cancer’s Grants and Awards Program, which funds not only YIAs, but also a wide range of other grants covering a full spectrum of experience levels, backgrounds, and specialties for researchers at various stages of career development.
Ultimately, Conquer Cancer aims to secure endowments for every fundable application, every year, so that all eligible early-career investigators can receive critical funding. When the awards are endowed, it increases the potential for more researchers to continue pursuing careers that advance cancer care.
“It is really about making sure that the waterfront is covered, and that we are starting researchers off in all the appropriate and promising directions,” Dr. Hudis said.
The approach has proven successful. In a field where turnover is often highest at the early-career stage, 96% of Conquer Cancer grantees are still pursuing cancer research. This significantly elevates the likelihood that promising cancer research will one day evolve into lifesaving treatment and care for patients around the world.
Many recipients of Conquer Cancer grants have gone on to receive larger awards and lead significant medical breakthroughs.
Three of those researchers share their stories below—click on each researcher to learn more.
