Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation

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OVERVIEW: This Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation’s niche is getting behind the best and brightest early career cancer researchers. It offers several fellowships that support high risk/high reward cancer research.

IP TAKE: At the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, risk equals reward. It funds some really speculative stuff, and does not want anyone to be shy about putting new ideas out there for consideration. These individual fellowships are accessible, but require an appropriate degree background to qualify like an MD or Ph.D.

PROFILE: The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation dates back to 1946. Damon Runyon was a journalist and short story writer who passed away from cancer that year. His friend, radio broadcaster Walter Winchell, went on the air to solicit contributions for cancer research. He received so many donations that he was able to establish the Damon Runyon Cancer Memorial Fund, which later became the Research Foundation. Today, the foundation prides itself on investigating innovative, high-risk projects and seeking out talented young researchers. 

Grants for Diseases and Science Research

DRCRF’s grantmaking supports cancer research at academic institutions and other research organizations through a series of award programs.

  • The Damon Runyon Fellowship Award is a four-year fellowship that provides annual disbursements totaling $300,000 to support the training of postdoctoral scientists at the beginning of their research careers. This “enables them to be mentored by established investigators in leading research laboratories across the country.”

  • The Damon Runyon-St. Jude Pediatric Cancer Research Fellowship Award is a four year research fellowship that provides annual disbursements totaling $300,000. This opportunity supports “early career scientists conducting research with the potential to significantly impact the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of one or more pediatric cancers.”

  • The Damon Runyon-Dale F. Frey Award for Breakthrough Scientists is a $100,000 award for outstanding Runyon Fellows. This award aims to “catapult the research careers” of exceptional talent.

  • Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award is an award of $600,000 over three years that “supports early career physician-scientists conducting patient-oriented research […] to increase the number of physicians capable of moving seamlessly between the laboratory and the patient’s bedside in search of breakthrough treatments.”

  • The Damon Runyon Rachleff Innovation Award is a two year award of up to $400,000, with the possibility of extension for another two years that “supports the next generation of exceptionally creative thinkers with “high-risk/high-reward” ideas that have the potential to significantly impact our understanding of and/or approaches to the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of cancer.”

  • Damon Runyon Physician-Scientist Training Award is a four year award that provides a stipend totaling $460,000 to be disbursed over the four years of the fellowship. This award is granted to “outstanding physicians to pursue cancer research careers by providing them with the opportunity for a protected research training experience under the mentorship of a highly qualified and gifted mentor.”

  • Damon Runyon Quantitative Biology Fellowship Award seeks to “to encourage quantitative scientists (trained in fields such as mathematics, computer science, physics, engineering, and others) to pursue research careers in computational biology under the joint mentorship of leaders in both computational science (‘dry lab’) and cancer biology (‘wet lab’).” This $240,000 award is disbursed over a three-year period.

  • Damon Runyon Scholars Program for Advancing Research Knowledge (SPARK) aims 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.” SPARK is a one-year internship during which participants will work “in a cancer research lab with a mentor who is a Damon Runyon Scientist.” Scholars receive a total of $61,000 in stipend, living and travel expenses to an annual fellow's’ retreat.

Important Information Information

Damon Runyon’s awards are made in amounts set by each program.

  • The foundation accepts applications and nominations for all of its programs, but eligibility, guidelines and due dates vary.

  • Runyon offers information about the application for each program in its Application Guidelines page.

  • Application materials are available at the ProposalCentral website.

  • Learn more about past awardees here.

General inquiries may be submitted to the foundation via email at info@damonrunyon.org or by telephone at (877) 722-6237.

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