Award amountYear 1: $70,000 stipend + $2,000 expense allowance
Last checkedJun 24, 2026
Application
Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award
Official application guidelines and program overview for the Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award, supporting early-career researchers with high-risk, high-reward cancer research ideas.
Must be conducting independent research at a U.S. research institution; Must hold an MD, DO, PhD, or MD/PhD degree; Tenure-track Assistant Professors within the first five years of their position (as of July 1, 2021); Clinical Instructors and Senior Clinical Fellows in final year of sub-specialty training; Distinguished Fellows with an exceptional record of research accomplishment; Must commit a minimum of 80% of time to research
Requirements
Proposed research must be novel, creative, and high-risk/high-reward; Applicant must lack sufficient preliminary data for traditional funding; Must have access to necessary resources and infrastructure; Department must guarantee independent research status
Application materials
Application via Altum | Proposal Central; NIH biosketch; Intellectual Property Disclosure Form (for reporting)
How to apply
Log into Altum | Proposal Central; Search for Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award; Follow instructions on the Damon Runyon Application Guidelines webpage
Important dates
July 1, 2026: Application deadline at 4:00 pm ET
Contact
awards@damonrunyon.org
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