The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) Young Investigator Awards provide three-year grants of $225,000 (distributed as $75K per year) to creative young scientists with novel ideas in prostate cancer research . These awards support early-career investigators (typically within 6 years of postdoc or medical fellowship) in topics spanning basic, translational, clinical, or population science as related to prostate cancer. The goal is to encourage the next generation of prostate cancer experts by funding high-risk, high-reward projects and securing protected time for research . PCF YI Awards are open globally and are often co-sponsored by partner organizations for specialized focus areas (e.g. radiation oncology, nuclear medicine, etc.) .
Eligibility Criteria:
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Applicants should be “young” investigators, generally ≤ 35–36 years old at the time of application (not a strict cutoff, but this is the typical range) . They should be in postdoctoral training or have recently started a junior faculty position. For MDs, this may mean oncology fellows or instructors; for PhDs, typically within 6 years of obtaining their PhD and in a postdoc or assistant professor role.
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Position: Must hold an appropriate position at a non-profit academic, medical, or research institution anywhere in the world. The institution must demonstrate support for the applicant’s career development (through a letter). If the applicant is not yet independent, a mentor should be identified. Each application requires a mentor(s) who will advise the Young Investigator.
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Research Focus: Proposal must be relevant to prostate cancer. PCF encourages a broad range of topics – from basic mechanisms (genomics, biology of progression) to translational (drug targets, biomarkers) to clinical research (novel therapies, imaging) to health disparities and survivorship in prostate cancer. The idea or approach should be innovative and hold promise to advance the field . High-risk ideas are welcome, including those leveraging new technologies or interdisciplinary methods.
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Applicants should not have been a PI on a major national grant (like R01 or substantial foundation grant) before. Having smaller grants or career development awards (K awards, etc.) is fine. There is no requirement of U.S. citizenship.
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PCF particularly encourages proposals that involve collaboration, especially multi-disciplinary ones, and those addressing lethal prostate cancer or significant unmet needs (like therapy-resistant disease, metastatic disease, etc.).
Funding Details:
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Award Amount: $225,000 USD total, paid over 3 years ($75,000 per year) . No indirect costs are allowed – the full amount goes to direct research expenses and the investigator’s support.
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Use of Funds: Funds can support the Young Investigator’s salary (to ensure they have protected research time) and research costs such as laboratory supplies, reagents, patient enrollment costs for clinical studies, specialized equipment usage, and travel to scientific meetings. The budget is flexible but must be justified in terms of advancing the proposed project . The mentor’s lab often supplements resources if needed.
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Mentorship & Collaboration: Each YI is matched with two PCF-approved mentors – one from their institution and often another from PCF’s network – to guide their research and career . PCF YIs attend the annual PCF Scientific Retreat and a Young Investigator Forum where they present their work and network with peers and senior investigators . These events are covered by PCF separately (not from the grant budget).
Deadline:
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Applications due February 23, 2026 by 3:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) . (PCF’s 2026 YI RFA opened Jan 12, 2026 and has this deadline as per their announcement .)
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Timeline: Online application portal opens in January. After submission, a scientific review committee evaluates proposals in the spring. Funding decisions are typically announced by early summer. The 2026 YI awards would begin around July 2026.
Where to go for further information: