The Conquer Cancer Young Investigator Award in Survivorship Research supports promising physician-investigators conducting clinical research on living well after a cancer diagnosis and treatment.
The one-year mentored award is intended for physicians transitioning from oncology training or fellowship to an academic faculty appointment. It aims to advance careers in cancer survivorship research, address the unmet needs of cancer survivors, and improve long-term outcomes and quality of life following treatment. Applications are limited to eligible investigators working in the United States.
Eligibility Criteria:
- Applicants must be physicians holding an MD, DO, or international equivalent and working in the United States.
- Applicants must generally be within 10 years of receiving their medical degree. Limited exceptions may be considered for international medical graduates and fellows in prolonged specialist training pathways.
- When the mentor is not an ASCO member, a supporting letter from an ASCO member at the sponsoring institution is required.
- Applicants must commit at least 60% of their overall professional time to research during the award period.
- Applicants may apply to both the general YIA and YIA special competitions but may accept only the first formal award offered.
- First-year faculty members may apply to either the Young Investigator Award or the Career Development Award during the same cycle, but not both.
- Individuals may hold only one active Conquer Cancer award at a time.
Funding Details:
- The total award amount is USD 50,000 for one year.
- Funding is paid to the sponsoring institution in two installments of USD 25,000.
- One award is expected to be funded through the 2027 competition.
Deadline:
- Applications opened: July 1, 2026.
- Full application deadline: January 28, 2027, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.
- Technical assistance is available only until 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the deadline date.
- Post-submission materials deadline: February 18, 2027.
- Award notification: April 2027.
- Award term: July 1, 2027–June 30, 2028.
Further Information:
- Projects must be clinical and specifically focused on cancer survivorship; preclinical in vitro and animal studies are not eligible.
- Eligible research may include patient-oriented epidemiology, behavioral research, population health, quality-of-care research, outcomes research, and health-services research.
- A patient advocate must participate in developing the proposal and provide a letter confirming their role and commitment.
- Applications require a four-page research strategy, one-page biostatistical plan, patient-impact section, budget, timeline, biosketch, mentorship plan, and institutional support letter.
- All materials must be prepared in English and submitted through the ASCO and Conquer Cancer Application Portal; eligibility questions may be sent to grants@conquer.org.