2021 Clinical Research Award

Note: FHCRC will be making the final determination on which pre-proposals can move forward. The Office of Research will review and rank any pre-proposals coming from UW, and will then send on to FHCRC.

Program Description 

Fred Hutch and the University of Washington may collectively submit up to five applications for Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation 2021 Clinical Investigator Award. 

The Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award supports independent young physician-scientists conducting disease-oriented research that demonstrates a high level of innovation and creativity. The goal is to support the best young physician-scientists doing work aimed at improving the practice of cancer medicine. 

The Clinical Investigator Award program is specifically intended to provide outstanding young physicians with the resources and training structure essential to becoming successful clinical investigators. The goal is to increase the number of physicians capable of moving seamlessly between the laboratory and the patient’s bedside in search of breakthrough treatments.

Funding

• $600,000 over three years ($200,000 per year).
• Funds are intended to be flexible and can be used for a variety of scientific needs including the Investigator’s stipend and/or fringe benefits (up to $130,000), salaries for professional and technical personnel, special equipment, supplies and other miscellaneous items required to conduct the proposed research.
• No part of this grant can be used for indirect costs or institutional overhead; however this award is listed on Exhibit A.
• Investigators may receive funding from other sources to support their research.  However, no other physician-scientist mentored career development award from a private source (non-federal government) may be held concurrently with the Clinical Investigator Award.
• Physician-scientist career development awards from the federal government including the National Institutes of Health (e.g., K-08, K-12, K-23), the Department of Defense, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs are allowed.
• Scientific or budgetary overlap with other funded projects is not allowed. 
• Examples of awards that cannot be held concurrently with the Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award include (but are not limited to):

• AACR- Career Development Award
• American Cancer Society- Mentored Research Scholar Grants in Applied & Clinical Research
• Conquer Cancer Foundation (ASCO) - Career Development Award
• Burroughs Wellcome Fund- Career Award for Medical Scientists
• Doris Duke Charitable Foundation- Clinical Scientist Development Award
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute- Physician-Scientists Early Career Award, Early Career Scientist Competition
• Leukemia and Lymphoma Society- Career Development Program, Scholar Awards

Eligibility

• The applicant must be a U.S. citizen or permanent legal resident.
• The applicant must hold an independent assistant professor position or equivalent. 
• Each applicant must be nominated by their institution. Applications will only be accepted from institutions that have been invited to submit them by the Foundation (See list). Five (5) nominations per institution, including its affiliated schools, will be accepted. 
• The applicant must have received an MD, DO, or MD/PhD degree(s) from an accredited institution, completed their subspecialty training and be U.S. Board eligible.
• The applicant must hold a valid, active U.S. medical license at the time of application.
• The applicant must apply within the first five (5) years of their initial full faculty appointment (Cut-off date: July 1, 2016). Adjunct or acting positions are not eligible.
• Candidates holding or awarded R01s at the time of application are not eligible to apply.
• The applicant must commit to spending 80% of their time conducting research. [In rare unique circumstances, the CIA Committee may consider an applicant with a very modest reduction of 80% protected time if their Department Chair can provide a compelling reason explaining why a waiver of the 80% requirement should be granted, what percentage of effort will be guaranteed, and what safeguards will be put in place to make sure the individual’s research will not be compromised by their clinical/administrative activities.]

Additional Information

• Questions from interested individuals may be directed to fundinginfo@fredhutch.org.
• Damon Runyon Foundation website.

Application Instructions

Eligible investigators must submit the following pre-proposal materials as a single PDF with the following naming convention:

Candidate’s Last Name_2021_DamonRunyon_Award.pdf:

• 1-2 pages of proposed research
• Current curriculum vitae or biosketch
• Optional cover letter with valuable information for the panel

to research@uw.edu by 5:00 PM Friday, December 18, 2020. Proposals are due to the 2/1/21, so you will need to have your materials in to the Office of Sponsored Programs by 1/21/21 for processing, if given the go ahead by FHCRC.