Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award Overview

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Program Description | Funding | Eligibility | Reporting | Terms of the Award | Stage 2 Funding
Forms for Awardees | Application Guidelines

A recording of the Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award Informational Session from May 30, 2024 is available here.

Program Description

The Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award is designed to provide support for 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.

The Innovation Award is specifically designed to provide funding to extraordinary early career researchers who have an innovative new idea but lack sufficient preliminary data to obtain traditional funding. It is not designed to fund incremental advances. The research supported by the award must be novel, exceptionally creative and, if successful, have the strong potential for high impact in the cancer field.

Awards are made to institutions for support of the Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Investigators. All awards are approved by the Board of Directors of the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation acting upon the recommendation of the Innovation Award Committee.

At the beginning of each review session the following Biases Statement is read aloud: As an organization, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation seeks to promote gender equality and increase diversity, in all of its forms, throughout our programs. Studies have demonstrated that often subtle and unconscious biases can dramatically affect outcomes in review processes and that by simply acknowledging that unconscious biases exist, we can combat their potential negative impact. To that end, please be aware of your potential unconscious biases when reviewing, scoring and discussing candidates and applications throughout the review process.

Applications will be evaluated based on the following: 

• The applicant’s capacity to conduct bold, exceptionally creative research.
• The novelty and creativity of the proposed research. Incremental research will not be funded.
• The potential of the proposed research to lead to advances that will significantly impact the prevention, diagnosis, treatment or basic understanding of cancer.
• The applicant’s lack of resources to pursue the proposed research.

Funding

• The Stage 1 award will be for two years, $200,000 per year ($400,000 total) with the opportunity for up to two additional years of funding (up to four years total for $800,000). Stage 2 support for years three and four will be granted to those awardees who demonstrate progress on their proposed research during years one and two of the award. Applicants will provide a written update on their research and present their progress in person to the committee shortly before the end of the second year of the award, at which time the committee will make a decision regarding continued funding.
• The Award cannot be used for indirect costs or institutional overhead.
• Awards will be paid in increments of $200,000 per year for the term of the award.
• The Innovation Award funds are intended to be flexible and can be used for a variety of scientific needs including the Investigator’s salary, salaries for professional and technical personnel, special equipment, supplies and other miscellaneous items required to conduct the proposed research.
• No budget is required at the time of application.

Concurrent Funding
Since the goal of the Innovation Award is to fund high-risk/high-reward research that lacks sufficient preliminary data to secure traditional funding, the applicant should not have funding for this proposed project.

During the course of the award, award recipients are encouraged to seek additional funding to expand and further develop their projects.

Eligibility

• Institutional nominations are not required and there is no limit to the number of applications that can be received from a particular institution.
• Applicants (including non-U.S. citizens) must be conducting independent research at a U.S. research institution.
• The applicant must have received an MD, DO, PhD, or MD/PhD degree(s) from an accredited institution.
• Basic and translational/clinical projects will be considered.  Applications will be accepted from all scientific disciplines provided that the proposed research meets the selection criteria.
• Applicants with a background in multiple disciplines are especially encouraged to apply.
• Joint submission from two collaborators working in different disciplines will be considered. (The collaborators will share the award.) Each collaborator must meet the eligibility criteria.
• Applicants must belong to one of the following categories:
  • Tenure-track Assistant Professors within the first five (5) years of obtaining their initial tenure-track Assistant Professor position (Cut-off date: July 1, 2019).
  • Clinical Instructors and Senior Clinical Fellows (in the final year of their sub-specialty training) holding an MD, MD/PhD, DO who are pursuing a period of independent research before taking a tenure-track faculty position.  Such individuals must have an exceptional record of research accomplishment, dedicated laboratory space and the support of their institution.
  • Distinguished Fellows with an exceptional record of research accomplishment identified by their institution to pursue an independent research program and who have dedicated laboratory space.  These candidates are markedly distinct from traditional postdoctoral fellows.  Examples: Whitehead Fellows, UCSF Fellows, Cold Spring Harbor Fellows.
    [Ad Hoc Assistant Professors, Research Assistant Professors, Research Associate Professors, Research Scientists and Postdoctoral Fellows are not eligible.  If you are unsure about your eligibility for this award program, please contact the Foundation's Award Programs at awards@damonrunyon.org]
• Applicants are expected to commit a minimum of 80% of their time to conducting research.
• Applicants may apply no more than two times.
• Applicants must demonstrate that they have access to the resources and infrastructure necessary to conduct the proposed research.
• The department must guarantee the Investigator is conducting the proposed research independently.

Reporting
 

SCIENTIFIC

Award recipients will be required to submit annual progress reports after each year of funding, as well as a final report. Award recipients will also be required to present to the Innovation Award Committee near the end of the second year of the Award so that the Committee can assess progress, provide advice and/or guidance, and make a decision regarding Stage 2 funding.

Progress Report Instructions
The Investigator must submit signed annual progress reports due on the 15th day of the final month of each year of funding and a signed final progress report at the completion of the award. In addition to written reports, the Investigator will present an oral progress report during the fall of the second year.

All reports are kept strictly confidential. The goal of the reports is three-fold. First, the reports serve as an auditing tool to monitor research progress and assure that the research is on target with the funded project. Second, the reports allow the Foundation to perform regular program evaluations including issues related to areas of study, concurrent funding, networking opportunities, career development and award impact. Third, the reports provide an opportunity to identify specific part(s) of the Investigator’s research (e.g., fundamental advance, clinical trial development, patient-related anecdote, publications) that the Foundation may highlight in various media outlets. In fact, we would appreciate Investigators contacting the Award Programs at any time to share such information.

THE INVESTIGATOR'S ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT INCLUDES:

1. A summary of research performed during the award year and evaluation of the results. The summary should be technical, but targeted to a general scientific audience. The summary should be sufficiently detailed such that the Investigator’s research activities over the award year are clearly described. Figures and references can be included if appropriate. If the research differs from the originally funded proposal, please provide an explanation. The report must be signed by the Investigator and should not exceed four pages.
2. A one-paragraph lay summary, for the public, detailing the research performed over the award year.
3. A brief description of collaborations and partnerships related to the Damon Runyon-funded research, with either academic and/or industry scientists. Please identify your collaborator(s) and their academic/industrial affiliation(s).
4. Do you have any plans to share your data, either before or after its publication in a peer reviewed journal? If so:
   

   a. What type of data is it (genome/exome sequence, images, structures, statistical software or algorithms, etc.)?
   b. Where will it be be shared (such as Figshare, Dataverse or Open Science Framework (OSF))?
   c. Who will be in charge of preparing the data to share?
   d. What are the expected costs of preparing and sharing this data?

5. An up-to-date NIH biosketch including:
   

   a. A bibliography of publications from the award year (please submit PDF copies of reprints)
   b. An updated list of current and pending funding
   c. A list of conferences and seminars attended and presentations given during the award year
   d. Changes in the Investigator’s responsibilities or title (tenure/promotion, leadership positions, consultant work, etc.)

6. Brief comments on the most important accomplishment over the past year. Also, please address any issues or concerns regarding obstacles to your success to which the Foundation might respond.
7. A brief description of the Investigator’s current research and office space allocation.
8. A completed Intellectual Property Disclosure Form.
9. A budget for the next year of funding.

THE INVESTIGATOR'S FINAL PROGRESS REPORT INCLUDES:

1. A summary of research performed during the award and evaluation of the results. The summary should be technical, but targeted to a general scientific audience. The summary should be sufficiently detailed such that the Investigator’s research activities are clearly described. Figures and references can be included if appropriate. If the research differs from the originally funded proposal, please provide an explanation. The report must be signed by the Investigator and should not exceed four pages.
2. A one-paragraph lay summary, for the public, detailing the accomplishments over the term of the award, including how the research has impacted the cancer field.
3. A brief description of collaborations and partnerships related to the Damon Runyon-funded research, with either academic and/or industry scientists. Please identify your collaborator(s) and their academic/industrial affiliation(s).
4. Do you have any plans to share your data, either before or after its publication in a peer reviewed journal? If so:
   

   a. What type of data is it (genome/exome sequence, images, structures, statistical software or algorithms, etc.)?
   b. Where will it be be shared (such as Figshare, Dataverse or Open Science Framework (OSF))?
   c. Who will be in charge of preparing the data to share?
   d. What are the expected costs of preparing and sharing this data?

5. An up-to-date NIH biosketch including:
   

   a. A bibliography of all publications resulting from the Investigator's research (please submit PDF copies of reprints)
   b. An updated list of current and pending funding
   c. A list of conferences and seminars attended and presentations given during the award year
   d. Changes in the Investigator’s responsibilities or title (tenure/promotion, leadership positions, consultant work, etc.)

6. A statement indicating how the award made a difference in the Investigator’s career.
7. Brief comments on the most important accomplishment over the award term. Please address any issues or concerns regarding obstacles to success to which the Foundation might respond.
8. A completed Intellectual Property Disclosure Form.

FINANCIAL

• All Awardees will be required to submit projected annual budgets and yearly financial reports.
• Monies may be used to cover salary (Investigator, technical staff, students, and post doctoral fellows) and/or research costs (supplies, equipment, etc.).
• Monies will be paid in increments of $200,000 for the term of the award.

Terms of the Award

All awardees must adhere to the terms of both our award statement and our invention policy.

Please note: The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation will not modify the terms of its policies at the request of individual institutions. Policies have been approved by our Board of Directors, and we do not have the resources to negotiate separately with the many institutions that receive our support.

All awards are made to the sponsoring institution for support of the designated Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator. An award does not constitute an employer-employee relationship between the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation and the awardee.

Percent Effort
The Investigator must commit at least 80% of their full-time professional effort to research activities.

Usage of Funds
At the beginning of each award year a budget is required from the Investigator. Awards are in the amount of $200,000 of direct research costs per year for the term of the award. No indirect costs or institutional overhead are covered. The Innovation Award funds are intended to be flexible and can be used for a variety of scientific needs, including the Investigator's salary, salaries for professional and technical personnel, special equipment, supplies and other miscellaneous items required to conduct the proposed research. The submitted budgets should be realistic estimates of the funds required for the proposed research and should be itemized by category according to the instructions on the budget form.

Publications/Presentations
Publications (including abstracts of presentations at scientific or clinical meetings) resulting from projects supported by the Foundation must carry the following acknowledgment: “[Name of Awardee] is a Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Awardee supported (in part) by the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation (DRR-#[___]).”  Awardees are also strongly encouraged to identify themselves as a Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Awardee when presenting their work at scientific conferences or accepting professional honors or awards.  Download a copy of the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation logo for inclusion in Power Point presentations or posters.

Should the Investigator wish to discontinue the project, leave the designated institution, or modify any agreement of the award letter, they must seek approval from the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation in advance.  Failure to comply with this requirement may result in immediate termination of the Award and may jeopardize any future awards to the grantee institution by the Foundation.

Forms for Awardees

Award Statement
Award Acceptance Form - Stage 1
Budget Form
Expenditure Report Form
Invention Policy
Intellectual Property Disclosure Form
Cover Sheet - Stage 2 (Co-Applicant Cover Sheet - Stage 2)
Award Acceptance Form - Stage 2

Contact Information

Award Programs | awards@damonrunyon.org

See Application Guidelines