An important reason why the United States is the global leader in biomedical research is that many of the best scientific minds from around the world come here to train and work.  If you walked into any leading US research laboratory today, you would meet scientists from many countries working together as a team to solve the greatest scientific challenge of all time – understanding human biology and ending suffering from disease.  These labs are meritocracies and melting pots.  Most importantly, they generate knowledge that drives our entire health care enterprise and saves lives.

As an organization that for 70 years has focused on insuring that we have the best new talent working on cancer, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has been committed to supporting international scientists doing postdoctoral training in the US., incredible young minds who could not receive funding from other traditional sources in the US, such as the National Institutes of Health or other cancer charities.  Right now, of the 136 postdoctoral fellows we are funding, 38% are citizens of a wide range of foreign countries, including one nation listed on the recent executive order on immigration (Iran).

Over the years, the international scientists we have supported have been phenomenally successful.  They include Nobel and Lasker Prize winners, leaders of internationally respected research institutes here and abroad, innovators developing transformative new technologies and pioneers in the development of new cancer therapies.  When we finally “win the war against cancer,” they will have played an invaluable part.

Human disease knows no borders.  To save lives, our scientists cannot either.

Lorraine W. Egan

President & CEO