AACR Grants and Awards

AACR Commits to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion With New Career Development Awards 

The advancement of underrepresented minority clinicians and PhD students to elite postdoctoral and faculty positions in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields continues to lag, despite decades of efforts to mitigate bias and increase opportunities for students from diverse backgrounds. Building an adequately trained, diverse STEM workforce in the U.S. that mirrors the country’s shifting demographics has critical implications for economic and scientific development. 

To help increase the underrepresented minority presence in STEM, and cancer research in particular, the AACR has developed two new career development awards: the AACR Career Development Awards to Further Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Cancer Research, and the AACR Career Development Awards to Further Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Clinical Cancer Research. These awards, which will support early-career researchers and expand the educational or research capacity of their academic institutions, will provide each recipient with $100,000 to $125,000 of research support per year over a period of three years. Recipients will be chosen in early 2022 and announced at the AACR Annual Meeting 2022 in April.

“As we move forward as an organization, we recognize that there is still much work to be done to reduce inequities in oncology research and health care and assess progress toward cancer health equity,” said Mitch Stoller, chief philanthropic officer and vice president of development at the AACR. “These new grant mechanisms represent just a small step in our continuing efforts to establish an equitable future for cancer care.” 

AstraZeneca and Pharmacyclics have supported these new grant mechanisms through the AACR Cancer Research Stimulus Fund. To deepen its impact and support more investigators, the AACR is seeking additional corporate and individual support for this important initiative. Visit AACR.org/Donate to support grants like this and to help the AACR in its mission to prevent and cure cancer through research, education, and advocacy.

Swim Across America Supports Young Investigators

The AACR-Swim Across America Cancer Research Fellowship is a joint effort to encourage and support a postdoctoral or clinical research fellow from an underrepresented community. This two-year fellowship provides a $121,000 grant to a young investigator who represents the next generation of cancer oncologists.

Swim Across America is national nonprofit that has funded cancer research, clinical trials, and patient programs for over three decades by hosting charity swims. 

“This grant will help provide opportunities for the next generation of cancer pioneers to develop breakthroughs that will give hope to patients and their families that are fighting cancer.” said Rob Butcher, CEO of Swim Across America.

The 2020 recipient of the award is Manisha Jalan, DPhil, who is a research scholar at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Dr. Jalan’s research focuses on how DNA and RNA can influence the spread of cancer in the human body, which will ultimately help develop new targeted therapies for cancer patients.