2024 Damon Runyon Fellowship

Eligibility

Applicants must have completed one or more of the following degrees or its equivalent: MD, PhD, MD/PhD, DDS, DVM, DO. The applicant must include a copy of their diploma to confirm date of conferral. (If an applicant has not yet received their PhD diploma but has successfully completed all PhD requirements, including PhD defense, they may submit a letter from the graduate school explicitly stating such, with the date of the successful PhD defense and date of degree conferral.)

Level 1: Basic and physician-scientists must have received their degrees no more than 18 months prior to the application deadline date. Applicants must not have been in their Sponsors' labs for more than one year prior to the application deadline date and are expected to devote 100% of their time to Damon Runyon-supported research activities.

Level 2: Physician-scientist applicants (MD, MD/PhD, DDS, DVM, DO or the equivalent) must have completed their residencies and clinical training, must be board eligible in the United States at the start date of the Damon Runyon Fellowship, and be able to devote at least 80% of their time to Damon Runyon-supported research activities. Applicants may apply at any time prior to their initial assistant professorship appointment (or equivalent); postdoctoral fellows, clinical fellows and clinical instructors are eligible to apply. Candidates holding or awarded NIH K awards at the time of application are not eligible to apply. Candidates holding institutional K12 awards may apply, but must turn-back K12 funding if they are awarded a Damon Runyon Fellowship.

Candidates working in a structured postdoctoral research program at a for-profit institution may apply. If awarded, the for-profit institution will pay the Fellow's salary directly. (If the institutional salary is less than that received by Damon Runyon Fellows, Damon Runyon will supplement that amount to equal the stipend of other Damon Runyon Fellows.) Awardees will have all the privileges and responsibilities extended to other Damon Runyon Fellows, and are required to adhere to the guidelines and policies of the Fellowship Award.

No more than two Damon Runyon Fellows will be funded to work with the same Sponsor at any given time (including Co-Sponsors).

Only one fellowship application will be accepted from a Sponsor or Fellow per review session (including Co-Sponsors); there is no limit, however, to the number of applications from an institution.

Postdoctoral training in the same institution in which the applicant received their degree is discouraged, particularly if it is in the same department. (If either situation applies, the applicant must address the reason(s) in their application.) Proposals to continue training in the laboratory where the applicant received their PhD will not be considered. Proposals that are direct extensions of graduate work will not be funded.

Candidates who have already accepted a postdoctoral research fellowship award are not eligible. (Candidates may hold a T32 at the time of application, but not concurrently with the Damon Runyon Fellowship Award.)

Candidates who are pursuing a degree are not eligible.

Candidates applying to work in foreign-based or United States government laboratories may be awarded a fellowship if the program represents an unusual opportunity for postdoctoral training.

Foreign candidates may apply to do their research only in the United States.

Summary

The Foundation encourages all theoretical and experimental research relevant to the study of cancer and the search for cancer causes, mechanisms, therapies and prevention.

Candidates must apply for the fellowship under the guidance of a Sponsor—a scientist (tenured, tenure-track or equivalent position) capable of providing mentorship to the Fellow. In addition to aiding in the planning, execution and supervision of the proposed research, the Sponsor’s role is to foster the development of the Fellow’s overall knowledge, technical and analytical skills, and capacity for scientific inquiry. The Sponsor is also expected to assist the Fellow in attaining their career goals. 

Damon Runyon Postdoctoral Research Fellowships are granted for a four-year term with second-, third- and fourth- year funding contingent upon satisfactory progress reports. Fellows in their first and third years of funding will attend Damon Runyon Fellows' Retreats designed to foster collaboration and interaction between scientists working in different fields relevant to cancer.

Award Stipends

• Year 1: $70,000 (US) stipend, $2,000 (US) Expenses 
• Year 2: $72,000 (US) stipend, $2,000 (US) Expenses 
• Year 3: $74,000 (US) stipend, $2,000 (US) Expenses 
• Year 4: $76,000 (US) stipend, $2,000 (US) Expenses 

Expense Allowance

The $2,000 expense allowance is awarded to the laboratory in which the Fellow is working and can be used by the Fellow for their educational and scientific expenses. With written request to the Foundation from the Fellow, the expense allowance may be used to defray the cost of health benefits. The Fellow determines how they would like to spend the money with approval from their sponsor. It is not an allowance for institutional overhead, postdoctoral scholar registration fees or postdoctoral fellowship taxes. Institutions may not automatically deduct any fees from this allowance without the Fellow’s approval. Pre-award and/or pre-fellowship award year spending is not allowed. If you have any questions on how the money may be spent, please contact the Foundation (awards@damonrunyon.org).

Debt Repayment Program

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation will retire up to $100,000 of any qualifying medical school debt still owed by the awardee. Payment will be made annually over the course of the award.
Note: Qualified candidates must first apply to the NIH Loan Repayment Program in order to be eligible for loan repayment from Damon Runyon (see Terms of the Award below).

Dependent Child Allowance

The Foundation also provides a Dependent Child Allowance of $1,000 per child per year. (There is no allowance for a spouse.) Eligible Fellows must submit a dependent child allowance form and a copy of the birth or adoption certificate for each child.

Overhead

No part of this grant can be used for indirect costs or institutional overhead. 

Application deadlines

RSO detailed review deadline

RSO final internal review deadline

Program application deadline

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Principal Investigators: Complete a Research Management System (RMS) record, including a copy of your complete application, and submit this for approvals in RMS.

Postdocs, students, and trainees: For fellowships and externally-sponsored research training awards or opportunities, you must complete the Research Funding Application Approval (RFAA) Trainee PDF form, and submit it, along with a complete copy of the application, to Research Services at rsotrainee@ucalgary.ca. Trainees should not use RMS at this time.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via either RMS or the RFAA Trainee form, in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process.

Forms for Awardees

Award Statement
Award Acceptance Form
Loan Repayment Form
Dependent Child Allowance Form
Expense Allowance Usage Form
Expenditure Report Form
Invention Policy
Intellectual Property Disclosure Form
Progress Report Form- Annual
Progress Report Form- Final

Contact information: Award Programs | awards@damonrunyon.org

SEE APPLICATION GUIDELINES