The ASCO Foundation Provides $3.8 Million to Support Beginning Researchers
The ASCO Foundation has recognized the early clinical research of 58 oncologists through the presentation of 45 Young Investigator Awards (YIAs) and 13 Clinical Research Career Development Awards (CDAs). With these awards, the Foundation is committing nearly $3.8 million to support the clinical and translational research of fellows and junior faculty. The awards will be presented during a special luncheon at the Annual Meeting.
“ASCO is committed to supporting clinical investigators early in their careers by encouraging and rewarding their development of promising research initiatives in all areas of cancer treatment,” says James L. Abbruzzese, MD, Chair of the ASCO Grants Selection Committee. “This year’s awardees are the embodiment of ASCO’s Annual Meeting theme, Advancing the Science of Clinical Oncology.”
The success of the Grants Program is evidenced by the achievements of the recipients. Two of this year’s CDA recipients received previous funding through a YIA, and six fellows received previous Merit Awards, another component of The ASCO Foundation Grants Program, which are given to fellows who submit high-ranking abstracts to the Annual Meeting. In addition, 11 YIA and CDA winners will present abstracts at this year’s Meeting. One recipient, Edward F. Attiyeh, MD, of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, will present an abstract in the Plenary Session II, representing the first time since the establishment of the Grants Program that a YIA winner has been invited to present at a Plenary Session. Dr. Attiyeh is also the first fellow in the history of the program to receive two of the top three Merit Awards in the same year, the Brigid Leventhal Merit Award for pediatric oncology and the Fellowship Merit Award. (The Merit Awards is a topic of a future feature article on ASCO.org.) Other grant recipients are serving as faculty or discussants at the Annual Meeting.
The 58 recipients were selected from among more than 190 grant applicants across a broad range of specialties from around the world. The program is one of the largest among professional medical societies. Since 1984, the Society has awarded more than $30 million to approximately 450 outstanding beginning researchers. Funding for the program is made possible by the generous support of oncology-related foundations and industry. A list of the 2005 supporters is included in the Career Resources section of ASCO.org.
The ASCO Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, was founded in 1999 to support the Society’s education and research mission worldwide. In addition to the YIAs and CDAs, The ASCO Foundation Grants Program has since grown to include Merit Awards, International Travel Grants, and the Advanced Clinical Research Award, which was presented for the first time at the 2004 Annual Meeting and is designed to support the patient-oriented clinical or translational research of an investigator at the mid-level of his or her career.
