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The ASCO Cancer Foundation is pleased to commemorate the 25-year anniversary of The ASCO Cancer Foundation Grants Program. From the genesis and evolution of the Grants Program in 1983 to the researchers who have used these grants as starting points in their research careers, many lives, both at the bench and the bedside, have been affected in a positive way. The past and recent achievements of The ASCO Cancer Foundation Grants Program are important milestones in furthering cancer care.
Encapsulating the Achievements
In 1983, ASCO began its Fellowship Training Grants program, now called The ASCO Foundation Grants Program, to help fund the research activities of oncologists who are early in their careers. Judith Kaur, MD, of the University of Colorado Medical Center, was selected as the first recipient of the Young Investigator Award (YIA) for Clinical Research.
The YIA program is designed to promote high-quality research in clinical oncology by providing funds to promising investigators during the transition from a fellowship program to a faculty appointment. The number of YIA applications increases every year, and a growing number of contributions from the public, ASCO members, private organizations, foundations, and industries have made it possible to support more awards each year.
ASCO presented its first 3-year grant, the Career Development Award (CDA), at the 1992 Annual Meeting in San Diego, California, to four fellows. ASCO's CDA program initially focused on young investigators and has more recently expanded to provide funds to clinical investigators in their second, third or fourth year of faculty appointment with resources to establish an independent clinical cancer research program.
ASCO quickly recognized the success of the Grants Program and the need to develop more funding resources to help oncologists at all levels of their careers and established The ASCO Cancer Foundation in 1999 to facilitate the creation and management of the multimillion-dollar program that ASCO members are familiar with today. The ASCO Cancer Foundation supports educational programs of the highest quality in cancer care and prevention; facilitates the dissemination of information about cancer and cancer treatment to patients and their families; and, through its grants program, supports, encourages, and recognizes excellence in clinical research in the field of oncology. Since the inception of The ASCO Cancer Foundation, more than 450 grants have funded the clinical research efforts of young investigators and more than 140 CDAs have helped clinicians throughout the world further their cancer research. The first Advanced Clinical Research Award (ACRA) was awarded in 2004. In 2007, two more breast cancer ACRAs, along with two in lung cancer, were awarded.
Many young investigators have been the recipients of research awards that have helped to springboard their research careers. A 2007 survey of award recipients found that half of YIA and CDA recipients reported having published research data from the award, and 87% reported that the results of their funded research led to further research. Of the 473 survey respondents, nearly all reported that the grant advanced their career.
"This award had a major impact on my career; it supported my efforts to develop new radiation sensitizers," Theodore Lawrence MD, PhD, Isadore Lampe Professor and Chair, Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Michigan, who received a YIA in 1988 said in an interview with ASCO Daily News. "This work led directly to my first National Institutes of Health grant." Dr. Lawrence currently focuses on combining chemotherapy and molecularly targeted therapies with radiation. "I trace this work directly back to my first ASCO YIA," he added.
From Young Investigator to ASCO President: Nancy E. Davidson, MD
For ASCO President Nancy Davidson, MD, receiving a YIA has had a significant effect on her career, both in terms of her own professional development and with respect to her commitment to encouraging and supporting the clinical and translational research of investigators just entering the field of oncology. Her research, awarded in 1986, involved the activity of the epidermal growth factor-receptor protein in breast cancer, and although she readily states that the findings from the study would not be considered groundbreaking, the work she did during that time helped carve a path for her successful career in breast cancer research and her involvement in ASCO leadership led the way for her to become the Society's current President.
"[The YIA] gave me credibility within my new institution. The team that was hiring me was happy to see that my ideas were considered valuable by external reviewers. My sponsor was the late ASCO Past President Martin Abeloff, MD, who was honored at the 2007 Annual Meeting with the Distinguished Service Award for Scientific Achievement. The YIA helped me develop my career in so many different ways," Dr. Davidson stated in an ASCO Daily News interview.
Research the Hallmark for Success in Cancer Treatment
Susan G. Braun, Executive Director of The ASCO Cancer Foundation, spoke to the importance of the Grants Program and the Foundation's plans to expand the grants portfolio in the future. "The ASCO Cancer Foundation supports those who want to pursue a career in translational and clinical oncology research - at all stages in their careers - because that helps to both recruit and retain the best and the brightest in the field. The work being done by these researchers is key to expanding our understanding of the complexities of cancer and to achieving the advances we are seeking in cancer care," Ms. Braun said during an interview with ASCO Daily News.
"Research continues to be the hallmark for success in cancer treatment. Because ASCO is dedicated to [the treatment] of people with cancer [using] the most cutting-edge therapies, research is at the center of what we do," she added. "Our goal is to grow The Foundation's ability to provide grants to support innovative programs and promising investigators. We're exploring new ways to raise funds and make grants specifically aimed at these goals."
Translational Research Professorship
The newest grant created by The ASCO Cancer Foundation is the Translational Research Professorship. This grant awards outstanding translational researchers who have made and are continuing to make significant contributions that have changed the direction of cancer research and who provide mentorship to future translational researchers. It is expected that these researchers will continue to provide leadership in their research area. Applicants for the Translational Research Professorship Award must hold the rank of full professor (or equivalent) at an academic medical center. The award is intended to support qualified individuals who are dedicated to bringing advances in basic sciences into the clinical arena and to mentoring other translational researchers.
Honoring Our Past, Building Our Future
The generation of clinical investigators supported by The ASCO Cancer Foundation Grants Program during the previous 25 years continues to promote the conduct of research, provide treatment to patients with cancer, and serve as mentors to the young oncologists in training. The research advances and leadership development of the past are today's resources for the care of patients with cancer but they are not enough. The ASCO Cancer Foundation's ability to promote more translational and clinical research by providing grants to support promising investigators is critical to its mission - namely, to fund research that will advance cancer treatment and enhance the future of the oncology profession.
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