In 1984, an individual researcher received the inaugural Young Investigator Award (YIA). At the 2009 ASCO Annual Meeting, 47 oncology professionals are receiving YIAs, through the commitment of The ASCO Cancer Foundation® and its generous supporters to furthering clinical research in cancer.
YIAs are intended specifically for investigators at the beginning of their careers, during the transition from a fellowship program to a faculty appointment. Recipients must be physicians who, at the time of the grant award, are in the last year of final subspecialty training program or in the first year following subspecialty training. An institutional commitment for a faculty appointment at the time of grant submission is not required, but the applicants should be working in an oncology laboratory or clinical research setting.
The total award amount for each YIA is $50,000, paid to the recipient’s sponsoring institution over 1 year. Of the total award amount, at least $46,000 supports the direct costs of the research project, no more than $1,500 covers the recipient’s travel expenses related to the project (including the ASCO Annual Meeting), and no more than $2,500 is applied to overhead or indirect costs of the recipient’s institution in administering the research project. Award recipients and the companies and foundations that provide funding for these awards are honored at a special event held during the ASCO Annual Meeting.
Four YIAs are sponsored by entities within or in collaboration with ASCO and the Foundation to recognize meritorious research projects in specific fields or with unique applications.
New in 2009 is The ASCO Cancer Foundation/American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Young Investigator Translational Cancer Research Award. This grant is a result of the collaboration of AACR, ASCO, and The ASCO Cancer Foundation, and represents the ongoing effort of these organizations to support young investigators committed to advancing translational research in cancer. Sohail Tavazoie, MD, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, is the inaugural recipient of this YIA. Dr. Tavazoie will use this grant to gain a better under-standing of how metastasis-suppressor micro-RNAs are regulated in human breast cancer.
Wei Lin, MD, of M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, is the recipient of a YIA to be sponsored by the Boards of Directors for ASCO and The ASCO Cancer Foundation. Dr. Lin’s project will explore the role of CXCL12/CXCR4 chemokine/receptor signaling in tumor–stroma interaction and metastasis in non-small cell lung cancer.
The ASCO Clinical Practice Committee (CPC) sponsors a YIA to fund diverse, creative research in areas specifically related to clinical practice and patient care. The 2009 CPC-sponsored YIA is awarded to Elizabeth Trice Loggers, MD, PhD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and it will fund her research involving acculturation in end-of-life care for patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers. Dr. Trice also is a Merit Award winner and is presenting her research during today’s Patient and Survivor Care Poster Discussion (2:00 PM-6:00 PM, Room W340A).
The Journal of Clinical Oncology also sponsors a YIA, a legacy of 1993-1994 ASCO President George P. Canellos, MD, who conceived the sponsored YIA as an opportunity for the Journal to promote the work of early-career investigators. Phoenix Ho, MD, of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, will investigate the implications of s-SHIP expression and SHIP alterations in acute myeloid leukemia with funds from the JCO-sponsored YIA.
This year, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure®/The ASCO Cancer Foundation Research Initiative will support four YIAs. This Initiative is designed to provide extramural grants to address important issues regarding access to health care, quality of care, and delivery of care with general applicability to breast cancer. The goal of this program is to encourage multidisciplinary research that will have a lasting and meaningful effect on breast cancer care.
YIA recipients are selected by The ASCO Cancer Foundation Grants Selection Committee through a peer-review process. The review criteria include but are not limited to significance and originality of their proposed study and hypothesis; the appropriateness, feasibility, and adequacy of the proposed experiment and methodology; and their focus on patient- oriented and, ultimately, clinical research.
View the complete list of 2009 YIA recipients.
The Susan G. Komen for the Cure®/The ASCO Cancer Foundation® Research Initiative Supports Four YIAs
The Susan G. Komen for the Cure®/The ASCO Cancer Foundation® Research Initiative is intended to provide funding for research studies that implement and evaluate new ways to solve major problems in access to and quality of health care. Proposals must be focused on developing solutions to current problems, not just on describing disparities in care that currently exist. This year, four early-career researchers have been awarded YIAs supported through this Initiative.
Tiffany Avery, MD
M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
Mandira Ray, MD
The University of Chicago
Veena Shankaran, MD
Northwestern University
Alexi Wright, MD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
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