eBulletin Newsletter

The Importance of Early Career Researchers

NCCN Foundation advances cancer innovation by awarding Young Investigator Awards to early career researchers. These awards provide 2 years of funding, and since 2011, NCCN Foundation has awarded over $9.7 million to 66 promising researchers. Many of these researchers go on to be leaders in their field. Three awardees from 2020 share their thoughts on early career research and the difference made possible by the YIA program.

Dr. Omar Mian, from Case Comprehensive Cancer Center/Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute, shares “This award provided me with the funding to do research that traditional NIH grant will not support. It helped me to recruit fellows in the lab, who helped the work progress and come to fruition. It gave me the scope to disseminate knowledge gained through the program to the medical community at large through presentations at meetings and/or publication in peer-reviewed journals and make prolific collaborations.”

Dr. Mustafa Raoof, from City of Hope Beckman Research Institute, shares “We were able to set a novel direction which was in line with the original proposed goals. In addition, we were able to pursue a totally novel direction based on the findings of the study.”

Finally, Dr. Jennifer Sheng of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine states “Prioritization of this type of research aligns with patient need and we are hopeful and it will pave the way for scalable and effective lifestyle interventions for cancer survivors.”

YIA program funding allowed these researchers to conduct research not traditionally funded, explore novel directions and prioritize patient needs. Advancing cancer innovation is critical to finding new ways to diagnose, treat and understand the cancer experience. You can improve the future of cancer treatments by supporting the YIA program here.

	Dr. Mian
	Dr. Raoof
	Dr. Sheng