How Your Support Propels the Next Cancer Breakthrough | Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation

From Potential to Proven Breakthroughs

But even the most brilliant minds need a place to start. Today, young scientists with transformative ideas face a daunting gap: federal grants are designed to support established projects with years of data already behind them. This leaves a new generation of researchers in a difficult spot: they have the vision to change the future but lack the initial resources to prove it.

Conquer Cancer provides Young Investigator Awards (YIA), one-year, $50,000 grants, and the Career Development Awards (CDA), three-year, $200,000 grants, to early-career investigators. This vital capital allows these brilliant minds to transform ambitious ideas into proven medical advancements, empowering them to take the bold risks necessary to realize a world where cancer is prevented or cured, and every survivor is healthy.

The Young Investigator Award (YIA): The Launchpad for Innovation

The YIA is the first vote of confidence for a researcher, typically awarded during the final years of medical training. It is designed to empower the individual, not just the institution, through two key strategic advantages:

• Investing in the person: Unlike federal grants tied to specific institutions, the YIA follows the investigator. This portability provides the freedom to chase bold ideas and signals to the medical community that this is a person worth watching.
• Securing the future: The transition from medical training to faculty appointments is a make-or-break" moment. Without this early support, many brilliant minds are forced to abandon research for the immediate financial security of full-time clinical practice. The YIA ensure we don’t lose this talent, keeping these innovators at the forefront of discovery.

The Career Development Award (CDA): The Engine of Sustainability

The CDA enables individuals in their first to fourth year of a faculty appointment to establish their own scientific footprint. It is specifically designed to bridge “The Valley of Death,” the critical period when promising researchers are often forced to abandon their labs to meet the overwhelming demands of a standard clinical workload. To ensure these talented physician-scientists remain in the field, the CDA is built upon two essential pillars:

• Protected research time: Breakthroughs require focus. The CDA allows time to step away from routine clinical duties to focus intensely on building a sustainable research program.
• Patient-centric discovery: The CDA is deeply rooted in the clinic, allowing researchers to turn real-world observations from their own patients into the next generation of treatments.

Why Private Funding is the Key to Breakthroughs

Private foundation funding allows us to sustain this momentum through a unique model of support:

• The ASCO distinction: These awards carry the prestige of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the world’s leading professional society for oncology. This connection grants us direct access to the brightest oncology professionals, providing a vetting process that is unmatched in the field. This "seal of approval" provides a young researcher with an immediate global reputation, opening doors at top-tier institutions that might otherwise remain closed.
• Risk as venture capital: Your support funds the "What If?" questions. We provide the "seed money" that allows researchers to prove their concepts. This validation is exactly what they need to later secure larger grants from major federal agencies and foundations, turning your initial gift into a lifelong engine of discovery.
• A global net: Cancer has no borders. As a leading independent cancer organization worldwide, we fund more early-career physician-scientists without limits on geography or focus area than any other group. We fund research for every cancer, from the most common to the rarest, ensuring a lifesaving idea in one country can benefit patients everywhere.

A Proven Return on Your Generosity

The effectiveness of your investment is clear. We don’t just fund a single project; we fund a lifetime of impact. Our latest evaluation results show that individuals supported by donors like you don't just succeed; they lead.

Here is how your support translates into long-term leadership:

• 1,700+ Young Investigator Awards (YIA) granted.
• 400+ Career Development Awards (CDA) granted.
• $154M+ Total invested in the future of cancer care.

5 Years Following the Award

The critical early years are where most researchers leave the field. However, for those backed by our donors, we have found the opposite to be true:

• 96% of recipients are still in research (Academic & Industry).
• 94% have advanced in their careers.
• 94% have published in well-regarded scientific journals.

15 Years Following the Award

The long-term legacy of your donation includes:

• 88% are still active in research (Academic & Industry).
• Of those in academic research:
  • 45% have secured subsequent federal funding.
  • 35% have reached the "Gold Standard" known as R-level federal funding.

The Ripple Effect of Your Support

When you fund our grants, you do more than support a single project; you launch a career. By providing this critical early funding, you help our researchers focus on funding the next breakthrough.

This work represents more than just scientific progress; it is the vital link to the patient. These large-scale grants are what power the clinical trials that bring new treatments to the bedside. By investing in more than 570 awards in 2025 alone, you are ensuring the best minds remain at the forefront of solving our most complex health challenges.

These individuals will discover the next effective treatment, develop the next diagnostic tool, and mentor the next generation of investigators. Your contribution is more than a gift; it is an investment in a world where every cancer can be prevented or cured.