The awards provide two-year grants of $150,000 for research expenses to promising young investigators across a broad range of oncology specialties and areas of interest. The award may be used to fund salary and benefits of the grant recipient, postdoctoral or clinical research fellows and/or research assistants, data collection and entry, patient costs, analysis, computer costs, necessary purchased services, surveys, and supplies. Within the total budget of $150,000, indirect expenses will be covered to a maximum of 8%. The award may include funds up to $3,000 for IRB review and continuing review. In addition to the $150,000 award, a separate administrative allowance of up to $575 will be provided for travel, lodging, and registration expenses to attend the 2028 NCCN Annual Conference. Attendance at the NCCN Annual Conference is mandatory in order for the awardees to present their research results at the General Poster Session. 

 

Award Period: October 1, 2027 – September 30, 2029. It is anticipated that eighteen months will be used for the implementation of the scope of work (October 1, 2027 – March 31, 2029) and six months will be used to compile and finalize the study data and comply with all reporting requirements (April 1, 2029 – September 30, 2029). 

 

The award is open to physicians, scientists, nurses and others working in an oncology laboratory, clinical research or clinical setting, or cancer control program, who: 

1) Have a first full-time appointment as an Assistant Professor, Instructor, or an equivalent level, and 

2) Are MDs, DOs, PhDs or, for nurses and others, have an advanced degree.

 

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS Nominees must have: 

• Medical degree-MD, DO or international equivalent OR 
• Scientific degree-PhD or international equivalent OR 
• Nursing degree-Masters and above or international equivalent OR 
• Pharmacy degree-PharmD or international equivalent AND 
• Primary affiliation/work site at an NCCN Member Institution for the duration of the award period AND 
• First full-time appointment at an NCCN Member Institution as an Assistant Professor, Instructor, or equivalent, and remain in good standing for the duration of the award period AND 
• Mentor in the proposed research field AND 
• Institutional commitment to support the research project

 

INTERNAL REVIEW REQUIRED DOCUMENTS: Please upload as a single pdf document saved as “FirstNameLastName_NCCN2024”

1. NIH Biosketch
2. Cover Page 
   1. Project Title
   2. PI Name
   3. Co-Is Name 
   4. Mentor  
   5. Grants and Contracts Pre-award Contact)
3. 4-Page Proposal Summary 
   1. Concept Information
      1. Enrollment Target (if not applicable, please leave blank or enter 0) 
      2. Estimated time of completion (no more than 24 months total) 
      3. Trial Design and Study Phase – proposals for projects being performed within a larger basket/umbrella study, or as a correlative/substudy of an ongoing, separately funded project, must be clearly identified at time of submission 
      4. Study Type 
      5. Overview/Hypothesis/Abstract 
      6. Background/Rationale 
      7. Overall Goals & Objectives 
      8. Current Assessment of Need in Target Area 
      9. Target Audience 
      10. Project Design and Methods 
      11. Innovation 
      12. Evaluation and Outcomes 
      13. Anticipated Project Timeline 
      14. Organizational Detail 
      15. Detailed Work Plan, including a plan for manuscript submission 
      16. Evaluation Design 
      17. References 
   2. Oncology Analysis
      1. Tumor Type/Malignancy Stage 
      2. Body Systems 
      3. Correlative study information 
      4. For Clinical Trials
         1. Projected Accrual Dates (Month/Year) 
         2. Previous experience with trials in a similar tumor type, phase of study or prior therapy 
         3. Collaborators’ experience, including affiliates 
         4. Competing trials - List all active, approved or in-review studies at your institution for which the same patient population is eligible 
      5. For Outcomes/Translational and Correlative/Pre-clinical Studies: 
         1. Project completion in time limit specified above 
         2. Specimen acquisition 
         3. As applicable, collaborators’ experience 
         4. As applicable, previous experience with studies in a similar tumor type, phase of study, or therapy
         5. As applicable, competing projects for which the same patient population is eligible 
4. Letter of Support from Mentor

*A budget is not requested for this internal review but will be required if selected as nominee to submit a full proposal to NCCN.

Registration Opens 10/14/2026 Registration Closes 11/08/2026

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Apply

Contact Caitlin Campbell
ccampb52@jhmi.edu