Career Establishment Award

This is for scientists who already have a fully-funded salaried independent position, such as a lectureship or tenure-track post, and are ready to establish their own cancer research group. Since a May 2026 committee review, clinicians are no longer accepted onto this scheme and are pointed toward the Clinical Future Leaders Fellowship instead. Cancer Research UK funds proposals across basic biological research, preclinical studies, imaging, radiotherapy research, engineering and physical sciences applied to cancer, population research, and early detection research, provided the work is cancer-relevant and clearly states the cancer-related question it addresses, with particular interest in early detection and cancers of unmet need such as brain, lung, oesophageal, pancreatic, liver and stomach cancer. Proposals focused on developing future clinical trials, pharmaceutical research centred on a single lead compound or a standard drug-development pathway, or infrastructure support for clinical trials units or centres, are not suitable for this scheme.