VA Research Scholar Award

VA Research Scholar Award

Funds award for VA-affiliated lung-cancer researchers through the VA Research Scholar Award.

⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.

The LUNGevity Foundation VA Research Scholar Award is a two-year grant of $100,000 (paid at $50,000 per year) for early-career lung cancer researchers embedded in the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) research ecosystem. LUNGevity Foundation supports this award to address the disproportionate burden of lung cancer among US veterans, who face higher incidence and mortality rates than the general population due to occupational exposures and smoking prevalence. Funded research must focus on lung cancer early detection or treatment modalities relevant to the veteran patient population.

Eligible applicants hold a doctoral degree and are either postdoctoral fellows or junior faculty within the first five years of their initial faculty appointment. Critically, applicants must conduct their research at a VA medical centre or a VA-affiliated academic centre — investigators at purely civilian institutions are not eligible. No more than one VA Scholar Award may be granted per institution per cycle. The 2026 cycle required a letter of intent by February 17, 2026 (11:59 pm EST), with full applications due May 11, 2026 (11:59 pm EDT). Award announcements are expected in late summer 2026, and funded projects start November 1, 2026. Applications are submitted through proposalCENTRAL and reviewed by LUNGevity's Scientific Advisory Board.

Candidates strengthen their applications by demonstrating direct access to veteran patient cohorts, VA biobanks, or VA-specific clinical data, and by selecting mentors with established VA research programmes. The one-per-institution cap means applicants should coordinate with their VA research office to avoid competing applications from the same site. Future cycles are expected to follow the same February–May–November calendar.