Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award

The Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award sits inside the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation's U.S. cancer research program and is aimed at early-career faculty with bold ideas and little preliminary data. Among the foundation's named awards, it is the clearest high-risk, high-reward route for investigators who are still testing whether an idea can move. The award runs annually and can reach $800,000 in total support. It begins with a two-year, $400,000 stage, and exceptional awardees can extend to four years and $800,000. Applicants may apply at most twice. The research must be based at a U.S. university or research institution, must stay within cancer research, and is not open to for-profit applicants or individuals outside an institutional setting. The structure favors scientists who can defend a sharp hypothesis before the data are complete. The two-stage design lets the foundation continue only where early results justify more support, so originality and execution both matter. The repeated-application limit also keeps the program from becoming a routine retry path; it is meant for investigators with a distinct concept, not a generic proposal.

Each grant below is a distinct funding opportunity with its own eligibility, scope, and deliverables.