The ASCO Cancer Foundation® (TACF) is committed to supporting high-quality, clinically relevant research throughout an oncologist's career. TACF supports both the Young Investigator Award (YIA), which is intended specifically for investigators at the beginning of their careers, and the Career Development Award (CDA), which supports investigators establishing an independent clinical cancer research program.

Young Investigator Awards

First awarded in 1984, the YIA has helped launch the careers of more than 600 investigators. YIAs are offered to physicians who are currently in the last 2 years of their final subspecialty training at an academic medical institution, during the transition from a fellowship program to a faculty appointment. Recipients should also be working in an oncology laboratory or clinical research setting. The YIA is a $50,000 grant awarded to the recipient's sponsoring institution over 1 year.

In 2010, YIAs were awarded to 53 promising oncology professionals. Six YIAs are sponsored by entities within or in collaboration with ASCO and TACF:

• Holbrook Edwin Kohrt, MD, recipient of one of the TACF-sponsored YIAs, is conducting a phase I trial studying the safety and therapeutic efficacy of a matched cancer-peptide vaccine given to healthy donors before hematopoietic cell transplantation and to recipients with myeloid malignancies after transplantation.
• Shom Goel, MBBS, the other TACF-sponsored YIA recipient, is studying the mechanism of lapatinib (Tykerb) resistance in cerebral metastases of HER2-positive breast cancer.
• Nicole Chau, MD, who was awarded the YIA sponsored by the Boards of Directors for ASCO and TACF, is assessing the modulation of biomarkers for patients with resectable oral cavity cancer using a pan-HER inhibitor.
• Keerthi Gogineni, MD, received the ASCO Clinical Practice Committee-sponsored YIA and is studying community and provider determinants of breast cancer stage at diagnosis, treatment, and mortality.
• A legacy of George P. Canellos, MD, the Journal of Clinical Oncology-sponsored YIA was awarded to Christopher Hanyoung Lieu, MD. Dr. Lieu is investigating the role of basic fibroblast growth factor in resistance to anti-VEGF therapy for colorectal cancer.
• The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)/TACF Young Investigator Translational Cancer Research Award is supporting Aude Georgiana Chapuis, MD, in her immunotherapy-focused research project, "Targeting melanoma with anti-CTLA-4 and NY-ESO-1-specific cytotoxic T cells."

Career Development Awards

The $200,000 CDA grant, disbursed over 3 years to the recipient's sponsoring institution, alleviates costs associated with supporting the recipient's research endeavors.   The CDA is offered to physicians who are in the 1st to 3rd year of a full-time, primary faculty appointment in a clinical department at an academic medical institution. Applications are peer-reviewed by the TACF Grants Selection Committee, whose criteria include a focus on patient-oriented clinical investigation; the significance, originality, appropriateness, feasibility, and adequacy of the proposed research program; the availability of institutional resources for support; prior research experience and accomplishments; and the quality of the mentor and plan for mentor interactions.

Scott Kopetz, MD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, received a CDA in 2008 to study oxaliplatin-resistance mechanisms. Dr. Kopetz described the CDA as a bridge across the vulnerable first few years of an academic career, as the award provided the protected laboratory time and financial support to learn from unexpected results.

"While one metric of success may be publications and successfully completed trials, I have learned equally from the unpublished failures," he said.  Since receiving his award Dr. Kopetz has completed one trial and begun a second with partial grant support, and published his laboratory studies in Cancer Research. He presented his first clinical study results at the 2010 ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago.

For a full list of 2010 grant recipients and for more information about the complete portfolio of grants and awards offered by The ASCO Cancer Foundation, visit: www.ascocancerfoundation.org. ■

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