Scientific Review and Grants Administration

Since 1993, the AACR has distributed more than $545 million in grants to promising basic, translational, and clinical researchers at all career levels. This critical funding sustains the pipeline of cancer scientists and drives progress across the spectrum of basic, translational, and clinical research to improve outcomes for patients with cancer.

New Funding Partners. The AACR’s network of funding partners expanded in 2021 with the establishment of two new relationships:

• AACR-Lobular Breast Cancer Alliance Invasive Lobular Carcinoma Research Fellowship. This new fellowship will support postdoctoral or clinical research fellows in conducting innovative research projects with direct applicability and relevance to invasive lobular carcinoma, and will help them establish a successful career path in this field.

• AACR-Exelixis Renal Cell Carcinoma Research Fellowship. This new partnership will support postdoctoral or clinical research fellows in conducting research on renal cell carcinoma and in establishing a successful career path in this field.

Supporting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Addressing Cancer Health Disparities. Through its Minorities in Cancer Research and Women in Cancer Research membership groups, its pioneering conference, “The Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved,” and its series of disparities research fellowships, the AACR has prioritized the advancement of equity in the cancer workforce as well as in outcomes for patients with cancer for more than 20 years. In 2021, the AACR entered into a series of new funding partnerships to bolster these long-standing efforts:

• Lustgarten Foundation-AACR Pancreatic Cancer Career Development Awards. Announced in January, this new partnership established two new career development awards for pancreatic cancer researchers. The first award, which honors the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, supports early-career female investigators. The second award, which honors the late civil rights icon and U.S. Congressman John R. Lewis, supports an early-career pancreatic cancer researcher from an underrepresented minority group.

• Breast Cancer Research Foundation-AACR Career Development Award to Promote Diversity and Inclusion. The AACR expanded its partnership with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation to establish these awards in 2021, which support investigators from diverse backgrounds who are traditionally excluded from the cancer workforce and foster their career advancement.

• AACR Cancer Disparities Research Fellowships. The AACR partnered with Bristol Myers Squibb and Merck to establish these new fellowships starting in 2022. The fellowships will support postdoctoral or clinical research fellows in conducting research on cancer disparities and in establishing a successful career path in this field.

The AACR proudly serves as the Scientific Partner of Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation that supports collaborative, translational cancer research in order to bring new therapies to patients more quickly.

New Leadership

In February, Edith Perez, MD (right), was named as the newest vice-chair of the SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC). The SAC provides insight and guidance to SU2C, setting the direction for its research initiatives, reviewing proposals for new grant awards, and conducting rigorous oversight of all active grants in the SU2C portfolio. A former member of the AACR Board of Directors, Dr. Perez is an internationally known translational researcher and the chair of the SU2C Health Equity Committee.

Cancer Interception Symposium

In conjunction with SU2C and its funding partners, the AACR organized this inaugural symposium in August. The virtual meeting was moderated by Nobel Laureate and Fellow of the AACR Academy Elizabeth H. Blackburn, PhD, FAACR, who serves as the vice-chair of the SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee.