Damon Runyon aims to address the critical shortage of physician-scientists in the field of cancer research. By encouraging physicians to pursue research careers, the Foundation seeks to accelerate the translation of scientific discovery into more effective patient therapies, ultimately improving survival and quality of life among cancer patients.
The Damon Runyon Quantitative Biology Fellowship aims to bridge the gap between computational sciences and cancer biology. It targets computational scientists committed to applying quantitative analyses and modeling to unravel biological questions, specifically in cancer research. This program encourages individuals with backgrounds in mathematics, computer science, physics, engineering, or related fields to embark on careers in computational biology, under the mentorship of established leaders in both computational and cancer biology. The fellowship covers a period of three years, providing financial support directly to the awardee's primary institution and offering up to $100,000 in medical school debt relief for qualifying applicants. The primary goal is to cultivate a generation of researchers proficient in leveraging computational tools to advance our understanding and treatment of cancer.