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Young Investigator Award Special Competitions

Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO

All Conquer Cancer research grant applications are carefully reviewed and evaluated by an independent Grants Selection Committee (Committee) using consistent criteria across all applications for each grant or award type. The Committee scores and ranks the applications, and the highest-scoring applications are funded.

In some circumstances, applications already approved to receive funding based on their high application scores may be matched with Conquer Cancer grants that have additional donor-specified criteria. However, all approved applications will receive Conquer Cancer research grants. In no case will an application not eligible for funding in the initial review process receive a Conquer Cancer research grant.

The Young Investigator Award (YIA) provides funding to promising investigators to encourage and promote quality research in clinical oncology. YIA Special Competitions are open for specific topics, as noted below. The purpose of these grants is to fund physicians during the transition from a fellowship program to a faculty appointment. This is a mentored award and the research project is conducted under the guidance of an experienced mentor in the proposed research area. Applications in the applicable areas of cancer research are accepted from U.S. and international applicants.

Funding Available

The YIA is a one-year grant totaling $50,000 that supports personnel and/or research expenses, and travel to attend the Conquer Cancer Grants & Awards Ceremony at the ASCO Annual Meeting. Applicants who are selected to receive a YIA are allowed to receive grants from other funding sources as long as there is no scientific or budgetary overlap. The number of YIA grants available for a special competition will be noted in each RFP.

AI Based Application Success Predictor

1️⃣ Clear Clinical Oncology Focus With Strong Patient Impact

ASCO is a clinician-focused organization. Successful applications:

Address meaningful clinical oncology questions

Improve diagnosis, therapy, survivorship, QOL, or equity

Demonstrate a clear and specific benefit to cancer patients

Target unmet needs (rare cancers, poor-prognosis diseases, therapy resistance)

Predictor: Direct relevance to improving patient care is essential.

2️⃣ Strong Mentorship (especially for YIA & CDA)

This is one of the highest-weighted predictors.

Competitive proposals include:

A primary mentor with strong publication record and grant success

A mentoring team with complementary expertise (e.g., biostatistics, translational science, clinical trial design)

A detailed mentoring plan with scheduled meetings and training goals

Departmental commitment (protected time, resources)

Predictor: Strong mentorship is often the difference between funded and unfunded proposals.

3️⃣ Feasible, Well-Designed Study With a Clear Hypothesis

ASCO reviewers expect:

Focused aims (typically 1–2 for YIA, 2–3 for CDA)

A hypothesis that is realistic and testable

A solid methodological plan with controls and statistical justification

Clear patient recruitment or sample-access strategy

Strong feasibility supported by preliminary data

Predictor: High methodological rigor and feasibility.

4️⃣ Strong Preliminary Data (Even for YIA)

Although YIA is an early-career grant, the most competitive submissions show:

Pilot experiments

Feasibility evidence (recruitment logs, pilot cohorts)

Retrospective data supporting the hypothesis

Early biomarker or mechanistic data

Predictor: Credible preliminary support = higher likelihood of funding.

5️⃣ Clear Path Toward Independence (Especially for CDA)

Reviewers ask:

Will this applicant become an independent clinical investigator?

Does the project position them for future NIH/CIHR/DoD/LLS R01-level grants?

Does the department provide protected time and resources?

Does the applicant have a growing publication track record?

Predictor: Evidence of trajectory toward leadership and independence.

6️⃣ Alignment With ASCO Priorities

Conquer Cancer is increasingly focused on:

Health equity in cancer care

Rare cancers and understudied populations

Real-world outcomes

Biomarkers and precision oncology

Survivorship and long-term toxicity

Implementation science

Global oncology (capacity-building, prevention, screening, equitable access)

Predictor: Strong thematic alignment improves competitiveness.

7️⃣ Strong Biostatistical and Analytic Plan

Applications must include:

Sample size calculations or power analysis

Clear primary endpoints

Realistic effect sizes

Plans for missing data, confounders, and sensitivity analyses

Predictor: Statistical rigor is non-negotiable.

8️⃣ Evidence of Institutional Support

Particularly important for CDA.

Strong proposals include:

Letters guaranteeing protected research time

Access to core facilities, clinical trial units, or biorepositories

Clear commitment to candidate development

Predictor: Institutional backing boosts reviewer confidence.

9️⃣ Solid, Justified Budget

ASCO reviewers expect:

Realistic, lean budgets

Clear justification for personnel, assays, sequencing, imaging, etc.

No inflated or poorly explained expenses

Predictor: Budget aligned with aims = stronger overall score.

🚫 COMMON PITFALLS (Why ASCO / Conquer Cancer Applications Fail)

Pitfall	Why It Harms the Proposal
Weak or generic mentoring plan	Major red flag for YIA/CDA
Overly ambitious aims	Feasibility concerns
Lack of preliminary data	Low confidence in success
Poor statistical design	Methodological weakness
Insufficient protected research time	Doubts about execution
Not clinically focused or unclear patient impact	Misaligned with ASCO mission
Weak rationale or unclear hypothesis	Scientific weakness
Ambiguous recruitment or access to patients/samples	Feasibility risk
Poorly written proposal	Hard for reviewers to assess strengths

Specialties

Cancer

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must meet the following criteria to qualify for a YIA:

Be a physician (MD, DO, or international equivalent) working in any country. An MD, PhD is eligible if both degrees are completed prior to the start of the grant period.
Be within the last two years of their final oncology subspecialty training or fellowship program at an academic medical institution at the time of application submission. Examples of a subspecialty training include, but are not limited to, a hematology-oncology fellowship, a surgical oncology fellowship, or a radiation oncology residency. An exception to this window may be granted under the following circumstances:
- Applicants in training programs where the protected research time or dedicated research year may occur during the first year of the training program or outside the last two years of training (ex: In surgical oncology fellowship programs, the dedicated research year may occur during the first year of the program) If you think that you may be eligible for an exception to this criterion, please contact grants@conquer.org with your CV.
- Applicants who have just completed their subspecialty training within three months of the application deadline.
Be within 10 years of obtaining their medical degree at the time of application submission. An exception to this criterion may be granted to foreign medical graduates whose medical degree completion may fall outside of the 10-year cutoff. Please see the FAQ for more information or contact grants@conquer.org.
Be planning an investigative career in oncology.
Have a valid, active medical license in the country where the research will be conducted at the time of application.
Be working in an oncology laboratory or clinical research setting. Have a mentor from the sponsoring institution in the proposed research field. If the mentor is not an ASCO member, a supporting letter from an ASCO member from the sponsoring institution must be included.
Be an ASCO member or have submitted a membership application with the grant application. To apply for new membership, or to renew an existing membership, visit asco.org/membership.
Be able to commit at least 60% of their time for research (applies to total effort, not just the proposed YIA project) during the award period.

Applicants who are uncertain about their eligibility are encouraged to refer to the Eligibility section in this FAQ or contact the grants team for clarification and provide their full CV for evaluation.

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: 2318 Mill Road, Suite 800 | Alexandria, VA 22314

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