Cancer Research Institute

This award is given to one or more scientists for outstanding achievements in the field of basic immunology and cancer immunology. Awardees receive an honorary medal and a $5,000 prize.

The program offers grants to qualified scientists who are working to explore clinically relevant questions aimed at improving the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapies. The program supports basic, pre-clinical, and translational research that can be directly applied to optimizing cancer immunotherapy in the clinic.

Funding and fellowships to individuals for basic research in cancer immunology, immunotherapies, and other therapeutic areas that are synergistic with immunotherapy.

The CRI Lloyd J. Old STAR Program—Scientists TAking Risks—provides long-term funding to mid-career scientists, giving them the freedom and flexibility to pursue high-risk, high-reward research at the forefront of discovery and innovation in cancer immunotherapy. Rooted in CRI’s exceptional track record of identifying and supporting people who have had a major impact in immunotherapy, these grants are not tied to a specific research project, but rather support outstanding researchers based on the quality and promise of their overall work. The Lloyd J. Old STAR program provides up to $1.25 million over a five-year period to tenure-track assistant professors (minimum 3 years) and associate professors (maximum 3 years).

Innovative immunotherapy clinical trials proposed by academic researchers are vitally important to improving patient outcomes. The Clinical Innovator provides funding for clinician-scientists aiming to launch innovative phase I/II or phase II clinical studies using novel immunotherapies. The CRI Clinical Innovator supports novel clinical studies that address areas of high unmet need in cancer and seek mechanistic insights into clinical response with a goal of predictive biomarker discovery. To maximize the impact of each clinical trial, CRI will advise on selected studies in a coordinated effort to optimize clinical trial design and translational studies. The CRI Clinical Innovator provides up to $1 million for each clinical trial it supports.

CRI grants the William B. Coley Award annually to one or more scientists whose seminal discoveries in the field of basic immunology and cancer immunology have deepened our understanding of the immune system’s response to cancer and other diseases and have advanced the development of effective cancer immunotherapies. CRI established the award in 1975 in honor of Dr. William B. Coley, the acknowledged “Father of Cancer Immunotherapy,” whose daughter, Helen Coley Nauts (1907-2001), founded the Cancer Research Institute. The Fred Alt Award honors a former CRI postdoctoral fellow in recognition of outstanding success in academia or industry for research that has had a major impact in the field of immunology. The award is named after CRI Scientific Advisory Council member Frederick W. Alt, Ph.D., who not only has made many seminal contributions to the field of immunology, but also has mentored generations of young scientists.

CRI’s Oliver R. Grace Award annually recognizes the contributions of dedicated laypersons whose leadership has had a significant impact on cancer research. The award is named in memory of Oliver R. Grace (1909-1992), the founding chairman of CRI, whose vision, leadership, wisdom, and generosity guided and continues to benefit the Institute. The Helen Coley Nauts award honors individuals who have made significant contributions of time, energy, and service to CRI. The award is named in memory of CRI’s founder, Helen Coley Nauts, who dedicated her life to advancing immune system-based therapies for cancer.

Named in honor of CRI’s founding scientific and medical director, the AACR-CRI Lloyd J. Old Award in Cancer Immunology, recognizes an active scientist whose outstanding and innovative research has had a major impact on the cancer field and has the potential to stimulate new directions in cancer immunology. The award is named in honor of Dr. Lloyd J. Old (1933–2011), who was the founding scientific and medical director of the Cancer Research Institute (CRI) and was elected as an honorary member of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in 1995. He is recognized as the founder of modern tumor immunology and the standard-bearer in the field of cancer immunotherapy. With steadfast vision and leadership, the late Dr. Old shepherded basic discovery in tumor immunity from the bench and animal models into clinical research, with the goal of discovering immune-based solutions to cancer.

The CRI Postdoctoral Fellowship Program has three tracks of fellowships to provide career development, training, and support for laboratory research in immunology and immuno-informatics. In addition to the CRI Irvington Postdoctoral Fellowship, the CRI Irvington Postdoctoral Fellowship to Promote Racial Diversity supports qualified young scientists from underrepresented minorities at leading universities and research centers around the world who wish to receive training in fundamental immunology and cancer immunology. The CRI Immuno-Informatics Postdoctoral Fellowship supports qualified young scientists who wish to receive dual training in immunology and data science. Awarded fellows receive $243,000 over three years with an allowance of $5,000 per year allotted to the host institution to help pay for the fellow’s research supplies, travel to scientific meetings, and more. CRI provides additional support for fellows to attend CRI’s annual International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference.

The CRI Clinic and Laboratory Integration Program (CLIP) supports qualified scientists who are working to explore clinically relevant questions aimed at improving the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapies. The development of new and effective cancer treatment requires the translation of basic laboratory discoveries into novel therapies that can be tested in patients. The CRI CLIP program funds basic, pre-clinical, and translational research that can be directly applied to optimizing cancer immunotherapy in the clinic. CLIP grants provide up to $300,000 over two years. CRI partners with the Chordoma Foundation to co-fund research related to accelerating the development of effective treatments and ultimately a cure for chordoma, a rare type of cancer that occurs in the bones of the skull base and spine. CRI also partners with the Kidney Cancer Association to co-fund research related to accelerating the development of effective immunotherapies for kidney cancer.

The Clinical Accelerator is an actively managed venture philanthropy program designed to speed the development of cancer immunotherapies. The strategy enables research collaboration across leading biopharma companies and among 50 of the world’s top cancer researchers. The program aims to identify and kick-start development of next generation combination treatments using the most promising drugs from disparate companies. Each philanthropic investment brings a new cancer treatment to patients, empowers academic researchers to work more closely with industry, and creates the potential for significant future returns on investment to CRI to make the venture fund self-sustaining. Launched in mid-2012, the program has created partnerships with more than 15 of the field’s top companies. Four core resources empower the Clinical Accelerator: *Coordinated Network of Researchers *Nonprofit Venture Fund *Clinical Trials Management *Portfolio of BioPharma Partnerships

These grants support research projects and public education and awareness initiatives for which, in most cases, donors have specifically raised funds.