Impact on Research
The Lymphoma Research Foundation is committed to funding the most promising lymphoma researchers who have the greatest potential to improve patient care and, ultimately, to improve patient outcomes. To ensure that the next generation of cancer researchers are dedicated to studying lymphoma, the Foundation’s renowned Scientific Advisory Board is committed to investing in early career scientists who have the greatest ability to impact the future of lymphoma research.
To date, LRF has funded more than $62 million in lymphoma-specific research and has supported countless lymphoma researchers, leading to a better understanding of lymphoma and increased treatment options for patients.
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
LRF’s unique commitment to young investigators enables the Foundation to support high-risk, high-reward science. The LRF Postdoctoral Fellowship Grants are designed to support PhD fellows who have completed less than five years of postdoctoral work and MD fellows who have completed two to five years of fellowship work.
Areas of research may include, but are not limited to, etiology, immunology, genetics, therapies and transplantation. Typically, young investigator grants focus on basic science, which pave the way for scientific advancements and discoveries across a wide-range of cancers and diseases. The LRF Postdoctoral Fellowship provides a total of $105,000 to grantees over two years. These grants from LRF provide the seed money for young investigators, early in their careers, to be able to dedicate their time and talents to studying lymphoma. Many comment on how without a grant from the Lymphoma Research Foundation, they would have left academia and certainly lymphoma research.
MENTORING PROGRAM
Highlighting its commitment to young investigators, the Lymphoma Research Foundation launched the first-of-its-kind lymphoma mentoring program in 2014. Program participants, known as LRF Scholars, attend and participate in an intensive week-long workshop in which they learn from and network with the Foundation’s renowned Scientific Advisory Board members. Over the course of the two-year program, LRF Scholars gain the skills needed to successfully design and administer clinical research studies, apply for future grant funding, and establish themselves as independent researchers.
LRF Scholars receive a grant of $10,000 to support professional development expenses to help advance their lymphoma career. Participation in LRF’s exclusive mentoring program provides Scholars with a unique experience to learn how to build a successful career in lymphoma research from the best in the field. As a result, LRF Scholars are often regarded as the up and coming leaders of lymphoma research.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARD
The LRF Clinical Investigator Career Development Award (CDA) Program provides grants to advanced fellows or junior faculty members to facilitate their transition to independent clinical researchers. CDA grant recipients have the greatest potential to contribute to the development of new lymphoma therapies and diagnostic tools.
The LRF Clinical Investigator Career Development Award provides a total of $225,000 to grantees over three years. Many grantees received their first independent funding from LRF and have since become senior leaders in the field.
“LRF had a profound impact at the beginning of my academic career, when I needed the support most. I will always be grateful to LRF for its continuous investment in supporting innovative science, clinical research and educational programs.” – Dr. Eduardo Sotomayor, LRF Scientific Advisory Board Member
Key accomplishments of Foundation-funded researchers include:
- First In-Human Clinical Trial of Adoptive Immunotherapy in Follicular Lymphoma
- First Publication of the Whole-Genome Sequencing of Mantle Cell Lymphoma
- Identifying the Role RNA Splicing Plays in CLL
- Using Micro RNA Array to Identify Biomarkers that Play a Critical Role in MCL Drug Resistance and Progression
- Identifying the Mechanism Behind Ibrutinib Resistance in MCL
In addition, LRF regularly convenes scientific workshops in which scientists, clinicians, regulatory agency representatives, and other stakeholders address topical issues in lymphoma research and identify key areas in which LRF can support lymphoma research programmatically or through funding.
