Impact on Research

Lymphoma Research Foundation Research Grant Programs

The Lymphoma Research Foundation remains dedicated to finding cures for lymphoma through an aggressively-funded program for researchers.

Since its inception, the Foundation has made major contributions to the lymphoma research enterprise, awarding more than 450 research grants totaling more than $72 million. The Foundation’s volunteer Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), comprised of 45 world-renowned lymphoma experts, guides the Foundation’s research activities, seeking out the most innovative and promising lymphoma research projects for support.

Our Research Focus

Through its evidence-based research program, the Lymphoma Research Foundation aims to:

Advance Understanding of Lymphoma

Advance our understanding of lymphoma, laying the foundation for improved patient care.

Support Early-Career Scientists

Attract and train new investigators and clinicians in lymphoma, ensuring that the best and brightest scientific minds are able to continue their commitment to blood cancer research.

Foster Collaboration

Bring innovative ideas, energy and collaboration to the field of 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, translational, and/or laboratory research studies, apply for future grant funding, and establish themselves as independent researchers.

LRF Scholars receive an additional 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 up and coming leaders in the field of lymphoma research.

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

LRF’s unique commitment to young investigators enables the Foundation to support 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 paves the way for scientific advancements and discoveries across a wide-range of cancers and diseases. The LRF Postdoctoral Fellowship provides a total of $195,000 to grantees over three years.  These grants from LRF provide the seed money necessary for young investigators, early in their careers, to be able to dedicate their time and talents to studying lymphoma.  Many grantees credit this program with solidifying their careers in lymphoma research. 

CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARD

The Lymphoma Research Foundation 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 Clinical Investigator Award provides salary support and protected research time to grantees over three years.  Many grantees received their first independent funding from the Foundation and have since become senior leaders in the field.

DISEASE-FOCUS AREA GRANTS

In addition to early-career researchers, LRF funds faculty-level researchers in areas of lymphoma research that may be understudied or have key issues in need of further investigation. These programs, which fall under the larger designation of Disease Focus-Area Grants, solicit innovative research in specific subtypes and/or patient populations, and may also target certain types of research, including studies on biological pathways, correlative studies from existing clinical trials, and collaborative multi-institution projects.

Through Disease Focus-Area Grants, LRF has supported research in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), follicular lymphoma (FL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), as well as research on the adolescent and young adult (AYA) patient population.

Meet Our 2024 Researchers

Tomohiro Aoki, MD, PhD
University Health Network
Peykoff Initiative Investigator

Preteesh Jain, MD, PhD
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Niloufer Khan, MD
City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center
Health Equity Initiative

Christine Ryan, MD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Harsh Shah, DO
The University of Utah

Timothy Voorhees, MD
The Ohio State University College of Medicine

Yucai Wang, MD
Mayo Clinic, Rochester

Samuel Yamshon, MD
Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Ruth Alonso-Alonso, PhD
The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York
Oliver W. Press, MD, PhD, Memorial Fellow

Gonzalo Blanco Ares, PhD
The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research
Bruce D. Cheson, MD Fellow

Alberto Carturan, MD
University of Pennsylvania
Jaime Peykoff Follicular Lymphoma Fellow

Atish Kizhakeyil, PhD
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Benedikt Pelzer, MD
Weill Medical College of Cornell University
The Levine Family Fellowship

Michael Schneider, MD, PhD
The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania

Vignesh Shanmugam, MD
Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Inc.
Tom Condon Family Fellow

Moah Soan, DVM, PhD
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Jaime Peykoff Follicular Lymphoma Fellow

FINDING CURES STARTS HERE

25 Years of Innovation & Progress

1995 was a significant year for the Lymphoma Research Foundation (LRF)—it was then that LRF realized its dual mission to eradicate lymphoma and to serve those touched by this disease.

Finding cures starts here.  Through lymphoma-specific research grants and consortia, LRF-supported researchers have been involved in many of the most significant lymphoma breakthroughs witnessed in the past quarter-century.

RESEARCH NEWS

The Healing Power of Compassion

For Kami Maddocks, MD of the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, the bonds she creates with her patients go far beyond the call of duty of a doctor and are the most rewarding aspect of her work.

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