Breast Cancer Research Foundation-AACR Career Development Awards
The Breast Cancer Research Foundation-AACR Career Development Awards represent a joint effort to support early-career investigators to conduct basic, translational, clinical, or population-based research with direct applicability and relevance to breast cancer.
The grants provide $375,000 over three years for expenses related to the research project, which may include salary and benefits of the grant recipient and any collaborator, postdoctoral or clinical research fellows, graduate students (including tuition costs associated with graduate students’ education and training), research assistants; research/laboratory supplies; equipment; publication charges for manuscripts that pertain directly to the funded project; and other research expenses.
Program Guidelines and Competitive Letter of Intent Instructions are available for download. Please read all program guidelines and instructions carefully before submitting an application.
Proposed project may be in basic, translational, clinical, epidemiological, population health, and/or community-based cancer related research and designed to accelerate the discovery, development, and application of new agents to treat breast cancer. Research that aims to advance the science of understanding cancer health disparities in racial and ethnic minorities with relevance to breast cancer will also be considered.
At the start of the grant term (July 1, 2027), applicants must:
- Have a doctoral degree (PhD, MD, MD/PhD, or equivalent) in a related field.
- Hold a faculty position with the title of assistant professor, instructor, research assistant professor, or the equivalent.
- If eligibility is based on a future position, the position must be confirmed at the time of submission and CANNOT be contingent upon receiving this grant. Applicants are advised to contact the AACR’s Research and Grants Administration (RGA) at [email protected] before submitting their Letter of Intent to confirm they will hold an eligible position.
- Have started their first independent faculty position within the past 6 years from the start of the grant term (i.e., employment start date of July 1, 2021, or later, as indicated on the employment offer letter). Exceptions to the 6-year window may be granted for up to 12 months of parental or justified personal/family leave. Applicants exceeding the 6-year limit who believe they are eligible must contact the AACR’s RGA before submitting their Letter of Intent.
- Have independent laboratory space as confirmed by their institution.
- Work at an academic, medical, or research institution anywhere in the world.
At the start of the grant term (July 1, 2027), applicants cannot:
- Be a candidate for a further doctoral degree.
- Be an employee or subcontractor of a U.S. federal government entity or for-profit private industry. They may serve as collaborators, but no grant funds may be directed toward these individuals.
- Concurrently hold another AACR grant.
- Current AACR grantees may apply only if their current grant ends before the start of the grant term for this funding opportunity (i.e., July 1, 2027). Also, the terms of their current grant must stipulate that the final progress reports be approved by the AACR before July 1, 2027.
- Be, or have been, a Principal Investigator on a substantial independent research award (e.g., an NIH R01 award, DP2 award, DP5 award, MIRA award, or the equivalent). These individuals are invited to apply for AACR grants for independent investigators.
- For the purposes of this grant, a substantial independent research award is defined as a grant that offers at least $250,000 (direct) per year for more than three years and must have undergone a peer-review process by active researchers and physician-scientists.
There are no citizenship or geographic requirements. However, by submitting an application for this grant, an applicant applying from an institution located in a country in which they are not a citizen, or a permanent resident assures that the visa status will provide sufficient time to complete the project and grant term at the institution from which they applied.
By the Letter of Intent submission deadline, applicants must be AACR members in the Active Membership category in good standing (dues paid for the current year):
- Information on AACR membership, including membership categories, due rates, and steps for lapsed or nonmembers, can be accessed on our membership website.
- Assistance with membership can be requested by submitting a myAACR help form or by contacting our Membership Department at [email protected]
- Applicants whose membership is not in good standing or nonmembers who do not apply for membership by the Letter of Intent submission deadline will be considered ineligible.
The AACR requires applicants to complete an online Letter of Intent submission by 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday, December 15, 2026, using the ProposalCentral website.
Program Guidelines and Competitive Letter of Intent Instructions are available in PDF format.