Eleven newly named researchers will be the first group to embark on President Joe Biden's Cancer Moonshot, sharing $5.4 million in scholarships to "fight to end cancer as we know it," according to an Aug. 3 White House news release.
The Cancer Moonshot Scholars program provides healthcare scientists who are early in their careers with financial support to conduct research and studies based on proposals they submitted to the program. These Cancer Moonshot Scholars will conduct research into liver, brain, prostate, lung, pancreatic, cervical and rectal cancers.
The next Cancer Moonshot Scholars application deadline is set for February 2024; the Biden administration said it will fund up to 30 more scholarships by 2024.
Cancer Moonshot Scholars, a key component of the president's Cancer Moonshot program within his Unity Agenda, focuses on two goals: "preventing cancer deaths and improving the patient experience," Danielle Carnival, PhD, deputy assistant to the president for the Cancer Moonshot initiative, said in the release.
Dr. Carnival said these goals require "supporting a new generation of talented researchers bringing diverse perspectives from all across America.”
The inaugural Cancer Moonshot Scholars are located in healthcare institutions in diverse areas across the country, including Texas, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, California, Michigan, Washington, Ohio and Kentucky.