DF/HCC Nomination for 2026 Pew-Stewart Scholars Program for Cancer Research
April 07, 2025
DF/HCC has been invited to nominate a candidate for the 2026 Pew-Stewart Scholars for Cancer Research Program award. In 2014, The Pew Charitable Trusts partnered with the Alexander and Margaret Stewart Trust to establish a national initiative, the Pew-Stewart Scholars for Cancer Research Program. This program is independent from the Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences.
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The Pew-Stewart Scholars for Cancer Research Program supports assistant professors of outstanding promise in science relevant to the advancement of a cure for cancer. The award provides $300,000 in flexible support—$75,000 per year for a four-year period. In line with the Stewart Trust’s mission to invest in innovative, cutting-edge, basic cancer research that may accelerate and advance progress toward a cure for cancer, applications are invited from nominees conducting cancer research. This nomination is independent from the Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences and follows a different set of guidelines and procedures for nominating an applicant whose research is related to cancer.
Guidelines for DF/HCC nomination process:
- Please review award eligibility details
- Interested applicants should submit pre-proposal materials, including a brief research project summary (no more than 1-2 pages), curriculum vitae including date of first assistant professor appointment, and letter of support from their department/division chair, to a DF/HCC internal selection committee for consideration. Pre-proposal materials should be submitted by email to Jun-Rong Wei no later than 5pm on April 30, 2025.
- The DF/HCC nominee will be selected on or before May 14, 2025.
- The Pew-Stewart Scholars Program Office will e-mail login information directly to the selected applicant. The online application website will open June 11, 2025, and the submission deadline for a complete application is August 27, 2025.
The following eligibility criteria will be considered when reviewing candidates for the nomination:
- Nominees must have been awarded a doctorate in a field related to biomedical sciences, medicine, or a related field, including engineering or the physical sciences.
- As of August 27, 2025, nominees must run an independent lab and hold a full-time appointment at the rank of assistant professor.
- Appointments such as research assistant professor, adjunct assistant professor, assistant professor research track, visiting professor, or instructor are not eligible.
- Must not have been appointed as an assistant professor at any institution prior to June 11, 2021, whether or not such an appointment was on a tenure track.
- Candidates may be nominated by their institution only twice. All applicants must be nominated by their institution and must complete the 2026 online application.
- May not be nominated for the Pew Scholars Program and the Pew-Stewart Scholars Program for Cancer Research in the same year.
Based on their performance during their education and training, candidates should demonstrate outstanding promise as contributors in science relevant to the field of cancer. This program does not fund clinical trials research. Strong proposals will incorporate particularly creative and pioneering approaches to basic, translational, and applied cancer research. Candidates whose work is based on biomedical principles but who bring in concepts and theories from more diverse fields are encouraged to apply.
Ideas with the potential to produce an unusually high impact are encouraged. Selection of the successful candidates will be based on a detailed description of the work that the applicant proposes to undertake, evaluations of the candidate’s performance, and notable past accomplishments, including honors, awards, and publications. In evaluating the candidates, the National Advisory Committee gives considerable weight to both the project proposal and the researcher, including evidence that the candidate is a successful independent investigator and has the skill set needed to carry out their high-impact proposal.
Funding from the NIH, other government sources, and project grants from nonprofit associations do not pose a conflict with the Pew-Stewart program.