Limited Submission Opportunity: St. Baldrick’s Foundation Scholar Awards 2026

URL: https://www.stbaldricks.org/for-researchers

OBJECTIVES

The St. Baldrick’s Foundation advances the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long and healthy lives. The Scholar (Career Development) Award is meant to help develop the independent research of highly qualified individuals still early in their careers.

Current funding priorities are divided into four categories:

  • New discovery research
  • Translational research and early phase clinical trials
  • Phase III clinical trials & infrastructure support of participating institutions (primarily the fall grant cycle)
  • Education of new pediatric oncology researchers

In addition to research to understand the biology of childhood cancers and discover leads to more effective treatments, topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Adolescents & young adults
  • Survivorship, outcomes, and quality of life
  • Supportive care
  • Epidemiology and pediatric cancer predispositions
  • Precision medicine
  • Alternative & complementary therapies

FUNDING INFORMATION

Up to $110,000 per year for 3 years. Two additional years of funding may be requested based upon the demonstration of significant accomplishment. Applicants can request up to $115,000 per year for those additional two years.

ELIGIBILITY

Applicants do not need to be US citizens, but must be employed at an academic, medical, or non-profit research institution within the US.

All applicants must:

  • Hold a Ph.D., M.D., or D.O. degree in a field of research specialty by the date the award becomes effective
  • Currently hold (for no longer than 7 years at the time the award begins), or will hold by start of the award, a title that is considered by the institution to be a fulltime, faculty position
  • Be early career. The Scholar award is intended to develop the independent pediatric cancer research careers of highly qualified investigators, not to support well established or senior investigators
  • Have an appropriate Sponsor who provides supervision, facilities, and research support (when appropriate, applicants can have more than 1 Sponsor)
  • Have a project that has direct applicability and relevance to pediatric cancer. They may be in any discipline of basic, clinical, translational, or epidemiological research

Scholars may receive funding from other sources to support their research. However, no other comparable or higher (monetary value) career development award may be held prior to or at the time the award begins. Scientific or budgetary overlap with other funded projects is not allowed.

Applicants holding or awarded R01s at the time of the LOI are not eligible to apply. Applicants cannot hold a NIH K-award at the time that they apply (institutional K12 funding is allowable).

Limited Submissions Exception

BU may submit one additional LOI/application overall for the cycle if they are focused on one of the following areas of high interest from donors and low numbers of past applications:

  • Brain tumors – all types, including rare forms, especially atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT), diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG)/diffuse midline glioma (DMG), and glioblastoma (GBM)
  • Burkitt lymphoma – all types, especially sporadic
  • Ewing sarcoma
  • Rhabdoid tumors – Extrarenal

INTERNAL SELECTION

The internal selection process depends on whether your grants are managed by BU (CRC and BUMC) or Boston Medical Center. If you are unsure whether your grants are managed by BU or BMC, please consult the BUMC Home Institution Finder. Use that information to guide which process you follow below.

BU Process

BU may forward one applicant with the exception noted above. Interested investigators should submit the following materials via InfoReady Review by: 10/28/2025

  • One-page Letter of Intent (LOI) in the Foundation’s format, which includes the following components:
    • Area of focus for the research
    • Relevance of the project to the Foundation’s mission to find cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long and healthy lives
    • Rationale for the project
    • Identify Sponsor(s) for the proposed research and how/why their support would aid the proposed project
    • Gantt chart for the timeline of the progression
    • References may be included on one additional page
  • General Audience/Lay Abstract for the proposed project (250 words)
  • Biosketch of the applicant

As necessary, an internal faculty committee will review and recommend a BU applicant. Foundation Relations will assist the applicant to submit their Letter of Intent by 12/8/2025.

BMC Process

BMC may forward one applicant.

If you are a BUMC faculty member who works in BMC space or you are a fellow whose faculty advisor is a BMC investigator, please contact the Program Manager of Strategic Research Growth, Carolina Giudice (carolina.giudice@bmc.org), by 10/17/2025.

BMC investigators do not need to submit applications through InfoReady Review for this LSO. The internal deadlines listed below only apply to investigators who submit grants through BU. BMC investigators should contact Carolina for guidance on next steps.

DEADLINES

Internal Materials Due: Tuesday, October 28, 2025 by 11:59 pm ET

Anticipated Notification Date: Thursday, November 13, 2025

Letter of Intent Due: Monday, December 8, 2025 by 5 pm ET

Full Application Due: Friday, February 27, 2026

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