Dana-Farber Cancer Institute receives a grant from the Richard K. Lubin Family Foundation to establish the Lubin Family Foundation Scholar Awards

The Richard K. Lubin Family Foundation is making a grant to establish the Lubin Family Foundation Scholar Awards at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

The grant will create new scholar awards open to early career physician-scientists in the greater Boston area as they launch their research careers. The Lubin Scholars will receive a four-year financial award of $150,000 per year and work under the tutelage of a Lubin Scholar Mentor to help guide them during this pivotal time in their early career. Four Lubin Scholars will be selected annually. The purpose of the program is to help retain the brightest physician-scientists in academic research.

William G. Kaelin Jr., MD, a 2019 Nobel Prize recipient and Dana-Farber researcher, will serve as the Lubin Scholar Awards’ Scientific Director. Candidates will be invited to apply from Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center institutions (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Massachusetts General Hospital) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Many studies have shown that physician-scientists leave academic research early in their careers for a number of reasons, including financial limitations and more opportunities in the private sector. Surmounting these formidable barriers to retention in academic research is critical to the future of Dana-Farber’s research enterprise and to the broader community of academic medical centers. The Lubin Family Foundation Scholar Awards will create new avenues for early career physician-scientists to reach professional and financial stability within the field of academic research.

The Richard K. Lubin Family Foundation, whose Board consists of Richard (Dana-Farber Trustee) and Nancy Lubin, Kate Lubin and Glen Sutton, and Emily and Greg Woods, have been long-time supporters of Dana-Farber.

“We are deeply grateful to the Lubin family for their continued partnership with Dana-Farber, especially for their generous support of our world-class faculty. The innovative Lubin Family Foundation Scholar Awards set an inspiring example for how we encourage physician-scientists and early career investigators to continue their promising research—by providing them with crucial mentoring and financial resources at a pivotal stage in their careers. These prestigious awards will not only help scientists in the field today, but also create a pipeline and support system for future talent who will someday drive the next major breakthroughs and change the landscape of cancer care as we know it,” said Laurie H. Glimcher, MD, President and CEO of Dana-Farber and the Richard and Susan Smith Professor of Medicine.

Lubin Scholars will be among the most promising early career investigators who are pursuing cancer-relevant basic or translational laboratory-based research and who have demonstrated potential to become the next generation of leaders in cancer research. The selection of Lubin Scholars will focus primarily on those working in fundamental science because many of today’s most important advances in cancer can trace their origins back to research of the basic principles of biology and chemistry.

“I have tremendous admiration for Dana-Farber and respect for its commitment to training the future leaders who will shape the field of oncology. I am pleased that our Foundation has been able to work with the Institute to bring to fruition an award that will help the next generations of scientists succeed in their academic research careers,” said Richard Lubin.

“I know from experience that mentoring colleagues early in their careers has a positive impact on scientific research. Certainly, mentorship combined with a financial award will be incredibly beneficial to young scientists, and these new awards will assure that early career researchers can remain focused on their science and scientific training during their critical transition to independence,” said Kaelin. “I am grateful to the Richard K. Lubin Family Foundation for its vision and commitment in establishing these important and innovative awards.”

The first cohort of Lubin Scholars will be announced on October 3, 2022, and annually thereafter in the fall.

This grant is another example of the Lubin family’s legacy and support for Dana-Farber’s faculty, including a gift in 2018 to establish the Richard and Nancy Lubin Family Chair at Dana-Farber and the Richard and Nancy Lubin Research Fund.

This commitment also supports The Dana-Farber Campaign, the Institute’s ongoing and ambitious, multi-year $2 billion fundraising effort to prevent, treat, and defy cancer by accelerating revolutionary science, extraordinary care, exceptional expertise, and essential opportunities. Richard Lubin serves on The Dana-Farber Campaign Cabinet.

About Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is one of the world’s leading centers of cancer research and treatment. Dana-Farber’s mission is to reduce the burden of cancer through scientific inquiry, clinical care, education, community engagement, and advocacy. Dana-Farber is a federally designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School.

We provide the latest treatments in cancer for adults through Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center and for children through Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center. Dana-Farber is the only hospital nationwide with a top 5 U.S. News & World Report Best Cancer Hospital ranking in both adult and pediatric care.

As a global leader in oncology, Dana-Farber is dedicated to a unique and equal balance between cancer research and care, translating the results of discovery into new treatments for patients locally and around the world, offering more than 1,100 clinical trials.

About the Richard K. Lubin Family Foundation

Established in 1986 in Massachusetts, the Richard K. Lubin Family Foundation is dedicated to improving the quality of life in the Greater Boston Region, through its focus on educational pathways and outcomes, culture and the arts, and medical research and clinical care. The Foundation is proud to launch the Lubin Family Foundation Scholar Awards—four-year awards that couple enhanced mentoring with financial assistance—with the goal of keeping the most promising physician-scientists in academic research as they complete their training and transition to tenure-track faculty positions.