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Pew-Stewart Scholars for Cancer Research

Pew-Stewart Scholars Portal

All applications for this internal competition must be submitted via InfoReady. You can sign in using your Net-ID and your @stonybrook.edu email address. Please allow sufficient time to familiarize yourself with the portal prior to submitting your pre-application. Pre-application requirements are listed in the announcement below.

The Office for Research and Innovation, the Office of Advancement, and the Cancer Center invite applications for the Pew-Stewart Scholars for Cancer Research. The program supports assistant professors of outstanding promise in science relevant to the advancement of a cure for cancer. Stony Brook University can nominate ONE candidate for the 2027 funding cycle.

Please see below for details. If you are interested in applying, you must submit a pre-application via the Pew-Stewart Scholars Portal in InfoReady by Monday, April 27, 2026 at 9 am.  Pre-applications for internal review and selection must be uploaded to the portal as a single PDF document. 

DISCIPLINE(S): Cancer Research, Early Career

WHAT DOES IT FUND: Strong proposals will incorporate particularly creative and pioneering approaches to basic and translational cancer research. Candidates whose work is based on biomedical principles but who bring in concepts and theories from other fields are encouraged to apply. Ideas with the potential to produce an unusually high impact are encouraged. 

APPLICANT REQUIREMENTS: 

    • Candidates must have been awarded a doctorate in biomedical sciences, medicine, or a related field.
    • As of Aug. 27, 2026, nominees must be running an independent lab and hold full-time appointments at the rank of assistant professor or equivalent. Appointments such as research assistant professor, adjunct assistant professor, assistant professor research track, visiting professor, or instructor are not eligible.
    • Candidates must not have been appointed as an assistant professor at any institution prior to June 10, 2023. Time spent in clinical internships, residencies, in work toward board certification, or on parental leave does not count as part of this three-year limit. Candidates who need an eligibility extension due to leave or other reasons should contact Pew's program office.
    • Candidates may apply two times in total.
    • Candidates should be conducting creative, interdisciplinary, basic or translational cancer research. This program is not designed to fund clinical trial research.
    • Candidates may not be nominated for the Pew Scholars Program and the Pew-Stewart Scholars Program for Cancer Research in the same year.
    • It is expected that Pew-Stewart scholars will spend at least 80 percent of their time in work or activities related to the accomplishment of their overall research goals (which are not restricted to the specific aims proposed for this award). However, Pew provides flexible support to the general research aims of the Pew-Stewart scholar and does not require effort reporting.

AWARD: $75,000 per year for a four-year period

COST SHARE: Not required

SPONSOR DEADLINE: Nomination due May 13, 2026. Application due August 27, 2026.

WEBINAR: The Pew program staff will be hosting a virtual open house and FAQ session should you have any questions about this year's nomination process. The session will take place on April 22, from 2:00-3:30 pm ET and you may drop in any time during this window. The first hour will be dedicated to programmatic questions and the last half hour will be reserved for technical questions with the new system. Attend the virtual FAQ session.

A complete pre-application should comprise of the following:

    • Research Project Summary (no more than three pages, double spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font, with one-inch margins) that includes a statement of the project to be undertaken, its aims and objectives, the methods to be used, and the potential significance of the research. The description should include details on how this project fits into the applicant's "big picture" plans. Figures can be included within the three page limit. References can be included on additional pages.
    • List of Current/pending funding
    • Curriculum vitae
    • Letter of support from department chair