VA Research Scholar Award

The 2025 LUNGevity VA Research Scholar Award program is now open for application submissions.

LUNGevity VA Research Scholar Awards support investigators interested in lung cancer research within the Department of Veterans Affairs. Projects funded in 2025 are expected to have a direct impact on the early detection of lung cancer or on the outcomes of lung cancer, or to provide a clear conceptual or experimental foundation for the future development of methods for early detection and/or individualized treatment, including through targeted therapy and immunotherapy. In addition, the proposed research must have relevance to the veteran population, related to either screening/early detection or treatment of lung cancer.

Award Guidelines

• Applicants must hold a doctoral degree and either be pursuing a postdoctoral fellowship program or be junior faculty within the first five years of their faculty appointment.
• Applicants must plan to pursue a career in lung cancer research at a Veterans Affairs institution (or an academic institution with an affiliation with a local Veterans Affairs institution).
• A mentoring plan is required as part of the submission.
• Award may be for a maximum of $100,000 ($50,000 per year for 2 years).
• Annual milestones must be met.

Note: LUNGevity will grant only one VA Research Scholar Award per institution.

LUNGevity uses a two-step application process:

1. A letter of intent (LOI), with a brief overview of the proposed project and biographical information
2. A full application with an extended narrative about the project, as well as supporting information and documentation. (Because there are a limited number of awards, only a subset of applicants will be invited to submit a full application after the LOI review is completed.)

Reviewers are drawn from LUNGevity’s Scientific Advisory Board and other lung cancer experts. Awardees have progress and financial reporting obligations during their award term.

A complete description of the award, terms and conditions, and instructions are included in the 2025 LUNGevity VA Research Scholar Award RFA. All application materials must be submitted via proposalCENTRAL.

2025 Award Timeline