Doris Duke Foundation Awards 17 Physician Scientists DDCF’s 2017 Clinical Scientist Development Awards
The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) today announced the 17 junior physician scientists receiving the 2017 Clinical Scientist Development Awards of $495,000 each over three years. Selected from a highly competitive pool of 196 applicants by a panel of experts in medical research, these scientists distinguished themselves by the rigor of their research endeavors and their commitment to future excellence as independent clinical researchers in the biomedical field. In honor of the foundation’s late Board Trustee Harry B. Demopoulos, M.D., DDCF is referring to this year’s awards as the Dr. Harry B. Demopoulos Clinical Scientist Development Awards.
“We are continually impressed by the high caliber of the Clinical Scientist Development Awardees, their research and the potential of that research to improve their patients’ lives,” said Betsy Myers, program director for medical research at DDCF. “At this crucial stage in their careers, we are proud to support them in balancing research and clinical responsibilities. We look forward to seeing both how their careers develop over the long term and their research contributes to improvements in human health.”
This year marks the 20th year since the Clinical Scientist Development Awards were first awarded. Since 1998, the foundation has awarded 288 Clinical Scientist Development Awards totaling more than $128 million to physician scientists between one and five years into their first faculty appointments and transitioning to an independent research career.
The award protects and makes possible for recipients to dedicate 75 percent of their professional time to clinical research at a time when they are facing competing priorities as both researcher and clinical care provider. The 2017 Clinical Scientist Development Awardees’ research projects span a broad range of critical biomedical issues, including the role of epigenetics in healing in diabetes; the evolution of drug resistance in certain lung cancers; novel treatments for insomnia; and more.