• The Mid-Career Fellowship is designed to support full-time mid-career researchers undertaking high-quality brain cancer research, aiming to retain talented individuals in the field of brain cancer research
• The Foundation will award up to AUD $420,000 over three years to the recipients
• Only 3.5% of mid-career researchers (6 to 15 years post-PhD) will continue a career in research

Australia’s leading brain cancer charity Cure Brain Cancer Foundation has announced the launch of its Mid-Career Fellowship, supporting innovative, experienced researchers to continue their pioneering work in brain cancer. The Foundation will award up to $420,000 AUD over three years to the recipients.

The Mid-Career Fellowship is designed to support full-time mid-career researchers undertaking high-quality brain cancer research, aiming to retain talented individuals in the field of brain cancer research. The fellowships are an integral component of Cure Brain Cancer Foundation’s Brilliant Minds program, which supports the growth of experienced researchers to continue their work in brain cancer.

Cure Brain Cancer Foundation has launched the Mid-Career Fellowship in response to the significantly low research figures in Australia. Only 3.5% of mid-career researchers (6 to 15 years post-PhD) will continue a career in research, with many pursuing careers in industry, government, or areas outside of science. This creates a “bottleneck” scenario, where the number of brain cancer researchers in the field reduces drastically. As such, promising mid-career researchers, their knowledge and skillset, are lost from brain cancer research.

The aim of the Mid-Career Fellowship is to support mid-career researchers who are at greatest risk of leaving the research field, and encourage them to continue a career in brain cancer. The fellowship provides three years of stability for leading mid-career researchers, so they can focus their time on research outputs and driving outcomes for patients.

Lance Kawaguchi, CEO at Cure Brain Cancer Foundation, says, “We are delighted to provide these Mid-Career Fellowships to progress innovative research, and urgently needed brain cancer treatments. Promising research continued at the mid-career stage will further add to the goals of improving health outcomes for people impacted by brain cancer and tackling the global challenges of finding a cure.”

Cure Brain Cancer Foundation’s Mid-Career Fellowship will be open to researchers across Australia and New Zealand, launching for the first time in 2022, and overseen by the Foundation’s world-leading Scientific Advisory Committee.

The grant round will be open for applications on World Cancer Day, Friday 4 February 2022.

The evaluation of applications to the Mid-Career Fellowship will be a competitive, merit-based process.

More information on eligibility and how to apply will be released in the coming weeks via the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation website and social media channels.