Hope Adds Mid-Career Development Support

At this retreat, we took a deep dive into ways Hope can best support SWOG – how to support infrastructure, investigators, and the development of our membership. Important discussions centered on supplementing our competitive grant mechanisms, supporting our core offices, and expanding career engagement opportunities. 

For nearly 20 years, Hope and SWOG have partnered on making extensive resources available to our young investigators, and we remain committed to this mission. We started 10 years ago with the Dr. Charles A. Coltman Jr. Fellowship and went on to build and support the Young Investigator Training Course and the Leadership Academy. However, in assessing additional needs of the group, the board discussed the fact that our mid-career members deserve additional opportunities for career engagement, and might be overlooked by other granting agencies. Thus, the board is eager to support members entering the next phase of their career, as experienced researchers in SWOG’s network.

In Denver, the 15-member board agreed to create a separate “career engagement” category of grant funding, which will include two mid-career awards. Essentially, these will protect time for mid-career researchers to conduct projects of interest at their respective SWOG home institutions. We are defining mid-career as those members with 7-14 years of research experience.

I’m really excited and encouraged by this move. SWOG and Hope will retain our commitment to early career members, and extend our support to others needing it to help run trials. In short, we will help more members – and that is always a great goal.

Other retreat highlights:

• The Foundation agreed to change its name to The Hope Foundation for Cancer Research, an effort to more clearly show how Hope funds are directed, and to create a closer match to SWOG’s new name – The SWOG Cancer Research Network
• Hope welcomed its newest member, Dr. Raymond Osarogiagbon of Baptist Cancer Center in Memphis, TN. In the last three years, six new members have joined the Hope board, bringing new ideas and new energy to the group
• We voiced support for funding more staff in the SWOG statistics and data management center – positions that will increase capacity and speed trial development
• We agreed to work with Jo Horn and other Hope staff to improve program evaluations, in particular around program outcomes. This data would help drive evidence-based program funding decisions
• Hope agreed to modify the eligibility requirements for the Impact Award program, to support federal grants that are close to payline.

The retreat was a wonderful use of time. I look forward to doing the same with SWOG leadership.