Ensuring the Future of Innovation

Dana-Farber empowers early-career investigators to accelerate breakthroughs and build the next generation of innovators in cancer treatment

The continuity of every profession relies on a new generation of practitioners who join the field with the training and resources needed to succeed. But for biomedical research – including cancer research – early career investigators are particularly vital because they bring the new ideas and passion that drive innovation. And innovation is what powers the discovery of new treatments that improve patients' lives.

With recent cuts in federal funding for scientific research, the uncertainties for investigators – especially those just launching their careers – have perhaps never been greater. 

"Trainees and early career faculty come to biomedical research because they have a passion to make a difference," said Judy Garber, MD, MPH, the Susan F. Smith Chair and chief of Cancer Genetics and Prevention at Dana-Farber. "They push the field forward, not just because they are smart, but because they are driven and bring a kind of enthusiasm that really propels all of us."

The Susan F. Smith Center for Women's Cancers at Dana-Farber has a longstanding commitment to nurturing trainees and early career faculty through a dedicated network of support that provides funding, mentorship, and other resources. That support is critical now more than ever to help attract, retain, and develop the next generation of cancer innovators. 

"A lot of us have seen challenging times before – this certainly isn’t the first one," said Ursula Matulonis, MD, chief of Gynecologic Oncology and Brock-Wilson Family Chair at Dana-Farber. “But you’ve just got to keep looking ahead and pushing the research forward – let's make new ideas and clinical trials happen. And as oncologists, we need to keep laser-focused on making life better for our patients."

Meaningful Mentorship

Tarik Silk, MD, joined Dana-Farber's Gynecologic Oncology program in August 2025 as an attending physician and clinical researcher. Trained as a medical oncologist, he was drawn to Dana-Farber not only because of its stellar reputation clinically but also because of its remarkable mentors.  

"What really drew me to Dana-Farber is Ursula Matulonis," says Silk. "Everyone I spoke with emphasized not only her remarkable expertise but also what a great mentor she is. As a junior faculty member, having that opportunity to receive strong mentorship and to learn from the leaders in the field is incredibly important."

Although he's just beginning to chart his research path, he is particularly interested in translational questions, such as understanding why certain therapies work for some patients and not others.  

The culture of mentorship at Dana-Farber is also a defining feature for Tess O'Meara, MD, a medical oncology fellow in Breast Oncology. She sees patients in the breast oncology clinic and conducts translational research projects that seek to understand, at the cellular and molecular level, how different treatments affect patients' tumors over time – and how those tumor profiles differ in patients who respond to a treatment versus those who don't.

"I really can’t believe how fortunate I am to be here," said O’Meara. "I have a clinical mentor and a clinical research mentor as well as a computational mentor. And the amount of time my mentors spend talking about me and how best to support me without me even being in the room is just incredible."

This kind of mentorship is not unique to O'Meara – it is a formal, structured, and intentional activity offered to every fellow, instructor, and assistant professor at Dana-Farber.

"All of our senior faculty participate in mentorship, and I think the deliberateness of our process is pretty unique," said Nancy Lin, MD, associate chief of Breast Oncology. "Each early career investigator has a designated group of mentors who meet on a regular basis and provide not just research-specific mentorship but really sponsorship – looking at the big picture and offering advice on how to help move that person’s career forward."

Winning Grants Requires… Grants

Arguably the biggest challenge every researcher faces is securing funding for their research. Yet for early career investigators, that challenge is particularly acute – and something of a catch-22.

"For young investigators, being awarded a major grant is very important in their career growth, not only to support their research but also as an acknowledgment of their expertise in the field," said Erica Mayer, MD, MPH, director of breast cancer clinical research at Dana-Farber.

"But in order to be competitive for those grants, one has to demonstrate evidence of scholarship – in other words, original, published research – and that often requires seed funding through smaller grants to fund that initial work."

Investigators are turning from federal funding to alternative sources, including philanthropic, institutional, and industry support. "All of these are very important funding sources," said Mayer. "But the reduction of broad research funding from federal sources means that the field has become much more challenging and perhaps even discouraging for junior investigators."

Lin added, "More than ever before, funding is by far the most rate-limiting factor. We now have many, many more ideas – ambitious ideas – than we have the funding for. We have the tools and technology, and we have the brilliant, compassionate people who really want to pursue them."

Dana-Farber and Susan F. Smith Center leaders are doing everything they can to fill this gap. For example, there are grants available both through Dana-Farber and through various outside sources that specifically fund early career investigators and can provide some of the initial support needed to establish their research programs.  

Such awards are particularly critical for investigators who pursue research while also caring for patients, because the funding helps provide "protected time" – that is, time away from clinical duties to launch research projects, collect data, present that data at conferences, and then publish it in major medical journals.

"These early grants are essential for early investigators because, also as treating oncologists, they understand the problems facing our patients and that understanding informs the kinds of research they do," said Matulonis.

Another opportunity for securing the early seed funding that is so critical for junior investigators comes from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) through its SPORE (Specialized Program of Research Excellence) grants. These five-year, multimillion-dollar grants aim to promote collaborative, interdisciplinary translational cancer research and focus on a particular organ, like the breast, or a group of highly related cancers.

"Earning the Breast Cancer SPORE in today’s challenging funding environment is a remarkable achievement and a true testament to the strength, depth, and innovation of Dana-Farber's breast cancer research program," said Sara Tolaney, MD, MPH, chief of Breast Oncology at Dana-Farber. "This award underscores the impact of our collaborative science and our unwavering commitment to translating discoveries into better treatments for patients."

Not only are there smaller funding opportunities for both early and mid-career faculty through Breast Oncology's SPORE grant, but there are also opportunities for collaboration and networking through monthly project meetings. Each of the four main collaborative projects funded by the SPORE are intentionally structured to pair early career investigators with senior investigators on each project.

"The message here is not just one of one-on-one mentorship, but really creating larger collaborative structures so that junior faculty are woven in and nobody falls through the cracks – it's deliberate, it's structured, and it's frequent,” said Lin.

Hope Prevails

Despite the significant headwinds facing early career investigators, Dana-Farber leaders remain positive.

"For many of us who are more senior, the most rewarding part of our jobs is mentoring and sponsoring junior faculty," said Lin. "So, I just want to tell them, don't give up. We are truly invested in your success and want to help."

Other Susan F. Smith Center leaders echo those themes. "Junior faculty are our future," said Matulonis. "What they aim to accomplish in their careers with new ideas and their drive is critical – and it's my job as division chief to help make this happen."

And for the investigators just getting their start as independent researchers, hope is on the horizon.

"I’ll admit, it is a stressful time to be launching a career in academic medicine," said O’Meara. "But in these temporary waves of difficulty, for those of us who get to interact with patients, it's easy to stay optimistic and hopeful about the future of cancer research."

Added Silk, "My passion is to deliver the best care to patients with gynecologic malignancies – that hasn’t changed and it’s not going to change."

By Nicole David, PhD