American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellowships

Postdoctoral Fellowships (PF) support new investigators in research training programs to position them for independent careers in cancer research. As part of their evaluation, peer reviewers consider how well the fellowship will broaden the applicant’s research training and experience.

Eligibility

Typically, you ARE eligible to submit a proposal if you:

• Work at a US academic institution or eligible non-profit
• Are a US citizen or a non-US citizen with an appropriate visa or lawful immigration status at the time of application
• Are in a "postdoctoral" position at their institution. Applicants with a faculty appointment (instructor, assistant professor) or who are a research or staff scientist are not eligible.
• Have had a terminal doctoral degree for 4 years or less (time spent in clinical-only training is not counted). See table below regarding allowable fellowship terms based on time since completing the terminal degree.

To ask about extenuating circumstances: At least 6 weeks before the application deadline, send your questions to grant.eligibility@cancer.org

We encourage applicants to review the grant policies document for additional, detailed information on eligibility requirements for all applicants and institutions.

Fellowship Term Limits Based on Time Since Receiving a Terminal Doctoral Degree

Eligibility is calculated based on the month and year you received your terminal doctoral degree and the month and year of the application deadline.

If you've had your terminal degree for:    

• 0 to 3 years
• More than 3 years up to 4 years 

Maximum Fellowship Term

• 3 years
• 2 years

Grant Term and Budget

Awards are for up to 3 years with recently increased progressive stipends of $66,000, $68,000, and $70,000 a year.

Depending on availability of special endowment funds, the American Cancer Society (ACS) annually selects one or more of the top-ranked fellowships to be supplemented above the standard stipend.

Fellowship Allowances: Fellows receive $4,000 a year to help defray costs such as health insurance, workshop costs, and expenses associated with presenting at a scientific meeting.

In the last year, an additional $1,500 is added to the fellowship allowance for PFs to attend either the ACS Postdoctoral Fellows Symposium or a domestic scientific meeting.

Parental Leave Option

PFs may elect  a minimum of 4 weeks a year, up to 12 weeks, for paid maternity/paternity leave for births and adoptions.

In addition, the grant term will be extended for the same number of weeks taken for leave, AND the stipend will continue for those extra weeks.

This policy allows the PF to both complete the full fellowship term and have continuous stipends throughout parental leave when they are not performing research and throughout the extended term as they complete their research.

Application Deadlines

June 1, 2025 and December 1, 2025

If the grant application deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, applications will be accepted the following business day.