Steven A. Rosenberg Scholars Award

2024 Rosenberg Scholars Award Nominations Now Closed

Nominations closed on July 15, 2024.

Each year, SITC seeks the best and brightest to continue Dr. Rosenberg’s legacy with a research award specifically for early career scientists focused on tackling challenges that face the field of immunology and cancer immunotherapy. This award provides $150,000 in funding to advance the recipient's research. 

SITC established the Forward Fund in 2012, to stimulate the development and application of cancer immunology and immunotherapy by financially supporting its education and research.

Contributions to the Forward Fund help provide grants to promising young post-doctoral researchers, advocate for more young scientists to enter the field of cancer immunotherapy research and much more.

Learn more about the SITC Forward Fund >

Contribute to the Steven A. Rosenberg Scholars Award Fund

Your donation to this fund will support early career investigators, who are emerging leaders in immuno-oncology, focused on a novel approach to advancing the field of immunology and cancer immunotherapy.

About Dr. Rosenberg

After completing surgical residency training in 1974, Dr. Rosenberg became the Chief of Surgery at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—a position he still holds today. As Chief of Surgery, he oversees an extensive clinical program to translate scientific advances into effective immunotherapies for patients with cancer. 

“Through his lab at the NCI, Dr. Rosenberg has engaged with hundreds of scientists, both young and old,” said SITC President Patrick Hwu, MD, who worked with Dr. Rosenberg at the NIH. “He has focused on creating a whole new way to approach cancer through immune cells. His work is inspiring a whole new generation of physician scientists to put the patient first, tackle the tough problems and never give up.”

Dr. Rosenberg has saved thousands of lives. His work pioneered the first effective immunotherapies and gene therapies for patients with advanced cancers and his studies of cell transfer immunotherapy have resulted in durable complete remission in patients with metastatic melanoma. He has also trained hundreds of cancer researchers, many of whom are leaders in the field of immunotherapy.


Recipients

2023 Award Recipient

Jessica Stark, PhD - Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Research Focus: 
Targeting glycans for cancer immunotherapy

 

2022 Award Recipient

Emily Keung, MD - The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Research Focus: 
Identification of Novel Therapeutics Targets in Soft Tissue Sarcoma (STS) through Tumor-Specific B-cell Receptors (BCRs)

 

2021 Award Recipient

Evan Weber, PhD - Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute

Research Focus: 
CAR T Therapies in Pediatrics

 

2020 Award Recipient

Eric Tran, PhD - Earle A. Chiles Research Institute, a division of Providence Cancer Institute

Project Title: 
“Enhancing cellular therapy against cancer neoantigens”