Research Grants
BCAN is committed to supporting bladder cancer research. From its inception, BCAN has cultivated a strong partnership with the leading members of the bladder cancer medical community to encourage collaboration among all the parties dedicated to the study of bladder cancer and its prevention, diagnosis and treatment. BCAN’s current research priorities are guided by the Bladder Cancer Research Network (BRCN) Management Committee. Our goal is to identify the best and most promising research that will provide the greatest opportunity to advance the understanding of bladder cancer and how to improve management and treatment of this disease. BCAN raises funds and awards grants to support early career investigators as well as innovative bladder cancer research to develop lifesaving treatments.
Information about applying for grants is available below. Please contact BCAN if you have any questions at grants@bcan.org.
Bladder Cancer Research Innovation Award
Award winners by year
2020
The Bladder Cancer Research Innovation Award
Research: “Intravesical delivery of FC-enhanced CD40 against antibody for the treatment of bladder cancer.”
Jeffrey Ravtech, MD PhD
Professor | Rockefeller University
Read more
2019
The Bladder Cancer Research Innovation Award
Research: “Transdifferentiation of fibroblasts to urothelial progenitors for definitive urothelial replacement therapy in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. ”
Philip Beachy, PhD
Professor | Stanford University School of Medicine
Read more
2018
The Bladder Cancer Research Innovation Award
Research: “Modeling bladder cancer metastasis using human patient-derived tumor organoids. ”
Michael M. Shen, PhD
Professor | Columbia University Irving Cancer Center
Read more
2017
The Bladder Cancer Research Innovation Award
Research: “Proteogenomic characterization of MIBC to identify mechanisms of resistance and targets for therapy.”
Seth Lerner, MD, FACS
Chair of Urologic Oncology | Baylor College of Medicine
Read more
2016
The JPB Foundation Bladder Cancer Research Innovations Award
Research: “Targeting FGFR3 in muscle-invasive bladder cancer.”
David McConkey, PhD
Director | Johns Hopkins Greenberg Bladder Cancer Institute
2015
James Family Foundation and Partner Fund Managment Bladder Cancer Research Innovations Award
Research: “Epigenetic regulation of bladder cancer progression.”
Cory Abate-Shen, PhD
Professor of Urological Oncology | Columbia University Medical Center
Associate Director of Translational Research | Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center
2014
The JPB Foundation Bladder Cancer Research Innovations Award
Research: “Immune Characterization of High-Grade Bladder Cancer.”
William Kim, MD
Associate Professor | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Young Investigator Awards
“Since we began our Young Investigator Awards, BCAN has invested more than one million dollars to support early-career investigators. We are pleased to be able to help our promising, early-career research scientists who share in our urgent mission to improve bladder cancer outcomes.”
– Andrea Maddox-Smith, Chief Executive Officer of BCAN.
View the guildelines for the 2021 BCAN Young Investigator and Patient-Centered Clinical Research Awards.
Award winners by year
2020
The 2020 BCAN New Discoveries Young Investigator Award
Research: “Defining NRF2 induced tumor invasion in bladder cancer.”
Yuki Kita, M.D., Ph.D.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Read more
The BCAN New Discoveries Young Investigators Award
Research: “Targeting regulatory B cells (Bregs) to improve anti-bladder cancer immunity.”
Burles (Rusty) Johnson, M.D., Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins University
Read more
The BCAN New Discoveries Research Young Investigator Awards for Patient Centered Clinical Research
Research: “Identifying Patient and Providers Factors Associated with Smoking Cessation.”
Matthew Mossanen, M.D., MPH
Brigham & Women’s Hospital
Read more
2019
The 2019 BCAN New Discoveries Young Investigator Award
Research: “Recombinant CCL2 as a Novel Treatment Strategy for Bladder Cancer.”
Neelam Mukherjee, MD,
University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio
Read more
The BCAN New Discoveries Young Investigators Award
Research: “Quantifying Risk and Resilience Among Patients with Bladder Cancer: A Novel Personalized, Comprehensive Risk Stratification Program.”
Sarah Psutka, MD, MsC
University of Washington, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
Read more
The BCAN New Discoveries Research Young Investigator Awards for Patient Centered Clinical Research
Research: “Understanding the Burden and Impact of Financial Toxicity in Bladder Cancer—A Mixed Methods Study of Two Diverse Patient Populations.”
Sumeet Bhanvadi, MD
University of Southern California
Read more
2018
The 2018 BCAN Young Investigator Award
Research: “Next-generation sequencing to enhance initial staging and dynamically monitor disease response in upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC).”
Philip Abbosh, MD, PhD
Fox Chase Cancer Center
Read more
The Palm Beach New Discoveries Young Investigators Award
Research: “Modulation of regulatory T cells in the bladder tumor environment by anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy.”
David Oh, MD, PhD
University of California, San Francisco
Read more
The Palm Beach New Discoveries Young Investigator Award for Patient Centered Clinical Research
Research: “The implementation of nutrition education videos for patients undergoing radical cystectomy.”
Eugene Lee, MD
University of Kansas Medical Center
Read more
2017
The JPB Foundation Young Investigator Award
Research: “Ascertaining the Role of Mutations in COMPASS-like Complex Members in the Development of Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma.”
Byron Lee, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Read more
Stephen Hale Gushée Young Investigator Award
Research: “Defining the Immune Response to Chemotherapy and Chemo-Immunotherapy in Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer.”
Tracy Rose, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor at UNC Chapel Hill
Read more
2016
The JPB Foundation Young Investigator Award
Research: “Role of antigen-specific immunity in BCG therapy for bladder cancer.”
Niannian Ji, PhD
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
Stephen Hale Gushée Young Investigator Award
Research: “Identifying Genomic Determinants of Chemoradiotherapy Response in Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer.”
Kent William Mouw, MD, PhD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
2015
Stephen Hale Gushée Young Investigator Award
Research: “The Role of TP63 and ATDC in Invasive Bladder Cancers”
Philip Palmbos, MD, PhD
Clinical Lecturer | University of Michigan
Stephen Hale Gushée Young Investigator Award
Research: “The Role of ATM Loss and the ATR-CHK1 Pathway in Bladder Cancer.”
Rahul Parikh, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor | University of Pittsburgh
2014
BCAN Young Investigator Award
Research: “The Role, Relationship and Therapeutic Potential of HAS2 and AGL in Bladder Cancer.”
Sunny Guin, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow | University of Colorado at Denver
The JPB Foundation Young Investigator Award
Research: “Consequences of ARID1A Inactivation in Bladder Cancer.”
Ryoichi Saito, MD, PhD
Research Associate | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The JPB Foundation Young Investigator Award
Research: “Defining Immunotherapy Targets in Bladder Cancer Microenvironment Using Oncolytic Viruses.”
Dmitriy Zamarin, MD, PhD
Hematology/Oncology Fellow | Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
2013
BCAN Young Investigator Award
Research: “Transcriptional Control of Bladder Cancer Tumorigenesis”
David DeGraff, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow | Vanderbilt University Medical Center
James Family Young Investigator Award
Research: “Identifying Predictors of Response to mTOR-targeted Therapies in Bladder Cancer”
Gopa Iyer, MD
Clinical Instructor | Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Raymond and Marie Floyd Family Young Investigator Award
Research: “High resolution molecular analysis of CD47-mediated immune escape in bladder cancer”
Debashis Sahoo, PhD
Instructor | Stanford University
John Quale Travel Fellowship Program
Award winners by year
2020
- Nathan Brooks, MD | University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
- John Christin, Ms, PhD | Columbia University Medical Center
- Carissa Chu, MD | The Regents of the University of California, San Francisco
- Ali Khaki, MD | University of Washington Seattle Cancer Care Alliance
- Richard Matulewicz, MD | New York University School of Medicine
- Jeffrey Wong, MD, PhD | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
2019
- Lee Hugar, MD | Pittsburgh Medical Center
- Amy Lim, MD, PhD | University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
- Amy Luckenbaugh, MD | Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Swathi Ramakrishnan, MD | Health Research Incorporated, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
- Samuel Washington, MD | University of California, San Francisco
- Nathan Wong, MD, FRCSC | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
2018
- Arpita Roy, PhD | National Cancer Center
- Nirmish Singla, MD | University of Texas Southwestern
- Shawn Dason, MD | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Panagiotis Vlachostergios, MD, PhD | Weill Cornell Medicine
2017
- Neelam Mukherjee, PhD | University of Texas
- Brian Winters, MD | University of Washington Urology
- Vadim Koshkin, MD | Cleveland Clinic, Taussig Cancer Institute
- Janet Baack Kukreja, MD, MPH | Anderson Cancer Center
2016
- Samuel Funt, MD | Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
- Matthew Mossansen, MD | Massachusetts General Hospital
- Tracy Rose, MD | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Debasish Sundi, MD | University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
2015
- Abdul R. Banday, Ph.D., M.S. | NIH NCI Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics
- Max Kates, M.D. | Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
- Huyen T. Nguyen, Ph.D. | The Ohio State University
- Randy Sweis, M.D. | The University of Chicago
2014
- Philip Ho, MD. | University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
- Tim Lautenschlaeger, MD | The Ohio State University
- Young Lee, PhD | National Cancer Institute, Urologic Oncology Branch
- Anirban Mitra, MD, Ph.D | Center for Personalized Medicine, University of Southern California
2013
- Richard Bambury, MD, BCh, BAO | Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
- Sima Porten, MD, MPH | MD Anderson Cancer Center
- Srinivas Vourganti, MD | National Cancer Institute
- Daniel Willis, MD | MD Anderson Cancer Center
2012
- Arjun Balar, MD | New York University Cancer Center
- Jeffrey Bassett, MD, MPH | Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Eugene Lee, MD | University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
- Armine Smith, MD | National Cancer Institute
2011
- Meng Chen, PhD | University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
- Kenneth Nepple, MD | Washington University in St. Louis
- Sandip Prasad, MD | University of Chicago
- Steven Smith, MD, PhD | University of Michigan
2010
- Andrew Feifer, MD | Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center,
- Heather Honorѐ Goltz, PhD, LMSW | VA Health Services Research and Development Center of Excellence
- William Brandt, PhD | Johns Hopkins University,
- Kilian Gust, MD | Vancouver Prostate Centre
2009
- Gayathri Chadalapaka, PhD | Texas A&M University
- David DeGraff, PhD | Vanderbilt University Medical Cancer
- Peter O’Donnell, MD | University of Chicago
- Amit Patel, MD | Cleveland Clinic