Rethink’s Career Development Awards provide promising young Canadian researchers with an opportunity to pursue training in translational breast cancer research under the guidance and mentorship of a top supervisor.

The program is an excellent way to bring scientists—including clinician scientists—who have shown productivity and creativity early in their careers into breast cancer research. We must keep training talented young investigators if we are to continue to make progress in the fight against breast cancer in Canada. These mentored awards enable Rethink to attract some of the most promising talent available.

Your support will help keep the best researchers and clinicians in Canada

For a relatively small amount of money ($35,000-$70,000 per annum), a Career Development Award helps a bright young researcher pursue a potentially life-saving project.

With your help, their research could help improve diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer – and, ultimately, to prevent the disease.

Rethink’s program is unique in that it is also open to MDs coming out of residencies in oncology, radiation, surgery etc. There is practically no funding in Canada for clinicians interested in pursing breast cancer research.

This gross under-funding of MDs is unfortunate as the benefits are so direct:

Clinicians bring a unique perspective to breast cancer research because they have an intimate awareness of patient issues. Consequently, they pose different kinds of research questions than PhDs—questions that have more direct relevance to patients.

Moreover, it is often the best clinicians who want to pursue research or work in an environment where there is a lot of research activity. They want to access to the very latest research developments and knowledge.

Rethink is excited to offer clinicians the opportunity to stay in the research field and make an impact.

Your support could help an MD take the findings of a mechanistic study by a PhD and determine if they are relevant to human breast cancers. And, by helping Rethink fund MDs interested in research, you are also helping foster an environment in Canada that attracts and retains excellent clinicians.

To make a donation to Rethink’s research program, call 416-920-0980.