Autonomy-Driven Innovation

Provides financial support to recipients for free inquiry and activities outside legal studies in areas related to societal needs, as defined by the Tony Patino Fellowship Trust agreement.

Supports over 4,000 scientists since 1946 by providing seed funding for biotech startups founded by Damon Runyon alumni, enabling pursuit of unexpected research directions, and launching training programs in computational science and pediatric cancer research in partnership with institutions like St. Jude. The foundation prioritizes high-impact breakthroughs over incremental progress.

Provides multi-year grants to early-career scientists pursuing innovative, high-risk, high-reward cancer research, with the goal of translating laboratory discoveries into new treatments. The foundation has contributed to nearly every major cancer research breakthrough over the past 80 years and currently supports 15 ongoing clinical trials based on its funded research.

Organizes annual fundraising events such as the Damon Runyon Annual Breakfast, Accelerating Cancer Cures symposium, and anniversary dinners to raise awareness and funds for cancer research. These events have raised nearly $1 million in single events and are supported by corporate sponsorships and ticket sales, including through the Damon Runyon Broadway Tickets program.

Covers all administrative and overhead costs through endowment income and revenue from the Damon Runyon Broadway Tickets program, ensuring that 100% of public donations go directly to cancer research. Also promotes workplace giving through employee donation matching programs.

Runs a seven-year-running fellowship program that awards $240,000 in independent funding to early-career scientists from quantitative disciplines (e.g., computational biology, physics, engineering) to transition into cancer research. The program includes training in interdisciplinary approaches to study cancer biology, such as breast cancer risk and chromosomal drivers.

Funds clinical trials and translational research leading to novel therapies, including genetically targeted preventative treatments for clonal hematopoiesis and peptide-centric CAR T-cell therapies targeting previously undruggable mutations. Supported research has led to the development of a drug that crosses the blood-brain barrier to treat pediatric brain cancer and the launch of a first-in-class clinical trial for neuroblastoma.

Funds 15 to 20 postdoctoral fellowships annually to support early-career scientists in conducting independent research.

Conducts transformative, independent research in the biomedical sciences, including molecular interactions, gene regulation, signal transduction, enzymology, and disease mechanisms, using chemistry tools and machine learning. Operates 74 research laboratories and conducts clinical research involving human subjects at The Rockefeller University Hospital.

Developed the Active Monitoring of Oxytocin Research Evidence (AMORE) platform to support living meta-analyses in human biobehavioral oxytocin research with a standardized framework for transparency and rigor.

Creates commercial opportunities for discoveries made by Rockefeller researchers and facilitates external partnerships to support the development and marketing of products and services based on academic research. Hosts a biotech club to promote entrepreneurship among early-career scientists.

Establishes interdisciplinary centers to promote collaborative research across fields and hosts symposia for neuroscientists and other researchers to present findings. Maintains joint appointments with faculty at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Weill Cornell Medicine to facilitate institutional collaboration.

Offers structured education and training programs including the KL2 Clinical Scholars Program, CCTS Certificate Program, Medical Student Program, and Rockefeller Early Phase Physician Scientists program to build capacity in clinical and translational research.

Maintains a research library with over 648,000 volumes and more than 8,300 online subscriptions to support scientific communication. Operates The Rockefeller University Press to publish peer-reviewed results of groundbreaking research.

Operates more than a dozen shared resource centers that provide key technologies and services to university laboratories, supporting scientific research and innovation.

Supports over 200 postdoctoral researchers in scientific training and independent research, including hosting early-career researchers as independent fellows outside established laboratories. Facilitates participation in seminars, symposia, and retreats in New York City.

Manages a network of 134 participating U.S. institutions authorized to nominate candidates for the Churchill Scholarship, overseeing an annual application and nomination cycle with defined deadlines.

Provides up to 18 annual scholarships for American students pursuing one year of Master's or PhD study in science, mathematics, engineering, and science policy at the University of Cambridge. The award includes full funding for tuition, travel, visa and health fees, a stipend above UK Research Council levels, and eligibility for a $4,000 special research grant, with total value exceeding $80,000.