Collaborative Grants and Fellows Awards
As a leading funder of multiple myeloma research, the MMRF has supported nearly 400 research grants at over 200 institutions worldwide. The MMRF supports innovative research efforts in the most promising areas of science through several grant-making programs.
Scholars Program
The MMRF believes that we can make more research progress and achieve better outcomes for patients if the researchers and care teams for myeloma patients are more representative of the patients they serve. This MMRF Scholars Program will provide financial support for qualified Black and African American researchers and clinicians (MD or PhD) currently active, or interested in pursuing a career, in the field of multiple myeloma.
Awardees will be provided with up to $100,000 per year for 4 years to support their career development as researchers in multiple myeloma from post-doctoral to first tenure-track position. The application process for the 2024 MMRF Scholars Program will open soon.
Research Fellows Award Program
To continue to attract young researchers to the field of myeloma, the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) Research Fellows Award Program is an initiative supporting researchers at the post-doctorate, medical fellow or junior faculty levels working under the supervision or guidance of a research mentor in the multiple myeloma field.
The MMRF will provide $150,000 in research funding over two years to successful applicants who seek to learn more about the biology of multiple myeloma, and identify new approaches to monitor for and treat the disease. The application process for the 2023 MMRF Research Fellow Award Program will open on March 31, 2023.
The 2022 Research Fellow Award Winners are:

Dimitra Karagkouni, PhD
Characterizing the T cell receptor-antigen
dynamics in Multiple Myeloma

Santiago Thibaud, MD
Screening for Pathogenic Germline Variants in Multiple Myeloma

Luz Rueda-Morena, PhD
Development of LAMP5 as a prognostic biomarker in multiple myeloma

Orlando (Bonell) Patino-Escobar, MD
Multiple Myeloma cell surface antigens in NK cell inhibition and exhaustion

Yoshinobu Konishi, MD, PhD
Immune Biomarker of Disease Progression in SMM Defined by Spatial Imaging
The 2021 Research Fellow Award Winners are:

Francesca Cottini, MD
The role of CD56 signaling in escaping from
immune surveillance of NK cells

Praneeth Sudalagunta, PhD
A Multiomic Approach to Reversing Therapy Resistance in Multiple Myeloma

Travis Johnson, PhD
Deep learning-based identification of progression-associated myeloma cells
Myeloma Accelerator Challenge Program Grants
We are pleased to announce two $10 million grants supporting new myeloma research initiatives. The topics of focus are:
- Optimizing first-line therapy for high-risk newly diagnosed Multiple Myeloma (HR-NDMM)
- Improving identification and treatment of high-risk Smoldering Multiple Myeloma (HR-SMM)
Each $10 million grant will support multicenter translational research projects for 3 years. The output of these preclinical research programs will be cogent clinical hypotheses ready for rapid clinical trial deployment. The application process for the two MMRF Myeloma Accelerator Challenge Program Grants has closed.
For more information about grant opportunities, please contact [email protected].