Early-career Physician-scientists Receive Major Support From Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has named 5 caller Damon Runyon Clinical Investigators. The recipients of this prestigious grant are outstanding, early-career physician-scientists conducting patient-oriented crab investigation astatine awesome investigation centers nether nan mentorship of nan nation's starring scientists and clinicians.

The Clinical Investigator Award programme was designed to summation nan number of physician-scientists tin of translating discoveries successful nan laboratory into caller treatments for crab patients. Each Awardee will person $600,000 complete 3 years, arsenic good arsenic assistance pinch investigation costs specified arsenic nan acquisition of equipment. Because nan request to repay aesculapian schoolhouse loans is often cited by physicians arsenic a deterrent to pursuing research, Damon Runyon will besides discontinue up to $100,000 of aesculapian schoolhouse debt.

The Foundation besides awarded Continuation Grants to 3 Damon Runyon Clinical Investigators, totaling $1,000,000 successful further funding. The Continuation Grants are designed to support Clinical Investigators who are approaching nan extremity of their original grant and request much clip to activity connected a promising avenue of investigation aliases a objective trial.

This programme is imaginable done nan support of nan William K. Bowes, Jr. Foundation. Through partnerships pinch generous donors, manufacture sponsors, and its Accelerating Cancer Cures initiative, nan Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has invested complete $88 cardinal to support nan careers of 136 Clinical Investigators crossed nan United States since 2000.

2025 Clinical Investigators

Jonathan Chou, MD, PhD, pinch mentor James A. Wells, PhD, astatine University of California, San Francisco

Nearly each of nan FDA-approved therapies successful nan past decade for bladder crab target compartment aboveground proteins. Despite tremendous advancement successful targeted therapy development, however, only 5 unsocial targets (out of thousands) person been explored. In addition, because existent tumor targets are often besides expressed connected normal tissues, toxic broadside effects are communal and tin moreover beryllium life-threatening. Therefore, identifying cancer-specific, targetable proteins is captious to enhancing efficacy and information of bladder crab drugs. In this project, Dr. Chou will utilize a caller method to place caller supplier targets from diligent tumor samples, create molecules that hindrance them, and technologist these molecules into cellular therapies. He will besides measure a strategy to target a aboveground macromolecule called CDCP1 and research nan domiciled of respective proteases (enzymes that break down proteins) successful therapy resistance. Dr. Chou hopes that his activity will uncover a caller people of targetable aboveground proteins for bladder crab and pave nan measurement for early objective trials.

Bridget P. Keenan, MD, PhD, pinch mentors Matthew H. Spitzer, PhD, and Lawrence Fong, MD (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center), astatine University of California, San Francisco

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a type of liver crab often caused by liver illness related to viral infections aliases metabolic disease, is simply a starring origin of crab deaths globally. Treating HCC pinch immunotherapy and targeted therapies shows promise, but liver harm tin make these treatments challenging to administer and little effective. Dr. Keenan's preliminary information propose that definite immune cells, known arsenic myeloid cells, go suppressive successful patients pinch HCC and worsen liver function. However, it is imaginable that nan correct combinations of immunotherapy treatments could partially reverse this myeloid compartment suppression and consequence successful amended outcomes for patients pinch HCC. Dr. Keenan will attraction connected knowing precisely really liver illness affects nan immune strategy and uncovering ways to counteract nan suppressive effects of myeloid cells. By studying humor samples and liver tissues from patients pinch HCC undergoing immunotherapy treatment, she intends to place nan champion combinations to heighten nan immune system's expertise to conflict liver cancer. This investigation could lead to new, much effective treatments for patients pinch liver cancer, perchance improving endurance rates and value of life.

Peter G. Miller, MD, PhD, pinch mentors Timothy A. Graubert, MD, and David T. Scadden, MD, astatine Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston

The extremity of Dr. Miller's investigation is to find really mutations successful humor cells springiness emergence to pre-malignant humor conditions specified arsenic clonal hematopoiesis (CH), which thrust nan improvement of humor cancers. To this end, Dr. Miller will study patients pinch uncommon inherited diseases and usage experimental models successful nan laboratory. He yet seeks to usage nan information generated done this investigation to create caller strategies to predict, prevent, and dainty highly lethal humor cancers.

Srivatsan Raghavan, MD, PhD, pinch mentors William C. Hahn, MD, PhD, and Brian M. Wolpin, MD, MPH, astatine Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston

Pancreatic crab is simply a highly lethal illness pinch comparatively fewer curen options. A caller people of inhibitors that target nan KRAS gene, which is altered successful astir 90% of pancreatic crab patients, are showing awesome committedness successful nan objective mounting arsenic a caller therapeutic action for these patients. However, astir each patients create guidance and acquisition tumor regrowth aft a comparatively short play of curen pinch these drugs. Dr. Raghavan intends to analyse really crab cells accommodate and go resistant to these KRAS inhibitors and create operation therapies to flooded this resistance. He anticipates that these studies will uncover basal mechanistic insights into crab supplier guidance and place caller therapeutic strategies that will amended outcomes for patients pinch pancreatic cancer.

Tanaya Shree, MD, PhD, pinch mentor Brian J. Druker, MD, astatine Oregon Health and Science University, Portland

T-cell engaging bispecific antibodies, which bring T cells adjacent to tumor cells and induce them to termination nan tumor cell, are a caller people of immunotherapy that person demonstrated efficacy successful lymphoma and myeloma and are now successful improvement for galore different cancers. In diffuse ample B compartment lymphoma, bispecific antibodies person proven very effective, but astir 60% of patients deduce nary semipermanent benefit. Dr. Shree is moving to understand nan requirements for generating an effective bispecific antibody consequence successful patients. This knowledge could consequence successful caller improved curen approaches for patients pinch lymphoma and pass nan creation of bispecific T cell-engaging strategies for different types of tumors.

2025 Continuation Grantees

Daniel J. Delitto, MD, PhD, pinch mentor Michael T. Longaker, MD, DSc, astatine Stanford University, Stanford

Pancreatic crab develops successful nan midst of aggravated scarring and fibrous connective insubstantial (fibrosis). The architects of this scarring are cells called fibroblasts, known to substance crab maturation and beforehand curen resistance. Dr. Delitto's investigation is focused connected nan interface betwixt cancer-induced fibrosis and nan immune system. He has shown that fibroblasts play a important domiciled successful shielding crab cells from immune cells. By altering really fibroblasts consciousness insubstantial damage, Dr. Delitto has uncovered a system that reactivates nan immune strategy to conflict nan tumor. He intends to further create these findings into a caller immunotherapy regimen for pancreatic cancer.

Nathan Singh, MD [Bakewell Foundation Clinical Investigator], pinch mentor John F. DiPersio, MD, PhD, astatine Washington University, St. Louis

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T compartment therapy, successful which a patient's ain immune cells are engineered to target their cancer, has changed nan curen scenery for galore humor cancers. Despite promising early results, however, semipermanent follow-up has revealed that astir half of patients treated pinch CAR T cells yet acquisition crab recurrence. Using a assortment of techniques successful compartment lines and diligent samples, Dr. Singh intends to understand really interactions betwixt engineered T cells and humor crab cells successful immoderate cases lead to semipermanent remission, and successful others to therapeutic failure. The wide goals of his laboratory are to understand nan biologic signals that origin these therapies to fail, and to usage this knowledge to creation next-generation immunotherapies that tin cure much patients.

Aaron D. Viny, MD, pinch mentors Emmanuelle Passegué, PhD, and Joseph G. Jurcic, MD, astatine Columbia University, New York

Up to 50% of patients pinch acute myeloid leukemia (AML) person a familial alteration called DNA methylation, successful which a c methyl group is added to nan DNA molecule, typically turning nan methylated cistron "off." A champion of therapy is nan usage of hypomethylating agents, which forestall nan copying of these modifications during compartment division, but this therapy is effective successful only 20-30% of patients. Using chemic and familial manipulation successful rodent bony marrow, Dr. Viny intends to find nan effect of DNA methylation connected nan expertise of circumstantial regions of nan genome to beryllium accessible to proteins progressive pinch cistron look and different regions to beryllium inaccessible and "silenced." In a prospective shape II objective trial, he will dainty relapsed AML patients pinch dual hypomethylating agents. By studying these patients' familial profiles, he intends to find nan familial features that lend to therapy response, paving nan measurement for much effective interventions to beryllium developed for patients pinch acute myeloid leukemia. Dr. Viny was antecedently a Damon Runyon Fellow.