Damon Runyon News

Each year, the Damon Runyon-Jake Wetchler Award for Pediatric Innovation is given to a third-year Damon Runyon Fellow whose research has the greatest potential to impact the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of pediatric cancer. This year, the award recognizes the work of Qinheng Zheng, PhD, a Damon Runyon-Connie and Bob Lurie Fellow at the University of California, San Francisco.

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation is delighted to announce a new partnership with the Timmerman Traverse, an adventurous initiative that brings leaders and investors in biotech together to scale extraordinary physical—and philanthropic—heights. Since 2017, biotech journalist and mountaineer Luke Timmerman has led expeditions up Mt. Everest, the Matterhorn, and the seven highest peaks in the White Mountains, raising over $7.6 million to combat cancer and poverty. Participants in the 2024 Timmerman Traverse will summit Mt.

More than 1,200 people from the five boroughs of New York City and beyond took part in the Runyon 5K at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, July 29, 2023, to support the nation’s brightest young scientists as they pursue breakthroughs in cancer research. Since the inaugural event in 2009, the Runyon 5K has raised more than $6 million.

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has named 13 new Damon Runyon Fellows, exceptional postdoctoral scientists conducting basic and translational cancer research in the laboratories of leading senior investigators. This prestigious Fellowship encourages the nation's most promising young scientists to pursue careers in cancer research by providing them with independent funding to investigate cancer causes, mechanisms, therapies, and prevention.

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has named six new Damon Runyon Clinical Investigators. The recipients of this prestigious award are outstanding, early-career physician-scientists conducting patient-oriented cancer research at major research centers under the mentorship of the nation's leading scientists and clinicians.

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation is pleased to announce that it will increase its Fellowship stipend by 15% over the award’s four-year term. Under the new terms, the Fellowship stipend will start at $70,000 and increase by $2,000 each year. Fellows will continue to receive an additional $2,000 each year for research-related expenses, for a total of $300,000 over the four years.

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS), established in 1863, is the body of distinguished researchers “charged with providing independent, objective advice to the nation on matters related to science and technology.” Election to membership is among the highest honors a scientist can receive. This year, three Damon Runyon alumnae joined the NAS ranks, bringing the total number of Damon Runyon alumni in NAS to 100.

It is with shock and profound sadness that we announce the passing of Damon Runyon Board Member Meghan Raveis on Friday, June 23. She was hit by a car while walking near her home in Fairfield, Connecticut. We send our deepest condolences to Meghan’s husband and their three children, as well as to the entire Raveis family.

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation held its Annual Breakfast at Cipriani 42^nd Street in New York on Wednesday, June 7, 2023. The event raised over $1 million to support promising early-career scientists pursuing innovative strategies to prevent, diagnose, and treat all forms of cancer.

David M. Livingston, MD, was an internationally recognized expert on the role of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes in breast and ovarian cancer and a beloved member of the scientific community. He served on the Board of Directors at Damon Runyon from 1992 until his death in 2021, including fourteen years as Vice Chair of Scientific Programs. David was passionate about training future generations of scientists and mentored scores of young researchers throughout his career, many of whom are now independent investigators at leading cancer research institutions.