Damon Runyon News

Damon Runyon will invest up to $3.6 million over three years to recruit the most talented young scientists to become the next leaders in computational biology.

“Can you help my children? Who can tell me why my two young children both got this old person’s disease?” Lucy A. Godley, MD, PhD, vividly remembers reading the desperate email at 10:15 pm four years ago. The email was from Linda Schramm, an American living in Mexico, who was determined to find a treatment for her daughter suffering from myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).

In September, first- and third-year Damon Runyon Fellows came together from their separate labs around the country at the Annual Fellows’ Retreat. Held in Southbridge, Massachusetts this year, the Fellows took the opportunity to network, share ideas and get professional advice from leaders in all fields of cancer research.

William G. Kaelin, Jr, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, shares the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability.

Yung S. Lie, PhD, President and CEO of Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, sat down with Denver Frederick, host of “The Business of Giving” on AM 970 The Answer WNYM in New York City, to discuss the history and strategy of the organization.  

For the ninth year in a row, Damon Runyon has earned a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for “demonstrating strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency.” 

The warnings to use sunscreen are very real -- skin is the largest organ of the body and the most vulnerable to DNA damage caused by the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Basal cell carcinoma (BCC), a form of skin cancer, is the most common cancer in the United States with 3 million cases diagnosed annually. These cancers tend to grow slowly, usually developing on sun-exposed areas such as the head and neck, and treatment involves surgically removing the tumor. Usually this doesn’t present complications, but some individuals develop frequent recurrences of BCC that require multiple painful surgeries and scars.  

Fifteen brilliant scientists from across the country were named Damon Runyon Fellows. The recipients of this prestigious, four-year award are outstanding postdoctoral scientists conducting basic and translational cancer research in the laboratories of leading senior investigators. The Fellowship encourages the nation's most promising young scientists to pursue careers in cancer research by providing them with independent funding ($231,000 total) to work on creative, high-risk projects.

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has named four outstanding young scientists as recipients of the prestigious Damon Runyon-Sohn Pediatric Cancer Fellowship Award, committing nearly $1 million to help address a critical shortage of funding for pediatric cancer research. 

For the past eight years, the Illini 4000 has spent their summers biking across the country to raise awareness and funds for cancer research. These students from the University of Illinois-Urbana began this year’s road trip in New York City on May 18. They will traverse more than 4,000 miles, battling weather and rough terrain, wrapping up August 3 at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.