Damon Runyon News

Damon Runyon has announced its newest cohort of Quantitative Biology Fellows, three exceptional early-career scientists who are applying the tools of computational science to generate and interpret cancer research data at extraordinary scale and resolution. Whether measuring cell-to-cell genetic variability within a tumor or developing algorithms that can predict if therapy will be effective, their projects extend the boundaries of what is possible in cancer research, allowing them to tackle fundamental biological and clinical questions.

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has announced ten recipients of the 2022 Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award, established to support “high-risk, high-reward” ideas with the potential to significantly impact the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of cancer. Five initial grants of $400,000 over two years have been awarded to six extraordinary early-career researchers (four individuals and one collaborative team), each of whom will have the opportunity to receive two additional years of funding (for a total of $800,000). This year, “Stage 2” continuation support was granted to four Innovators who demonstrated significant progress on their proposed research during the first two years of the award.

When Megan Miller was twenty weeks pregnant, the doctors at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) noticed her baby was unusually large for his gestation age. After further examination, Megan was informed that he likely had a condition known as Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome—a diagnosis she had never heard of. Naturally, the expecting mother consulted Google, where she found alarmingly little information. “The only place that had good scientific facts,” she recalls, “was CHOP’s website.”

Typically, when scientists discover a cancer-causing mutation, the goal is to develop a molecule that blocks the protein produced by the mutated gene. But for cancers driven by mutations in the KRAS gene—which include non-small cell lung, colorectal, and pancreatic cancers—this path to drug development has long been thwarted. The mutated KRAS gene encodes for a protein that releases continuous “grow” signals, causing cells to proliferate uncontrollably. For 40 years, this mutant protein was considered “undruggable,” its surface too smooth for a therapeutic molecule to bind. Then, after screening nearly 500 different molecules, a team at the University of California, San Francisco (led by Kevan M. Shokat, PhD, mentor to several Damon Runyon Fellows and former Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award Committee Member) discovered one that locks into a hidden crevice in the protein, stopping its activity. Even better, this hidden crevice only exists in the mutant version of the protein, meaning the molecule only targets cancerous cells—sparing healthy cells.

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 Peng Wu, PhD, a Damon Runyon-Sohn Pediatric Cancer Fellow at Stanford University.

The National Academy of Medicine provides independent, evidence-based scientific advice to address national and global health challenges. Membership is considered to be one of the highest honors in the medical field and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service. This year, four Damon Runyon alumni were nominated for membership, bringing the total number of Damon Runyon scientists in the organization to 41.

Damon Runyon was thrilled to hold its Annual Breakfast in person at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York on October 20. The event raised over $1 million to support promising early-career scientists pursuing innovative strategies to prevent, diagnose, and treat all forms of cancer.

It is with great sadness that we share the news that one of our longtime Board Members, David M. Livingston, MD, passed away unexpectedly on Sunday, October 17.

Damon Runyon is delighted to announce that the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded jointly to David Julius, PhD, and Ardem Patapoutian, PhD, "for their discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch." 

For Vassiliki Karantza, MD, PhD, the past seven years have been a whirlwind. Since starting her first job in the pharmaceutical industry in 2014, the former Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator has overseen the development of a new drug for breast cancer from early clinical trials to approval by the Food and Drug Administration. As of March 2021, the drug, pembrolizumab (Keytruda), is FDA-approved for the treatment of metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), which accounts for 10-15% of breast cancer diagnoses. It is a remarkable achievement, especially considering that the company’s breast cancer program did not yet exist when Dr. Karantza arrived.