Damon Runyon News

Six months after laboratories were shuttered due to COVID-19, most of our affected Damon Runyon scientists have restarted their research with limited hours in the lab. Often, this means working in shifts either early mornings, late nights, or on weekends to maintain social distancing guidelines.

When Anthony and Lauren Terebetsky took their 7-year-old son, Ryan, to the hospital for blood tests, they were thinking about dinner, Ryan’s homework, their daughter starting spring softball, his job at the firehouse and hers as a teacher—not a life changing diagnosis.

Though the Runyon 5K, like so many things, looked a little different this year than it has in the past, participants were undaunted by the transition to a virtual race. Between August 24 and October 4, more than 450 participants walked, ran, hiked, or biked a 5K along a course of their choosing to raise funds and awareness for the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation.

Damon Runyon Fellow Tikvah K. Hayes, PhD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, discusses the importance of creating a more diverse environment in STEM careers so that the next generation of under represented researchers will have mentors and colleagues who can better guide them through their shared experiences.

Fifteen early career scientists  from across the country will receive ​grants totaling nearly $3.5 million to pursue brave and bold cancer research. The recipients of the Damon Runyon Fellowship are outstanding postdoctoral scientists conducting basic and translational cancer research in the laboratories of leading senior investigators.

Damon Runyon scientists Vinod P. Balachandran, MD, and Lydia Finley, PhD, have received the 2020 Pershing Square Sohn Prize for Young Investigators in Cancer Research. Recipients receive $200,000 per year for up to three years and opportunities to present their work to scientific and business audiences, helping to bridge the gap between the academic and business communities.

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has named two outstanding young scientists as recipients of the Damon Runyon-Sohn Pediatric Cancer Fellowship Award, committing nearly $500,000 to help address a critical shortage of funding for pediatric cancer research.

Damon Runyon chats with Former Clinical Investigator Jakob Dupont, MD, about his pioneering path to develop cellular immunotherapies and other innovative oncology drugs.

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the HPV vaccine for the prevention of head and neck cancers. This is welcome news to Former Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Maura L. Gillison, MD, PhD, who has been fighting for this approval for over a decade.

Damon Runyon prides itself on having an accomplished Board of Directors comprised of individuals who passionately believe that supporting the best young minds in cancer research will lead to a cure. We welcome Nat Turner and Judy Swanson to our Board this year.