Damon Runyon News

The second class of Damon Runyon Quantitative Biology Fellows, announced this month, will apply the tools of computational biology to generate and interpret cancer research data at extraordinary scale and resolution. From RNA sequencing data that pinpoints tumor cells to their exact location to three-dimensional models of cell-cell interaction, their projects extend the boundaries of what is possible in cancer research, allowing them to tackle fundamental biological and clinical questions.

The KRAS gene, responsible for encoding a protein that serves as an “on/off” switch for cell growth, is one of the most commonly mutated genes in cancer. The frequency and nature of its mutation differ across cancer types, however, with the highest occurrence of mutation found in cancers of the colorectum, pancreas, lung, and blood plasma.

The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the oldest and largest cancer research organization in the world. Its Fellows, selected through a rigorous peer review process, are scientists from a range of disciplines whose work has “propelled significant innovation and progress against cancer.”

Damon Runyon is delighted to announce the unanimous election of Carlos Arteaga, MD, and Levi Garraway, MD, PhD, to its Board of Directors.

In early April, Damon Runyon Quantitative Biology Fellows and distinguished leaders from our selection committee discussed pioneering a new field at the nexus of laboratory-based cancer research and data science.

The tumor, once an indistinct mass of heterogeneous cells, is gaining single-cell resolution. Until recently, even distinguishing between healthy cells and malignant cells within a tumor sample presented a challenge.

Nearly all human cancers, and particularly blood cancers, involve dysregulated gene expression – the wrong genes are switched on or the right ones are switched off. The molecule responsible for switching genes on and off is called a transcription factor. Identifying which transcription factor is misbehaving and how is often the key to developing effective cancer treatments.

A new study demonstrates the staying power of the immune response generated by a personalized cancer vaccine called NeoVax, which works by targeting specific proteins on each patient’s tumor cells to activate the body's immune system against the cancer.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most difficult forms of cancer to treat effectively. Standard courses of chemotherapy drugs often come up short for patients, leading to a dismal 5-year relative survival rate of just 10%. And while the past few years’ transformative breakthroughs in immunotherapy have drastically improved the prognosis for many patients diagnosed with other forms of cancer, most pancreatic cancers have proved frustratingly resistant to immunotherapy alone.