2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005

Members of the Damon Runyon scientific circle regularly publish findings on the latest cancer research and are frequently recognized for their contributions to the fight against cancer.  Below, you will find new discoveries in cancer research and the most recent honors bestowed upon Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation awardees, alumni and friends.

2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005

Members of the Damon Runyon scientific circle regularly publish findings on the latest cancer research and are frequently recognized for their contributions to the fight against cancer.  Below, you will find new discoveries in cancer research and the most recent honors bestowed upon Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation awardees, alumni and friends.

2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005

Members of the Damon Runyon scientific circle regularly publish findings on the latest cancer research and are frequently recognized for their contributions to the fight against cancer.  Below, you will find new discoveries in cancer research and the most recent honors bestowed upon Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation awardees, alumni and friends.

2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005

Members of the Damon Runyon scientific circle regularly publish findings on the latest cancer research and are frequently recognized for their contributions to the fight against cancer.  Below, you will find new discoveries in cancer research and the most recent honors bestowed upon Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation awardees, alumni and friends.

2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005

Members of the Damon Runyon scientific circle regularly publish findings on the latest cancer research and are frequently recognized for their contributions to the fight against cancer.  Below, you will find new discoveries in cancer research and the most recent honors bestowed upon Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation awardees, alumni and friends.

2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005

Members of the Damon Runyon scientific circle regularly publish findings on the latest cancer research and are frequently recognized for their contributions to the fight against cancer.  Below, you will find new discoveries in cancer research and the most recent honors bestowed upon Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation awardees, alumni and friends.

2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005

Members of the Damon Runyon scientific circle regularly publish findings on the latest cancer research and are frequently recognized for their contributions to the fight against cancer.  Below, you will find new discoveries in cancer research and the most recent honors bestowed upon Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation awardees, alumni and friends.

Matthew G. Vander Heiden, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator '11-'13, Fellow '06-'08) of MIT, Cambridge, and colleagues, reported the use of imaging technology (magnetic resonance spectroscopy) to visualize whether glioma brain tumors have a particular genetic mutation called IDH.  Several pharmaceutical companies are currently developing drugs that target IDH, with the goal of halting tumor growth.  Knowing whether brain tumors have the IDH mutation will enable physicians to choose appropriate treatments and monitor whether potential drugs are effective.  The study was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Click here for more. 

Grants totaling over $3.1M give early career investigators independence to pursue novel ideas

New York, NY (January 9, 2012) – The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on supporting innovative early career researchers, named 18 new Damon Runyon Fellows at its fall Fellowship Award Committee review.  The recipients of this prestigious, three-year award are outstanding postdoctoral scientists conducting basic and translational cancer research in the laboratories of leading senior investigators across the country. The Fellowship encourages the nation's most promising young scientists to pursue careers in cancer research by providing them with independent funding ($156,000 each) to work on innovative projects.

The Committee also named three new recipients of the Dale F. Frey Award for Breakthrough Scientists.  This award provides additional funding to scientists completing a prestigious Damon Runyon Fellowship Award who have greatly exceeded the Foundation’s highest expectations and are most likely to make paradigm-shifting breakthroughs that transform the way we prevent, diagnose and treat cancer.  Each awardee will receive $100,000 to be used toward their research.

Recipients of the Dale F. Frey Award for Breakthrough Scientists:

Sean C. Bendall, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow ’09-’12), Stanford University, Stanford, California
Dr. Bendall is using novel single-cell analysis techniques to investigate how normal regulatory cell signaling networks are rewired, allowing cancer to grow unchecked.  He has applied this technology to examine healthy human blood cells, measuring multiple parameters simultaneously in single cells.  Collectively, such single-cell analyses provide an unprecedented opportunity to identify novel regulators (such as drugs, genes, and protein modifications) of cell development and identity, as well as provide insight into how these regulators interact with genes and mutations that promote cancer cell transformation.  His goal is to use these studies to contribute to the development of more effective diagnostics and treatments to improve clinical outcomes.

Robert K. Bradley, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow ‘09-‘11), Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington
Alternative splicing, the process by which a single gene can give rise to multiple, distinct protein isoforms, is broadly dysregulated in many tumors.  Recent research demonstrates that erroneous splicing can play important roles in tumor formation and growth, making it crucial that we understand the regulatory processes that give rise to aberrant splicing in cancers.  In collaboration with clinicians, Dr. Bradley seeks to identify splicing events with important roles in tumor formation and maintenance.  By combining computational and experimental techniques to understand the regulatory mechanisms underlying aberrant splicing, he aims to gain insight into fundamental tumor biology, potentially pointing the way to future therapeutics.

Dr. Bradley is now Assistant Member at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington. 

Jason M. Crawford, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow ‘09-‘11), Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
Small molecules produced by bacteria and fungi have provided many of our most successful anticancer drugs.  These microbial products have also served as excellent probes for identifying new drug targets in a variety of cancers.  Dr. Crawford will exploit the natural interactions between bacteria and animals to increase the production and identification of new products with anticancer activities.  By understanding how these products are produced in the microbe, the pathways can then be engineered to produce a variety of pharmacologically-relevant molecules.

Dr. Crawford will also explore the chemical interactions that occur between humans and the bacteria on our skin and in our gut. Many of these bacteria help to digest food, produce vitamins, ward off pathogens, and train the immune system.  By parsing apart the chemical interactions at the microbe-human interface, he will better understand how to minimize microbes capable of causing cancer while maximizing protective ones.

Dr. Crawford will soon be moving to an Assistant Professor faculty position at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.

November 2011 Damon Runyon Fellows:

Mary J. Carroll, PhD, with her sponsor Stephen W. Fesik, PhD, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, aims to design small molecule inhibitor drugs with high affinity for the protein Vav1.  This protein is an attractive target for treating pancreatic cancer because it is highly expressed in pancreatic adenocarcinomas and activates pro-cancer signaling. 

Sidi Chen, PhD, with his sponsor Phillip A. Sharp, PhD, at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, aims to understand the relationship between small RNAs and cancer.  Small RNAs are important regulators of genetic networks inside the cell; perturbation of these networks can lead to malignant cell growth.  His goal is to develop anti-cancer drugs and therapies by targeting the process of small RNA production.

Stephanie T. Chen, PhD, with her sponsor David J. Julius, PhD, at University of California, San Francisco, California, is studying somatosensation, the sense of “touch,” with a focus on pain sensation. She aims to identify novel proteins that a) drive the development of sensory neurons, and b) confer the ability to detect painful stimuli under normal and pathophysiological conditions, including those leading to cancer-induced pain.

Jason A. Hall, PhD, with his sponsor Dan R. Littman, MD, PhD, at New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, is investigating the biochemical and metabolic pathways that regulate the activity of the protein ROR gamma t, which has crucial importance in metabolism and immune system homeostasis.  It is also linked to the development of chronic inflammation, a known trigger and promoter of certain tumor types.  Understanding its regulation will facilitate the development of new therapeutics to manage chronic inflammatory disease and prevent tumorigenesis.

John J. Karijolich, PhD, with his sponsor Michael Hampsey, PhD, at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, New Jersey, aims to define mechanisms involved in the regulation of gene expression, using a combination of biochemical and genetic approaches.  An understanding of these mechanisms is key to understanding the development of cancer, and may potentially lead to novel cancer therapeutics.

Ralph E. Kleiner, PhD, with his sponsor Tarun M. Kapoor, PhD, at The Rockefeller University, New York, New York, is studying proteins called microtubules, which play a crucial role in the maintenance and proliferation of cancer cells.  Microtubule function is regulated, in part, by chemical modifications or “flags” on the microtubule proteins.  He aims to combine chemical, biochemical and biophysical approaches to better explain the role of these modifications on cell physiology and drug sensitivity.  These studies will enable the identification of novel strategies for improving the efficacy of existing microtubule-targeted cancer drugs. 

Ryota Matsuoka, PhD, with his sponsor Didier Y.R. Stainier, PhD, at University of California, San Francisco, California, is investigating how the nervous and vascular systems cooperate to establish precise patterns of networks.  Neuronal and vascular networks are fundamental for normal tissue function and homeostasis, and abnormalities in these networks lead to tissue dysfunction and diseases, including cancer. 

Robert K. McGinty, MD, PhD, with his sponsor Song Tan, PhD, at Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, is examining the structure and function of enzymes called methyltransferases.  As these enzymes are commonly misregulated in human leukemias, an understanding of their normal function may provide insight into novel platforms for drug development.

Cory Y. McLean, PhD, with his sponsor Joseph F. Costello, PhD, at University of California, San Francisco, California, is interested in understanding how low-grade brain tumors change to become high-grade tumors.  He is studying primary and recurrent brain tumors to identify the genetic and epigenetic alterations that differentiate tumors from normal tissue and cause tumor transformation from low- to high-grade. These studies may identify new targets for future drug development or indicate existing treatments that could be used to effectively treat low-grade tumors.

Katarina Moravcevic, PhD, with her sponsor Amita Sehgal, PhD, at University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is studying sleep deprivation, which leads to an increased risk of several diseases including cancer.  Little is currently known about the function of sleep or about the molecular mechanisms that control the need to sleep.  To begin to understand why sleep deprivation has such a negative impact on human health, she will address how and why the need to sleep builds up after prolonged wakefulness. 

Renee Otten, PhD, with his sponsor Dorothee Kern, PhD, at Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, is investigating the catalytic mechanism of protein kinases, an important family of proteins that are present in bacteria, plants and humans.  These proteins play a central role in signal transduction pathways and orchestrating the cell cycle; aberrant activity, however, has been shown to cause certain human cancers.  A firm grasp of their mechanism is thus of great interest because it holds promise for the development of new therapeutics.

Douglas H. Phanstiel, PhD, with his sponsor Michael P. Snyder, PhD, at Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, is studying transcription factors (TF), proteins that bind to DNA and regulate gene expression.  Certain TFs have well-established roles in cancer and other diseases.  He is using chromatin immunopreciptation combined with high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-Seq) to map TF-DNA binding sites in a variety of yeast strains.  This research is expected to be important for understanding the mechanisms controlling gene expression in humans and their variation across populations, thus providing insights into cancer and other diseases.

Maximilian W. Popp, PhD, with his sponsor Lynne E. Maquat, PhD, at University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York, is focusing on the quality control mechanisms that cells utilize at the RNA level to ensure proper gene expression.  Cells inspect and destroy aberrant mRNA messages using decay pathways; dysregulation of these RNA decay systems is implicated in various cancers.  He will apply a new genetic screening method to identify components of RNA decay pathways and learn more about their role in cancer.

Leah R. Sabin, PhD, with her sponsor Gregory J. Hannon, PhD, at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, is studying the role of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in blood cell development.  Although the precise function of most lncRNAs remains unclear, certain lncRNAs are involved in regulating gene expression and may therefore be important for proper blood cell maturation.  Since several types of cancers arise from blood cell progenitors, understanding how lncRNAs function in these cells may provide novel diagnostic and therapeutic targets.

Peter J. Skene, PhD, with his sponsors Mark T. Groudine, MD, PhD, and Steven Henikoff, PhD, at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, is studying the mechanisms underlying how cells maintain a specific gene expression profile unique to that cell type.  While current technologies allow the reprogramming of differentiated cells into stem cells, the therapeutic use of this technology is limited because not all cellular memory is erased.  He aims to improve the reprogramming process by removing proteins responsible for cellular memory.  Stem cells have great potential in regenerative medicine, such as in renewing bone marrow following chemotherapy during cancer treatment. 

Lora B. Sweeney, PhD, with her sponsors Christopher R. Kintner, PhD, at The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California, and Thomas M. Jessell, PhD, at Columbia University, New York, New York, is using the frog as a model to study how neurons diversify in the spinal cord as limbs develop and a swimming tadpole becomes a hopping frog.  Many different types of nerve cells, each with their own unique characteristics, make up the healthy nervous system.  Understanding how a cell’s fate is specified will provide the basis for understanding how cancer reprograms a cell.

Yanling Wang, PhD [Robert Black Fellow] with her sponsor Jeffery F. Miller, PhD, at University of California, Los Angeles, California, is studying Bacteroides fragilis, a common human gut bacterium that protects against inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) in experimental models.  This project will explore the mechanisms that contribute to bacterial colonization and long‐term maintenance in the gut.  By combining bioinformatics, molecular genetics, protein biochemistry and innovative animal disease models, she hopes to better understand host‐microbe and microbe‐microbe interactions in the complex mammalian gut environment, and to potentially utilize B. fragilis as a preventative and therapeutic against IBD and/or colon cancer.

Rui Yue, PhD, with his sponsor Sean J. Morrison, PhD, at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, is investigating the role of Leptin receptor signaling in blood stem cells (hematopoietic stem cells, HSCs).  Leptin signals the nutritional status of the body and tightly controls energy metabolism and body weight.  Interestingly, bone marrow stromal cells surrounding HSCs express very high levels of Leptin receptor; it is therefore possible that HSCs, which can initiate leukemia in pathological conditions, are regulated by nutritional changes in the microenvironment through Leptin signaling.  These studies may enable successful HSC expansion and transplantation after chemotherapy in leukemia patients, and may also help prevent or treat other types of cancer.

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DAMON RUNYON CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION

To accelerate breakthroughs, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation provides today’s best young scientists with funding to pursue innovative research.  The Foundation has gained worldwide prominence in cancer research by identifying outstanding researchers and physician-scientists.  Eleven scientists supported by the Foundation have received the Nobel Prize, and others are heads of cancer centers and leaders of renowned research programs.  Each of its award programs is extremely competitive, with less than 10% of applications funded.  Since its founding in 1946, the Foundation has invested over $240 million and funded more than 3,300 young scientists.  This year, it will commit approximately $10.8 million in new awards to brilliant young investigators.

100% of all donations to the Foundation are used to support scientific research.  Its administrative and fundraising costs are paid from its Damon Runyon Broadway Tickets Service and endowment.

For more information visit http://www.damonrunyon.org/

CONTACT
Yung S. Lie, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
yung.lie@damonrunyon.org
212.455.0521

Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation awards $2.25M to five innovative young scientists 

New York, NY (January 23, 2012) – The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, announced that five scientists with novel approaches to fighting cancer have been named 2012 recipients of the Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award.  The grant of $450,000 over three years is awarded each year to early career scientists whose projects have the potential to significantly impact the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. 

2012 Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovators:

Gregory L. Beatty, MD, PhD [Nadia’s Gift Foundation Innovator]
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Tumor-associated immune cells called macrophages are a key component of the tumor microenvironment and often portend a poor prognosis.  Macrophages are critical regulators of tumor angiogenesis and metastasis.  Interestingly, the function of macrophages is dependent on their surrounding microenvironment such that under certain conditions, macrophages can actually become tumor-suppressive.  The central hypothesis of Dr. Beatty’s work is that macrophages are an important yet pliable factor in tumor behavior, which can be therapeutically targeted and instructed to attack tumors and inhibit tumor growth.

Dr. Beatty will evaluate strategies to engineer macrophages to attack tumors and to resist signals produced within tumors that ordinarily prime macrophages with tumor-promoting properties.  He aims to combine these macrophage-directed approaches with standard chemotherapy.  The priority is to develop the necessary data to facilitate the rapid translation of this strategic approach to the clinic for treatment of patients with pancreatic cancer and other malignancies.

Jay R. Hesselberth, PhD
University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, Colorado

Most early detection strategies for cancer focus on identifying protein biomarkers or “molecular signatures” of disease.  However, discovery of new biomarkers has lagged, due in large part to the inability to efficiently sift through complex cellular protein mixtures.  As a result, the number of new FDA-approved biomarker tests has declined over the last decade, and the current rate of biomarker validation is only one per year.

As proteins can be very large, they are typically cleaved into smaller units called peptides for identification and analysis.  The current technology for peptide identification is very slow and lacks the sensitivity and specificity required to quantify proteins in complex samples.  Dr. Hesselberth proposes that a massive acceleration in the rate of peptide sequencing would significantly impact biomarker research.  To accomplish this, he seeks to develop a highly parallel peptide sequencing platform with single molecule resolution that is orders of magnitude faster than existing technology.  This new approach would transform our capability to identify protein and peptide biomarkers for use in the early detection of cancer.

Matthew R. Pratt, PhD
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California

Cellular proteins are often modified with a “flag” that affects their function.  One such modification is the monosaccharide N-acetyl-glucosamine (O-GlcNAc), which is required for normal development and proper regulation of many biological pathways.  During metabolism, elevated glucose levels result in elevated O-GlcNAc modification of proteins.

One common feature of all cancers is an altered metabolism that helps to protect cancer cells from the challenging environments they encounter during tumorigenesis and metastasis.  Dr. Pratt has uncovered a link between this change in metabolism and O-GlcNAc modification of proteins, which directly contributes to the proliferation and survival of cancer cells.  He seeks to understand the details of this link and exactly how it contributes to disease.  This approach will lead to a more complete understanding of how metabolism promotes cancer and may uncover new opportunities for treatment.

Eranthie Weerapana, PhD
Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts

Understanding proteins dysregulated in cancer is a vital step toward the discovery of effective targets for treatment.  Many cellular enzymes demonstrate aberrant activity in cancer, and a significant subset of them contain cysteine amino acid residues required for their function.

Dr. Weerapana aims to use sophisticated chemical genetic approaches to develop novel small molecules that selectively target these cysteines, thus blocking protein function.  Her goal is to create a “chemical library” of these small molecules and use this library to identify compounds that affect cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion in breast and ovarian cancer cell lines.  The cellular protein targets of these molecules will be identified, followed by analysis of their roles in cancer development and progression.  This multidisciplinary approach, encompassing aspects of synthetic chemistry, cell biology and proteomics, will identify new therapeutic targets and small molecule drug candidates for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

Feng Zhang, PhD
The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Recent genome sequencing studies have identified a large set of candidate genetic mutations implicated in a diverse range of cancer types.  However, in order to determine the causal role of each mutation in disease risk and pathology, researchers must be able to test each mutation individually in cellular or animal models.  This is severely limited by the difficulty of manipulating the genome of cells and organisms with precise control so that a specific disease can be definitively linked to single changes in the genome.

To address this challenge, Dr. Zhang proposes to engineer a comprehensive set of novel molecular tools to enable targeted modification of the mammalian genome.  He will demonstrate the power of these tools by testing genetic mutations associated with neuroblastoma and glioma brain tumors.  The development and application of these tools will establish a powerful new platform for investigating the underlying genetic and molecular mechanisms of cancer and will inform drug development.  To ensure maximal benefit and impact for the cancer community and beyond, he will also facilitate teaching and rapid open-source distribution of all tools developed.

Funding Daring Research

The Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award funds cancer research by exceptionally creative thinkers with “high-risk/high-reward” ideas who lack sufficient preliminary data to obtain traditional funding.  The awardees are selected through a highly competitive and rigorous process by a scientific committee comprised of leading cancer researchers who are innovators themselves.  At the final stage of selection, candidates are screened by an in-person interview with committee members.  Only those scientists with a strong vision and passion for curing cancer are selected to receive the prestigious award. 

This program is possible through the generous support of Andy and Debbie Rachleff, the Island Outreach Foundation and Nadia’s Gift Foundation.

###

DAMON RUNYON CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION

To accelerate breakthroughs, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation provides today’s best young scientists with funding to pursue innovative research.  The Foundation has gained worldwide prominence in cancer research by identifying outstanding researchers and physician-scientists.  Eleven scientists supported by the Foundation have received the Nobel Prize, and others are heads of cancer centers and leaders of renowned research programs.  Each of its award programs is extremely competitive, with less than 10% of applications funded.  Since its founding in 1946, the Foundation has invested over $240 million and funded more than 3,300 young scientists.  This year, it will commit approximately $10.8 million in new awards to brilliant young investigators.
100% of all donations to the Foundation are used to support scientific research.  Its administrative and fundraising costs are paid from its Damon Runyon Broadway Tickets Service and endowment.

For more information visit http://www.damonrunyon.org/

CONTACT
Yung S. Lie, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
yung.lie@damonrunyon.org
212.455.0521

New York, NY (January 5, 2012) – Two non-profit organizations committed to eliminating cancer in children and young adults have joined together to address the critical shortage of funding for pediatric cancer research. The Sohn Conference Foundation, dedicated to curing pediatric cancers, has granted $1.5 million to the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, the leading charity supporting innovative young cancer researchers, to establish the Damon Runyon-Sohn Pediatric Cancer Fellowship Award. This Award will provide funding to basic scientists and clinicians who conduct research with the potential to significantly impact the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of one or more pediatric cancers.

Nothing is more important than saving young people from devastating illnesses. Yet, because cancer occurs less frequently in children and young adults than in the adult population, it does not receive significant funding from either the National Cancer Institute (only four percent of its budget) or the biopharmaceutical industry. As a result, there have been limited advances in recent years in treating these cancers, and fewer scientists are working in this field.

“As in the technology world, where transformative innovation most often comes from young minds, the most brilliant and audacious young scientists drive breakthroughs in biomedical research. We are confident that by getting them to focus on childhood cancers, we can cure children and prevent the long-term side effects that result from today’s treatments,” says Lorraine Egan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Damon Runyon.

The goal of this new Fellowship Award is to recruit the top young minds to research childhood cancers. It leverages the success of the internationally-renowned Damon Runyon Fellowship Award, which has an unparalleled track record for identifying future breakthrough scientists. After a national call for proposals, a selection committee chaired by William Carroll, MD, Director of the New York University Cancer Institute and comprised of leaders in pediatric cancer research, will select award recipients. The program is being launched as a pilot project with the potential for expansion if successful.

“Ever since my brother Ira died from cancer at age 29, the Sohn Conference Foundation has been committed to finding cures for cancer affecting kids and young adults,” explains Evan Sohn, founder of the Sohn Conference Foundation. “By partnering with Damon Runyon, we hope to encourage the best young scientists to focus on childhood cancers.”

About The Sohn Conference Foundation

The Foundation was established in memory of Ira Sohn, a Wall Street professional whose life was cut short when he passed away from cancer. For more than fifteen years, the Foundation has raised funds for pediatric cancer research through its highly-respected annual investment conference, the Sohn Investment Conference, which features many of Wall Street’s best and most successful investors. Thanks to the dedication of the conference founders, esteemed speakers, volunteers, and generous donors, the Foundation has invested more than $20 million in innovative research and institutions at the forefront of cancer research and pediatric care.

About the Foundation

To accelerate breakthroughs, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation provides today’s best young scientists with funding to pursue innovative research. Eleven scientists supported by the Foundation have received the Nobel Prize, seven have received National Medals of Science, and 61 have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the science “Hall of Fame.”

Since its founding in 1946, Damon Runyon has invested more than $240 million and funded more than 3,300 young scientists. 100% of all donations to the Foundation are used to support cutting-edge scientific research. Its administrative and fundraising costs are paid from Damon Runyon Broadway Tickets and its endowment.

For more information, visit http://www.damonrunyon.org.
 
CONTACT
Todd Brogan
Communications Coordinator
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
todd.brogan@damonrunyon.org
212.455.0552

Carla Pisarro
Media Contact
Sohn Conference Foundation
cpisarro@groupgordon.com
212.784.5703

Catherine J. Wu, MD (Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator '07-'12) and Matthew L. Meyerson, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '95-'98) of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, led the first large-scale genomics study of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).  In tumor samples from 91 patients, they identified nine commonly mutated genes – five of which have been linked to CLL for the first time.  One of these genes, SF3B1, is required for gene splicing (RNA processing), connecting the process to disease progression.  The researchers found that mutation in SF3B1 may indicate a more aggressive form of the disease that requires prompt treatment.  These findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the American Society of Hematology annual meeting.

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David E. Lebwohl, MD (Damon Runyon Fellow '86-'87) of Novartis, East Hanover, and colleagues, reported results of a Phase III clinical trial testing the treatment combination of everolimus (Afinitor), which blocks a protein known to affect blood vessel growth in cancer cells, and the hormone therapy exemestane (Aromasin).  724 metastatic breast cancer patients with hormone receptor-positive tumors were enrolled in the trial.  Patients who received the combination survived progression-free for twice as long as those who only received exemestane (7.4 months vs. 3.2 months).  The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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Ralph J. DeBerardinis, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator '11-'14) of UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, and colleagues, discovered a metabolic pathway unique to some tumors.  The tumor-specific pathway is dependent on the amino acid glutamine and reverses many of the chemical reactions of the Krebs cycle, used by normal cells.  This new finding could provide a new target for drugs that could specifically target cancer cells without harming healthy cells.  The study was published in the scientific journal Nature.

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Mark A. Lemmon, PhD (Damon Runyon Scholar '97-'98, Damon Runyon Fellow '93-'96) of University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and colleagues, reported new findings that will allow physicians to identify which neuroblastoma patients are most likely to respond to crizotinib (Xalkori).  The drug was recently approved for treatment of certain lung cancers.  It targets a protein called anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) which is mutated in about ten percent of children with deadly neuroblastoma tumors.  The researchers reported that these patients respond differently to treatment, depending on the particular mutation in ALK.  The drug blocked growth of neuroblastoma cells with the most common mutation, while tumor cells with a separate ALK mutation were more resistant to the drug.  These resistant cells, however, responded to a higher dosage of crizotinib.  The researchers are now conducting a clinical trial to determine the appropriate drug dose in children, potentially providing a safer and more effective treatment option than conventional chemotherapy.  The study was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

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Naoko Kobayashi, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '91-'94) and colleagues at University of California, Los Angeles, reported results of a short-term Phase II clinical trial demonstrating anti-cancer benefits of fish oil.  Men who ate a low-fat diet with fish oil supplements for four to six weeks before having their prostate removed had slower cancer cell growth in their prostate tissue than men who ate a typical high-fat Western diet.  The researchers plan to expand this study to a larger group of men who will be monitored over an extended period of time (one year).  This initial study, published in the journal Cancer Prevention Research, suggests that altering the diet may favorably affect the biology of prostate cancer.

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A team of researchers including Wendy S. Garrett, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '06-'09), Matthew L. Meyerson, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '95-'98), Akinyemi I. Ojesina, MBBS, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '08-'11) and Ramesh A. Shivdasani, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Scholar '98-'99) at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Broad Institute, Cambridge, reported high levels of a specific type of bacteria, Fusobacterium, in colorectal tumor samples.  Future studies will focus on determining the connection between the bacterium and cancer.  If there is a link to disease development, the bacterium may be important for diagnosis, prevention and/or treatment.  The study was published in the journal Genome Research. 

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July - September 2011 Dear Damon Runyon Scientists, October began with bittersweet news.  We were thrilled to hear that Ralph M. Steinman, MD (Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Mentor) of The Rockefeller University, New York, received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of dendritic cells, yet greatly saddened to hear that he had passed away of pancreatic cancer only days prior to the announcement. On a happier note, we recently held our 11th annual Fellows' Retreat.  This year's meeting, in San Jose, California, was a terrific gathering: the highest-quality science was presented, valuable networking took place, and new friendships and collaborations were developed. Last week, we welcomed all of our Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovators to New York City for the first Innovators' Symposium.  It was amazing to have all of them together and to hear about the progress each of them is making.  In addition, the Innovation Award Committee met to review applications and select finalists for our fifth class of Innovators (to be announced in January).  Our Fellowship Award Committee will meet in November to select a new class of Fellows and the recipients of the new Dale F. Frey Award for Breakthrough Scientists.  Stay tuned for announcements of our newest awardees. Please see below for the latest update on exciting news and findings from your fellow Damon Runyon scientists – current and former.  These are just the publications and awards that we are aware of, so we apologize if we have not included your work.  Lay summaries of some of this work are posted on the News page of our website, along with additional news about our Scientific Committee and Board members.  Thanks again to those of you who have sent us updates on your recent progress.   Please stay in touch, and enjoy the fall! Best regards, Yung S. Lie, PhD Scientific Director Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation AWARDS and HONORS NIH High-Risk Research Award recipients: Pioneer Award: Brenda L. Bass, PhD (Fellow ‘85-‘88), University of Utah, Salt Lake City William M. Clemons, PhD (Fellow ‘02-‘04), California Institute of Technology, Pasadena Tao Pan, PhD (Fellow ‘91-‘93), University of Chicago New Innovator Award: Heather R. Christofk, PhD (Innovator ‘10-‘12), University of California, Los Angeles Lea A. Goentoro, PhD (Fellow ‘07-‘10), California Institute of Technology, Pasadena PUBLICATIONS Koichi Akashi, MD, PhD (Scholar ‘02-‘04), Kyushu University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Japan Self-renewing hematopoietic stem cell is the primary target in pathogenesis of human chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Kikushige Y, Ishikawa F, Miyamoto T, Shima T, Urata S, Yoshimoto G, Mori Y, Iino T, Yamauchi T, Eto T, Niiro H, Iwasaki H, Takenaka K, Akashi K. Cancer Cell. 2011 Aug 16;20(2):246-59. Scott A. Armstrong, MD, PhD (Lilly Clinical Investigator ‘03-‘08) of Children’s Hospital Boston, Boston MLL-Rearranged Leukemia Is Dependent on Aberrant H3K79 Methylation by DOT1L. Bernt KM, Zhu N, Sinha AU, Vempati S, Faber J, Krivtsov AV, Feng Z, Punt N, Daigle A, Bullinger L, Pollock RM, Richon VM, Kung AL, Armstrong SA. Cancer Cell. 2011 Jul 12;20(1):66-78. Differential niche and Wnt requirements during acute myeloid leukemia progression. Lane SW, Wang YJ, Lo Celso C, Ragu C, Bullinger L, Sykes SM, Ferraro F, Shterental S, Lin CP, Gilliland DG, Scadden DT, Armstrong SA, Williams DA. Blood. 2011 Jul 15. Selective Killing of Mixed Lineage Leukemia Cells by a Potent Small-Molecule DOT1L Inhibitor. Daigle SR, Olhava EJ, Therkelsen CA, Majer CR, Sneeringer CJ, Song J, Johnston LD, Scott MP, Smith JJ, Xiao Y, Jin L, Kuntz KW, Chesworth R, Moyer MP, Bernt KM, Tseng JC, Kung AL, Armstrong SA, Copeland RA, Richon VM, Pollock RM. Cancer Cell. 2011 Jul 12;20(1):53-65. James E. Bradner, MD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator ‘11-‘13), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston BET Bromodomain Inhibition as a Therapeutic Strategy to Target c-Myc. Delmore JE, Issa GC, Lemieux ME, Rahl PB, Shi J, Jacobs HM, Kastritis E, Gilpatrick T, Paranal RM, Qi J, Chesi M, Schinzel AC, McKeown MR, Heffernan TP, Vakoc CR, Bergsagel PL, Ghobrial IM, Richardson PG, Young RA, Hahn WC, Anderson KC, Kung AL, Bradner JE, Mitsiades CS. Cell. 2011 Sep 1. RNAi screen identifies Brd4 as a therapeutic target in acute myeloid leukaemia. Zuber J, Shi J, Wang E, Rappaport AR, Herrmann H, Sison EA, Magoon D, Qi J, Blatt K, Wunderlich M, Taylor MJ, Johns C, Chicas A, Mulloy JC, Kogan SC, Brown P, Valent P, Bradner JE, Lowe SW, Vakoc CR. Nature. 2011 Aug 3. doi: 10.1038/nature10334. Marcia S. Brose, MD, PhD (Siemens Clinical Investigator ‘05-‘10), University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Rationale and design of decision: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled phase III trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of sorafenib in patients with locally advanced or metastatic radioactive iodine (RAI)-refractory, differentiated thyroid cancer. Brose MS, Nutting CM, Sherman SI, Shong YK, Smit JW, Reike G, Chung J, Kalmus J, Kappeler C, Schlumberger M. BMC Cancer. 2011 Aug 11;11:349. Ronald J. Buckanovich, MD, PhD (Clinical Investigator ‘08-‘11), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Novel surface targets and serum biomarkers from the ovarian cancer vasculature. Sasaroli D, Gimotty PA, Pathak HB, Hammond R, Kougioumtzidou E, Katsaros D, Buckanovich R, Devarajan K, Sandaltzopoulos R, Godwin AK, Scholler N, Coukos G. Cancer Biol Ther. 2011 Aug 1;12(3). Joseph A. Califano, III, MD (Lilly Clinical Investigator ‘01-‘06), The Johns Hopkins’ Kimmel Cancer Center, Baltimore Exome Sequencing of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Reveals Inactivating Mutations in NOTCH1. Agrawal N, Frederick MJ, Pickering CR, Bettegowda C, Chang K, Li RJ, Fakhry C, Xie TX, Zhang J, Wang J, Zhang N, El-Naggar AK, Jasser SA, Weinstein JN, Treviño L, Drummond JA, Muzny DM, Wu Y, Wood LD, Hruban RH, Westra WH, Koch WM, Califano JA, Gibbs RA, Sidransky D, Vogelstein B, Velculescu VE, Papadopoulos N, Wheeler DA, Kinzler KW, Myers JN. Science. 2011 Aug 26;333(6046):1154-7. Leah E. Cowen, PhD (Fellow ‘03-‘05), University of Toronto, Toronto Hsp90 governs dispersion and drug resistance of fungal biofilms. Robbins N, Uppuluri P, Nett J, Rajendran R, Ramage G, Lopez-Ribot JL, Andes D, Cowen LE. PLoS Pathog. 2011 Sep;7(9):e1002257. Erik W. Debler, PhD (Fellow ‘08-‘10), The Rockefeller University, New York Structural and functional analysis of an essential nucleoporin heterotrimer on the cytoplasmic face of the nuclear pore complex. Yoshida K, Seo HS, Debler EW, Blobel G, Hoelz A. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Oct 4;108(40):16571-6. The structure of the nuclear pore complex. Hoelz A, Debler EW, Blobel G. Annu Rev Biochem. 2011 Jun 7;80:613-43. Charles G. Drake, MD, PhD (Lilly Clinical Investigator ‘04-‘09), The Johns Hopkins’ Kimmel Cancer Center, Baltimore Anti-tumor effects of endogenous prostate cancer-specific CD8 T cells in a murine TCR transgenic model. Bruno TC, Rothwell C, Grosso JF, Getnet D, Yen HR, Durham NM, Netto G, Pardoll DM, Drake CG. Prostate. 2011 Jul 14. doi: 10.1002/pros.21453. Michael J. Emanuele, PhD (Fellow ‘08-‘11) Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston Global Identification of Modular Cullin-RING Ligase Substrates. Emanuele MJ, Elia AE, Xu Q, Thoma CR, Izhar L, Leng Y, Guo A, Chen YN, Rush J, Hsu PW, Yen HC, Elledge SJ. Cell. 2011 Sep 28. Rafael Fonseca, MD (Lilly Clinical Investigator ‘00-‘05), Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale Impact of gene expression profiling-based risk stratification in patients with myeloma receiving initial therapy with lenalidomide and dexamethasone. Kumar SK, Uno H, Jacobus SJ, Van Wier SA, Ahmann GJ, Henderson KJ, Callander NS, Haug JL, Siegel DS, Greipp PR, Fonseca R, Rajkumar SV. Blood. 2011 Aug 22. Pomalidomide plus low-dose dexamethasone in myeloma refractory to both bortezomib and lenalidomide: comparison of 2 dosing strategies in dual-refractory disease. Lacy MQ, Allred JB, Gertz MA, Hayman SR, Short KD, Buadi F, Dispenzieri A, Kumar S, Greipp PR, Lust JA, Russell SJ, Dingli D, Zeldenrust S, Fonseca R, Bergsagel PL, Roy V, Stewart AK, Laumann K, Mandrekar SJ, Reeder C, Rajkumar SV, Mikhael JR. Blood. 2011 Sep 15;118(11):2970-5. Mark B. Gerstein, PhD (Fellow ‘94-‘96), Yale University, New Haven Identification of a disease-defining gene fusion in epithelioid hemangioendothelioma. Tanas MR, Sboner A, Oliveira AM, Erickson-Johnson MR, Hespelt J, Hanwright PJ, Flanagan J, Luo Y, Fenwick K, Natrajan R, Mitsopoulos C, Zvelebil M, Hoch BL, Weiss SW, Debiec-Rychter M, Sciot R, West RB, Lazar AJ, Ashworth A, Reis-Filho JS, Lord CJ, Gerstein MB, Rubin MA, Rubin BP. Sci Transl Med. 2011 Aug 31;3(98):98ra82. Maura L. Gillison, MD, PhD (Lilly Clinical Investigator ‘00-‘05), Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus Associations between Oral HPV16 Infection and Cytopathology: Evaluation of an Oropharyngeal "Pap-Test Equivalent" in High-Risk Populations. Fakhry C, Rosenthal BT, Clark DP, Gillison ML. Cancer Prev Res (Phila). 2011 Sep;4(9):1378-84. Nathanael S. Gray, PhD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator ‘08-‘10), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston Oncogenic PIK3CA-driven mammary tumors frequently recur via PI3K pathway-dependent and PI3K pathway-independent mechanisms. Liu P, Cheng H, Santiago S, Raeder M, Zhang F, Isabella A, Yang J, Semaan DJ, Chen C, Fox EA, Gray NS, Monahan J, Schlegel R, Beroukhim R, Mills GB, Zhao JJ. Nat Med. 2011 Aug 7. doi: 10.1038/nm.2402. A Novel ALK Secondary Mutation and EGFR Signaling Cause Resistance to ALK Kinase Inhibitors. Sasaki T, Koivunen J, Ogino A, Yanagita M, Nikiforow S, Zheng W, Lathan C, Marcoux JP, Du J, Okuda K, Capelletti M, Shimamura T, Ercan D, Stumpfova M, Xiao Y, Weremowicz S, Butaney M, Heon S, Wilner K, Christensen JG, Eck MJ, Wong KK, Lindeman N, Gray NS, Rodig SJ, Jänne PA. Cancer Res. 2011 Sep 15;71(18):6051-60. Kristina M. Herbert, PhD (Fellow ‘09-‘11), Yale University, New Haven A Compound That Inhibits the HOP-Hsp90 Complex Formation and Has Unique Killing Effects in Breast Cancer Cell Lines. Pimienta G, Herbert KM, Regan L. Mol Pharm. 2011 Oct 5. John V. Heymach, MD, PhD (Lilly Clinical Investigator ‘04-‘09), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston Increased VEGFR-2 gene copy is associated with chemoresistance and shorter survival in patients with non-small-cell lung carcinoma who receive adjuvant chemotherapy. Yang F, Tang X, Riquelme E, Behrens C, Nilsson MB, Giri U, Varella-Garcia M, Byers LA, Lin HY, Wang J, Raso MG, Girard L, Coombes K, Lee JJ, Herbst RS, Minna JD, Heymach JV, Wistuba II. Cancer Res. 2011 Aug 15;71(16):5512-21. Robust gene expression signature from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples predicts prognosis of non-small-cell lung cancer patients. Xie Y, Xiao G, Coombes KR, Behrens C, Solis LM, Raso G, Girard L, Erickson HS, Roth J, Heymach JV, Moran C, Danenberg K, Minna JD, Wistuba II. Clin Cancer Res. 2011 Sep 1;17(17):5705-14. Marshall Horwitz, MD, PhD (Fellow ‘94), University of Washington, Seattle Heritable GATA2 mutations associated with familial myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia. Hahn CN, Chong CE, Carmichael CL, Wilkins EJ, Brautigan PJ, Li XC, Babic M, Lin M, Carmagnac A, Lee YK, Kok CH, Gagliardi L, Friend KL, Ekert PG, Butcher CM, Brown AL, Lewis ID, To LB, Timms AE, Storek J, Moore S, Altree M, Escher R, Bardy PG, Suthers GK, D'Andrea RJ, Horwitz MS, Scott HS. Nat Genet. 2011 Sep 4;43(10):1012-7. Rebecca A. Ihrie, PhD (Fellow ‘07-‘09), University of California, San Francisco Corridors of migrating neurons in the human brain and their decline during infancy. Sanai N, Nguyen T, Ihrie RA, Mirzadeh Z, Tsai HH, Wong M, Gupta N, Berger MS, Huang E, Garcia-Verdugo JM, Rowitch DH, Alvarez-Buylla A. Nature. 2011 Sep 28. doi: 10.1038/nature10487. Katrin Karbstein, PhD (Fellow ‘04-‘06), The Scripps Research Institute, Jupiter and Georgios Skiniotis, PhD (Fellow ’04-’07), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Ribosome assembly factors prevent premature translation initiation by 40S assembly intermediates. Strunk BS, Loucks CR, Su M, Vashisth H, Cheng S, Schilling J, Brooks CL 3rd, Karbstein K, Skiniotis G. Science. 2011 Sep 9;333(6048):1449-53. Mondira Kundu, MD, PhD (Fellow ‘00-‘03), St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis Hsp90-Cdc37 chaperone complex regulates Ulk1- and Atg13-mediated mitophagy. Joo JH, Dorsey FC, Joshi A, Hennessy-Walters KM, Rose KL, McCastlain K, Zhang J, Iyengar R, Jung CH, Suen DF, Steeves MA, Yang CY, Prater SM, Kim DH, Thompson CB, Youle RJ, Ney PA, Cleveland JL, Kundu M. Mol Cell. 2011 Aug 19;43(4):572-85. Gabriel C. Lander, PhD (Merck Fellow ‘10-‘13), Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Berkeley Structures of the RNA-guided surveillance complex from a bacterial immune system. Wiedenheft B, Lander GC, Zhou K, Jore MM, Brouns SJ, van der Oost J, Doudna JA, Nogales E. Nature. 2011 Sep 21;477(7365):486-9. doi: 10.1038/nature10402. Li Li, MD, PhD (Lilly Clinical Investigator ‘01-‘06), Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Ortiz, A. P., Thompson, C. L., Chak, A., Berger, N. A. and Li, L. Insulin resistance, central obesity, and risk of colorectal adenomas. Cancer (2011), doi: 10.1002/cncr.26454 Costas A. Lyssiotis, PhD (Fellow ‘10-‘13), Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston Phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase diverts glycolytic flux and contributes to oncogenesis. Locasale JW, Grassian AR, Melman T, Lyssiotis CA, Mattaini KR, Bass AJ, Heffron G, Metallo CM, Muranen T, Sharfi H, Sasaki AT, Anastasiou D, Mullarky E, Vokes NI, Sasaki M, Beroukhim R, Stephanopoulos G, Ligon AH, Meyerson M, Richardson AL, Chin L, Wagner G, Asara JM, Brugge JS, Cantley LC, Vander Heiden MG. Nat Genet. 2011 Jul 31;43(9):869-74. Pierre P. Massion, MD (Lilly Clinical Investigator ‘03-‘08), Vanderbilt University, Nashville Expression of focal adhesion kinase in small-cell lung carcinoma. Ocak S, Chen H, Callison C, Gonzalez AL, Massion PP. Cancer. 2011 Jul 28. doi: 10.1002/cncr.26382. Patrick T. McGrath, PhD (Fellow ‘06-‘09), University of California, San Francisco Parallel evolution of domesticated Caenorhabditis species targets pheromone receptor genes. McGrath PT, Xu Y, Ailion M, Garrison JL, Butcher RA, Bargmann CI. Nature. 2011 Aug 17;477(7364):321-5. Matthew L. Meyerson, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow ‘95-‘98), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston The Mutational Landscape of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Stransky N, Egloff AM, Tward AD, Kostic AD, Cibulskis K, Sivachenko A, Kryukov GV, Lawrence M, Sougnez C, McKenna A, Shefler E, Ramos AH, Stojanov P, Carter SL, Voet D, Cortés ML, Auclair D, Berger MF, Saksena G, Guiducci C, Onofrio R, Parkin M, Romkes M, Weissfeld JL, Seethala RR, Wang L, Rangel-Escareño C, Fernandez-Lopez JC, Hidalgo-Miranda A, Melendez-Zajgla J, Winckler W, Ardlie K, Gabriel SB, Meyerson M, Lander ES, Getz G, Golub TR, Garraway LA, Grandis JR. Science. 2011 Jul 28. David Mu, PhD (Fellow ‘94-‘97), Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey miR-17~92 cooperates with RB pathway mutations to promote retinoblastoma. Conkrite K, Sundby M, Mukai S, Thomson JM, Mu D, Hammond SM, MacPherson D. Genes Dev. 2011 Aug 15;25(16):1734-45. Peter S. Nelson, MD (Clinical Investigator Mentor, Scholar ‘02-‘04), Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle Exome sequencing identifies a spectrum of mutation frequencies in advanced and lethal prostate cancers. Kumar A, White TA, Mackenzie AP, Clegg N, Lee C, Dumpit RF, Coleman I, Ng SB, Salipante SJ, Rieder MJ, Nickerson DA, Corey E, Lange PH, Morrissey C, Vessella RL, Nelson PS, Shendure J. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Sep 26. A targeted proteomics-based pipeline for verification of biomarkers in plasma. Whiteaker JR, Lin C, Kennedy J, Hou L, Trute M, Sokal I, Yan P, Schoenherr RM, Zhao L, Voytovich UJ, Kelly-Spratt KS, Krasnoselsky A, Gafken PR, Hogan JM, Jones LA, Wang P, Amon L, Chodosh LA, Nelson PS, McIntosh MW, Kemp CJ, Paulovich AG. Nat Biotechnol. 2011 Jun 19;29(7):625-34. James M. Olson, MD, PhD (Lilly Clinical Investigator ‘02-‘07), Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle Phase I Trial of MK-0752 in Children With Refractory CNS Malignancies: A Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium Study. Fouladi M, Stewart CF, Olson J, Wagner LM, Onar-Thomas A, Kocak M, Packer RJ, Goldman S, Gururangan S, Gajjar A, Demuth T, Kun LE, Boyett JM, Gilbertson RJ. J Clin Oncol. 2011 Sep 10;29(26):3529-34. Elaine A. Ostrander, PhD (Fellow ’87-’90), Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle Genetic Variants in the LEPR, CRY1, RNASEL, IL4, and ARVCF Genes Are Prognostic Markers of Prostate Cancer-Specific Mortality. Lin DW, Fitzgerald LM, Fu R, Kwon EM, Zheng SL, Kolb S, Wiklund F, Stattin P, Isaacs WB, Xu J, Ostrander EA, Feng Z, Grönberg H, Stanford JL. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2011 Sep;20(9):1928-36. Jeremy N. Rich, MD (Lilly Clinical Investigator ‘04-‘09), Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Glioma stem cell proliferation and tumor growth are promoted by nitric oxide synthase-2. Eyler CE, Wu Q, Yan K, MacSwords JM, Chandler-Militello D, Misuraca KL, Lathia JD, Forrester MT, Lee J, Stamler JS, Goldman SA, Bredel M, McLendon RE, Sloan AE, Hjelmeland AB, Rich JN. Cell. 2011 Jul 8;146(1):53-66. John L. Rinn, PhD (Innovator ‘09-‘11, Fellow ‘05-‘07), Harvard University, Cambridge lincRNAs act in the circuitry controlling pluripotency and differentiation. Guttman M, Donaghey J, Carey BW, Garber M, Grenier JK, Munson G, Young G, Lucas AB, Ach R, Bruhn L, Yang X, Amit I, Meissner A, Regev A, Rinn JL, Root DE, Lander ES. Nature. 2011 Aug 28;477(7364):295-300. John L. Rinn, PhD (Innovator ‘09-‘11, Fellow ‘05-‘07), Harvard University, Cambridge and Cole Trapnell, PhD (Fellow ‘11-‘14), Harvard University, Cambridge Integrative annotation of human large intergenic noncoding RNAs reveals global properties and specific subclasses. Cabili MN, Trapnell C, Goff L, Koziol M, Tazon-Vega B, Regev A, Rinn JL. Genes Dev. 2011 Sep 15;25(18):1915-27. Julien Sage, PhD (Scholar ’05-’07), Stanford University Medical School, Stanford Notch signaling inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma following inactivation of the RB pathway. Viatour P, Ehmer U, Saddic LA, Dorrell C, Andersen JB, Lin C, Zmoos AF, Mazur PK, Schaffer BE, Ostermeier A, Vogel H, Sylvester KG, Thorgeirsson SS, Grompe M, Sage J. J Exp Med. 2011 Sep 26;208(10):1963-76. Discovery and preclinical validation of drug indications using compendia of public gene expression data. Sirota M, Dudley JT, Kim J, Chiang AP, Morgan AA, Sweet-Cordero A, Sage J, Butte AJ. Sci Transl Med. 2011 Aug 17;3(96):96ra77. Ramesh A. Shivdasani, MD, PhD (Scholar ‘98-‘99), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston Activation of ERBB2 Signaling Causes Resistance to the EGFR-Directed Therapeutic Antibody Cetuximab. Yonesaka K, Zejnullahu K, Okamoto I, Satoh T, Cappuzzo F, Souglakos J, Ercan D, Rogers A, Roncalli M, Takeda M, Fujisaka Y, Philips J, Shimizu T, Maenishi O, Cho Y, Sun J, Destro A, Taira K, Takeda K, Okabe T, Swanson J, Itoh H, Takada M, Lifshits E, Okuno K, Engelman JA, Shivdasani RA, Nishio K, Fukuoka M, Varella-Garcia M, Nakagawa K, Jänne PA. Sci Transl Med. 2011 Sep 7;3(99):99ra86. Aaron F. Straight, PhD (Fellow ‘98-‘01, Scholar ‘05-‘07), Stanford University Medical School, Stanford CENP-C recruits M18BP1 to centromeres to promote CENP-A chromatin assembly. Moree B, Meyer CB, Fuller CJ, Straight AF. J Cell Biol. 2011 Sep 19;194(6):855-71. In vitro centromere and kinetochore assembly on defined chromatin templates. Guse A, Carroll CW, Moree B, Fuller CJ, Straight AF. Nature. 2011 Aug 28;477(7364):354-8. Jesús Torres-Vazquez, PhD (Fellow ‘02-‘05), New York University, New York Semaphorin-PlexinD1 signaling limits angiogenic potential via the VEGF decoy receptor sFlt1. Zygmunt T, Gay CM, Blondelle J, Singh MK, Flaherty KM, Means PC, Herwig L, Krudewig A, Belting HG, Affolter M, Epstein JA, Torres-Vázquez J. Dev Cell. 2011 Aug 16;21(2):301-14. Monte M. Winslow, PhD (Fellow ‘06-‘09), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge Nuclear factor I/B is an oncogene in small cell lung cancer. Dooley AL, Winslow MM, Chiang DY, Banerji S, Stransky N, Dayton TL, Snyder EL, Senna S, Whittaker CA, Bronson RT, Crowley D, Barretina J, Garraway L, Meyerson M, Jacks T. Genes Dev. 2011 Jul 15;25(14):1470-5. John M. Timmerman, MD (Lilly Clinical Investigator ‘05-‘10), University of California, Los Angeles Programmed death ligand 1 is expressed by non-hodgkin lymphomas and inhibits the activity of tumor-associated T cells. Andorsky DJ, Yamada RE, Said J, Pinkus GS, Betting DJ, Timmerman JM. Clin Cancer Res. 2011 Jul 1;17(13):4232-44. Jedd D. Wolchok, MD, PhD (Lilly Clinical Investigator ‘03-‘08), Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York Imatinib potentiates antitumor T cell responses in gastrointestinal stromal tumor through the inhibition of Ido. Balachandran VP, Cavnar MJ, Zeng S, Bamboat ZM, Ocuin LM, Obaid H, Sorenson EC, Popow R, Ariyan C, Rossi F, Besmer P, Guo T, Antonescu CR, Taguchi T, Yuan J, Wolchok JD, Allison JP, Dematteo RP. Nat Med. 2011 Aug 28;17(9):1094-100. Hai Yan, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Scholar ‘05-‘07), Duke University, Durham Mutations in CIC and FUBP1 contribute to human oligodendroglioma. Bettegowda C, Agrawal N, Jiao Y, Sausen M, Wood LD, Hruban RH, Rodriguez FJ, Cahill DP, McLendon R, Riggins G, Velculescu VE, Oba-Shinjo SM, Marie SK, Vogelstein B, Bigner D, Yan H, Papadopoulos N, Kinzler KW. Science. 2011 Sep 9;333(6048):1453-5. » Visit the New Discoveries and Honors page for more

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October - December 2011 Dear Damon Runyon Scientists, Happy holidays from all of us at Damon Runyon!  We wish you a healthy and successful new year.   We are pleased to announce a new funding opportunity: Damon Runyon has joined together with the Sohn Conference Foundation, dedicated to curing pediatric cancers, to establish the Damon Runyon-Sohn Pediatric Cancer Fellowship Award.  This award provides funding to basic scientists and clinicians who conduct research with the potential to significantly impact the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of one or more pediatric cancers.  See our website for award details and application guidelines.  The first application deadline will be March 15, 2012.  Please spread the word and tell your colleagues!  Our Scientific Committees met this fall to select the newest awardees of the Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award, Fellowship Award and Dale F. Frey Award for Breakthrough Scientists.  Stay tuned for the announcement of these new awardees in January. Please see below for the latest update on exciting news and findings from your fellow Damon Runyon scientists – current and former.  These are just the publications and awards that we are aware of, so we apologize if we have not included your work.  Lay summaries of some of this work are posted on the News page of our website, along with additional news about our Scientific Committee and Board members. Thanks again to those of you who have sent us updates on your recent progress.  Please continue to stay in touch. Best regards, Yung Yung S. Lie, PhD Scientific Director Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation A Message from our President and CEO, Lorraine Egan Thank you for doing what you do. The work of most scientists is unheralded.  In the current environment, it is often unfunded.  We, at Damon Runyon, want you to know how much we appreciate your commitment to scientific discovery and dedication to unlocking the mysteries of human biology.  You are the great explorers of our generation.  Damon Runyon remains committed to helping next generations of extraordinary scientists.  If you can, please help us continue this vitally important work with a gift of any amount. We wish you great success in your work in the upcoming year.  More importantly, we wish you joy and good health.   Thank you again, and all the best, Lorraine Lorraine Egan President and CEO Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation UPCOMING DEADLINES and EVENTS Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award application deadline February 15, 2012 Damon Runyon Fellowship application deadline March 15, 2012   Damon Runyon-Sohn Pediatric Cancer Fellowship application deadline March 15, 2012 AWARDS and HONORS 2011 Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research Scott A. Armstrong, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon-Lilly Clinical Investigator ’03-’08), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children’s Hospital Boston PUBLICATIONS Eric J. Bennett, PhD (Fellow ’08-’11), University of California, San Diego Defining human ERAD networks through an integrative mapping strategy. Christianson JC, Olzmann JA, Shaler TA, Sowa ME, Bennett EJ, Richter CM, Tyler RE, Greenblatt EJ, Wade Harper J, Kopito RR. Nat Cell Biol. 2011 Nov 27. doi: 10.1038/ncb2383. N-terminal acetylation acts as an avidity enhancer within an interconnected multiprotein complex. Scott DC, Monda JK, Bennett EJ, Harper JW, Schulman BA. Science. 2011 Nov 4;334(6056):674-8. Kate S. Carroll, PhD (Fellow ’03-’06), The Scripps Research Institute, Jupiter Peroxide-dependent sulfenylation of the EGFR catalytic site enhances kinase activity. Paulsen CE, Truong TH, Garcia FJ, Homann A, Gupta V, Leonard SE, Carroll KS. Nat Chem Biol. 2011 Dec 11;8(1):57-64. Howard Y. Chang, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Scholar ’06-’08), Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford Genomic Maps of Long Noncoding RNA Occupancy Reveal Principles of RNA-Chromatin Interactions. Chu C, Qu K, Zhong FL, Artandi SE, Chang HY. Mol Cell. 2011 Nov 18;44(4):667-78. Roger J. Davis, PhD (Fellow ’84-’85), University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester MLK3 regulates bone development downstream of the faciogenital dysplasia protein FGD1 in mice. Zou W, Greenblatt MB, Shim JH, Kant S, Zhai B, Lotinun S, Brady N, Hu DZ, Gygi SP, Baron R, Davis RJ, Jones D, Glimcher LH. J Clin Invest. 2011 Nov 1;121(11):4383-92. Ralph J. DeBerardinis, MD, PhD (Clinical Investigator ’11-’14), UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas Reductive carboxylation supports growth in tumour cells with defective mitochondria. Mullen AR, Wheaton WW, Jin ES, Chen PH, Sullivan LB, Cheng T, Yang Y, Linehan WM, Chandel NS, Deberardinis RJ. Nature. 2011 Nov 20. doi: 10.1038/nature10642. Channing J. Der, PhD (Fellow ’81-’83), University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill and Laura M. Machesky, PhD (Fellow ’93-’96), The Beatson Institute, Glasgow, Scotland P-Rex1 is required for efficient melanoblast migration and melanoma metastasis. Lindsay CR, Lawn S, Campbell AD, Faller WJ, Rambow F, Mort RL, Timpson P, Li A, Cammareri P, Ridgway RA, Morton JP, Doyle B, Hegarty S, Rafferty M, Murphy IG, McDermott EW, Sheahan K, Pedone K, Finn AJ, Groben PA, Thomas NE, Hao H, Carson C, Norman JC, Machesky LM, Gallagher WM, Jackson IJ, Van Kempen L, Beermann F, Der C, Larue L, Welch HC, Ozanne BW, Sansom OJ. Nat Commun. 2011 Nov 22;2:555. doi: 10.1038/ncomms1560. Victoria M. D'Souza, PhD (Scholar ’06-’09), Harvard University, Cambridge An equilibrium-dependent retroviral mRNA switch regulates translational recoding. Houck-Loomis B, Durney MA, Salguero C, Shankar N, Nagle JM, Goff SP, D'Souza VM. Nature. 2011 Nov 27. doi: 10.1038/nature10657. William S. Dynan, PhD (Fellow ’80-’82), Georgia Health Sciences University, Augusta Intranuclear Delivery of a Novel Antibody-Derived Radiosensitizer Targeting the DNA-Dependent Protein Kinase Catalytic Subunit. Xiong H, Lee RJ, Haura EB, Edwards JG, Dynan WS, Li S. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2011 Dec 2. Dean W. Felsher, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon-Lilly Clinical Investigator ’03-’08), Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford Survival and death signals can predict tumor response to therapy after oncogene inactivation. Tran PT, Bendapudi PK, Lin HJ, Choi P, Koh S, Chen J, Horng G, Hughes NP, Schwartz LH, Miller VA, Kawashima T, Kitamura T, Paik D, Felsher DW. Sci Transl Med. 2011 Oct 5;3(103):103ra99. Harrison W. Gabel, PhD (Fellow ’10-’12), Harvard Medical School, Boston Genome-wide activity-dependent MeCP2 phosphorylation regulates nervous system development and function. Cohen S, Gabel HW, Hemberg M, Hutchinson AN, Sadacca LA, Ebert DH, Harmin DA, Greenberg RS, Verdine VK, Zhou Z, Wetsel WC, West AE, Greenberg ME. Neuron. 2011 Oct 6;72(1):72-85. Wendy S. Garrett, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow ’06-’09), Matthew L. Meyerson, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow ’95-’98), Akinyemi I. Ojesina, MBBS, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow ’08-’11) and Ramesh A. Shivdasani, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Scholar ’98-’99), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Broad Institute, Cambridge Genomic analysis identifies association of Fusobacterium with colorectal carcinoma. Kostic AD, Gevers D, Pedamallu CS, Michaud M, Duke F, Earl AM, Ojesina AI, Jung J, Bass AJ, Tabernero J, Baselga J, Liu C, Shivdasani RA, Ogino S, Birren BW, Huttenhower C, Garrett WS, Meyerson M. Genome Res. 2011 Oct 18.   Maura L. Gillison, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon-Lilly Clinical Investigator ’00-’05), The Ohio State University, Columbus Human papillomavirus and rising oropharyngeal cancer incidence in the United States. Chaturvedi AK, Engels EA, Pfeiffer RM, Hernandez BY, Xiao W, Kim E, Jiang B, Goodman MT, Sibug-Saber M, Cozen W, Liu L, Lynch CF, Wentzensen N, Jordan RC, Altekruse S, Anderson WF, Rosenberg PS, Gillison ML. J Clin Oncol. 2011 Nov 10;29(32):4294-301. William M. Grady, MD (Damon Runyon-Lilly Clinical Investigator ’02-’07), Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle Aberrantly methylated PKP1 in the progression of Barrett's esophagus to esophageal adenocarcinoma. Kaz AM, Luo Y, Dzieciatkowski S, Chak A, Willis JE, Upton MP, Leidner RS, Grady WM. Genes Chromosomes Cancer. 2011 Dec 14.   Michael E. Greenberg, PhD (Fellow ’83-’84), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston Cyclin E constrains Cdk5 activity to regulate synaptic plasticity and memory formation. Odajima J, Wills ZP, Ndassa YM, Terunuma M, Kretschmannova K, Deeb TZ, Geng Y, Gawrzak S, Quadros IM, Newman J, Das M, Jecrois ME, Yu Q, Li N, Bienvenu F, Moss SJ, Greenberg ME, Marto JA, Sicinski P. Dev Cell. 2011 Oct 18;21(4):655-68. David A. Guertin, PhD (Fellow ’03-’06), University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester Sarcomas induced in discrete subsets of prospectively isolated skeletal muscle cells. Hettmer S, Liu J, Miller CM, Lindsay MC, Sparks CA, Guertin DA, Bronson RT, Langenau DM, Wagers AJ. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Dec 13;108(50):20002-7. Yoh Isogai, PhD (Fellow ’08-’11), Harvard University, Cambridge Molecular organization of vomeronasal chemoreception. Isogai Y, Si S, Pont-Lezica L, Tan T, Kapoor V, Murthy VN, Dulac C. Nature. 2011 Sep 21;478(7368):241-5. Naoko Kobayashi, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow ’91-’94), University of California, Los Angeles Phase II Prospective Randomized Trial of a Low-Fat Diet with Fish Oil Supplementation in Men Undergoing Radical Prostatectomy. Aronson WJ, Kobayashi N, Barnard RJ, Henning S, Huang M, Jardack PM, Liu B, Gray A, Wan J, Konijeti R, Freedland SJ, Castor B, Heber D, Elashoff D, Said J, Cohen P, Galet C. Cancer Prev Res (Phila). 2011 Dec;4(12):2062-71. Carla M. Koehler, PhD (Scholar ’00-’02, Fellow ’95-’98), University of California, Los Angeles UCP2 regulates energy metabolism and differentiation potential of human pluripotent stem cells. Zhang J, Khvorostov I, Hong JS, Oktay Y, Vergnes L, Nuebel E, Wahjudi PN, Setoguchi K, Wang G, Do A, Jung HJ, McCaffery JM, Kurland IJ, Reue K, Lee WN, Koehler CM, Teitell MA. EMBO J. 2011 Nov 15;30(24):4860-73. Albert C. Koong, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon-Lilly Clinical Investigator ’02-’07), Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford A novel aldehyde dehydrogenase-3 activator leads to adult salivary stem cell enrichment in vivo. Banh A, Xiao N, Cao H, Chen CH, Kuo P, Krakow T, Bavan B, Khong B, Yao M, Ha C, Kaplan MJ, Sirjani D, Jensen K, Kong CS, Mochly-Rosen D, Koong AC, Le QT. Clin Cancer Res. 2011 Dec 1;17(23):7265-72. David E. Lebwohl, MD (Fellow ’86-’87), Novartis, East Hanover Everolimus in Postmenopausal Hormone-Receptor-Positive Advanced Breast Cancer. Baselga J, Campone M, Piccart M, Burris HA, Rugo HS, Sahmoud T, Noguchi S, Gnant M, Pritchard KI, Lebrun F, Beck JT, Ito Y, Yardley D, Deleu I, Perez A, Bachelot T, Vittori L, Xu Z, Mukhopadhyay P, Lebwohl D, Hortobagyi GN. N Engl J Med. 2011 Dec 7. Mark A. Lemmon, PhD (Scholar ’97-’98, Fellow ’93-’96), University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Differential inhibitor sensitivity of anaplastic lymphoma kinase variants found in neuroblastoma. Bresler SC, Wood AC, Haglund EA, Courtright J, Belcastro LT, Plegaria JS, Cole K, Toporovskaya Y, Zhao H, Carpenter EL, Christensen JG, Maris JM, Lemmon MA, Mossé YP. Sci Transl Med. 2011 Nov 9;3(108):108ra114. Judith Lieberman, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow ’84-’86), Immune Disease Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston Coding-independent regulation of the tumor suppressor PTEN by competing endogenous mRNAs. Tay Y, Kats L, Salmena L, Weiss D, Tan SM, Ala U, Karreth F, Poliseno L, Provero P, Di Cunto F, Lieberman J, Rigoutsos I, Pandolfi PP. Cell. 2011 Oct 14;147(2):344-57. Jun O. Liu, PhD (Fellow ’91-’93), Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore Itraconazole inhibits angiogenesis and tumor growth in non-small cell lung cancer. Aftab BT, Dobromilskaya I, Liu JO, Rudin CM. Cancer Res. 2011 Nov 1;71(21):6764-72. Itraconazole side chain analogues: structure-activity relationship studies for inhibition of endothelial cell proliferation, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) glycosylation, and hedgehog signaling. Shi W, Nacev BA, Aftab BT, Head S, Rudin CM, Liu JO. J Med Chem. 2011 Oct 27;54(20):7363-74. Henry T. Lynch (Grantee ’69-’70), Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK Long-term effect of aspirin on cancer risk in carriers of hereditary colorectal cancer: an analysis from the CAPP2 randomised controlled trial. Burn J, Gerdes AM, Macrae F, Mecklin JP, Moeslein G, Olschwang S, Eccles D, Evans DG, Maher ER, Bertario L, Bisgaard ML, Dunlop MG, Ho JW, Hodgson SV, Lindblom A, Lubinski J, Morrison PJ, Murday V, Ramesar R, Side L, Scott RJ, Thomas HJ, Vasen HF, Barker G, Crawford G, Elliott F, Movahedi M, Pylvanainen K, Wijnen JT, Fodde R, Lynch HT, Mathers JC, Bishop DT; on behalf of the CAPP2 Investigators. Lancet. 2011 Oct 27. Matthew L. Meyerson, MD, PhD (Fellow ’95-’98), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston Glioblastoma-Derived Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Carboxyl-Terminal Deletion Mutants Are Transforming and Are Sensitive to EGFR-Directed Therapies. Cho J, Pastorino S, Zeng Q, Xu X, Johnson W, Vandenberg S, Verhaak R, Cherniack AD, Watanabe H, Dutt A, Kwon J, Chao YS, Onofrio RC, Chiang D, Yuza Y, Kesari S, Meyerson M. Cancer Res. 2011 Dec 15;71(24):7587-96. Toru M. Nakamura, PhD (Fellow ’99-’02), University of Illinois, Chicago Tel1(ATM) and Rad3(ATR) kinases promote Ccq1-Est1 interaction to maintain telomeres in fission yeast. Moser BA, Chang YT, Kosti J, Nakamura TM. Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2011 Nov 20;18(12):1408-13. John M. Pagel, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon-Lilly Clinical Investigator ’05-’10), Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle Pretargeted radioimmunotherapy using genetically engineered antibody-streptavidin fusion proteins for treatment of non-hodgkin lymphoma. Park SI, Shenoi J, Frayo SM, Hamlin DK, Lin Y, Wilbur DS, Stayton PS, Orgun N, Hylarides M, Buchegger F, Kenoyer AL, Axtman A, Gopal AK, Green DJ, Pagel JM, Press OW. Clin Cancer Res. 2011 Dec 1;17(23):7373-82. John E.J. Rasko, MD, PhD (Fellow ’96-’99), University of Sydney, Australia Androgen Receptor and Nutrient Signaling Pathways Coordinate the Demand for Increased Amino Acid Transport during Prostate Cancer Progression. Wang Q, Bailey CG, Ng C, Tiffen J, Thoeng A, Minhas V, Lehman ML, Hendy SC, Buchanan G, Nelson CC, Rasko JE, Holst J. Cancer Res. 2011 Nov 28. John L. Rinn, PhD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator ’09-’11, Damon Runyon Fellow ’05-’07) and Cole Trapnell, PhD (Fellow ’11-’14), Harvard University, Cambridge Targeted RNA sequencing reveals the deep complexity of the human transcriptome. Mercer TR, Gerhardt DJ, Dinger ME, Crawford J, Trapnell C, Jeddeloh JA, Mattick JS, Rinn JL. Nat Biotechnol. 2011 Nov 13. doi: 10.1038/nbt.2024. Michael G. Roth, PhD (Fellow ’82-’84), UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas Chemical inhibition of RNA viruses reveals REDD1 as a host defense factor. Mata MA, Satterly N, Versteeg GA, Frantz D, Wei S, Williams N, Schmolke M, Peña-Llopis S, Brugarolas J, Forst CV, White MA, García-Sastre A, Roth MG, Fontoura BM. Nat Chem Biol. 2011 Sep 11;7(10):712-9. Julien Sage, PhD (Damon Runyon Scholar ’05-’07), Stanford University, Stanford A crucial requirement for Hedgehog signaling in small cell lung cancer. Park KS, Martelotto LG, Peifer M, Sos ML, Karnezis AN, Mahjoub MR, Bernard K, Conklin JF, Szczepny A, Yuan J, Guo R, Ospina B, Falzon J, Bennett S, Brown TJ, Markovic A, Devereux WL, Ocasio CA, Chen JK, Stearns T, Thomas RK, Dorsch M, Buonamici S, Watkins DN, Peacock CD, Sage J. Nat Med. 2011 Oct 9;17(11):1504-8. PDGF signalling controls age-dependent proliferation in pancreatic β-cells. Chen H, Gu X, Liu Y, Wang J, Wirt SE, Bottino R, Schorle H, Sage J, Kim SK. Nature. 2011 Oct 12;478(7369):349-55 Vered Stearns, MD (Damon Runyon-Lilly Clinical Investigator ’00-’05), Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore Preclinical and clinical evaluation of intraductally administered agents in early breast cancer. Stearns V, Mori T, Jacobs LK, Khouri NF, Gabrielson E, Yoshida T, Kominsky SL, Huso DL, Jeter S, Powers P, Tarpinian K, Brown RJ, Lange JR, Rudek MA, Zhang Z, Tsangaris TN, Sukumar S. Sci Transl Med. 2011 Oct 26;3(106):106ra108. Jean Y. Tang, MD, PhD (Clinical Investigator ’11-’14), Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford Sun protective behaviors and vitamin D levels in the US population: NHANES 2003-2006. Linos E, Keiser E, Kanzler M, Sainani KL, Lee W, Vittinghoff E, Chren MM, Tang JY. Cancer Causes Control. 2011 Nov 2. Matthew G. Vander Heiden, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator ’11-’13, Fellow ’06-’08), MIT, Cambridge Reductive glutamine metabolism by IDH1 mediates lipogenesis under hypoxia. Metallo CM, Gameiro PA, Bell EL, Mattaini KR, Yang J, Hiller K, Jewell CM, Johnson ZR, Irvine DJ, Guarente L, Kelleher JK, Vander Heiden MG, Iliopoulos O, Stephanopoulos G. Nature. 2011 Nov 20. Inhibition of Pyruvate Kinase M2 by Reactive Oxygen Species Contributes to Antioxidant Responses. Anastasiou D, Poulogiannis G, Asara JM, Boxer MB, Jiang JK, Shen M, Bellinger G, Sasaki AT, Locasale JW, Auld DS, Thomas CJ, Vander Heiden MG, Cantley LC. Science. 2011 Nov 3. Maria del Mar Vivanco-Ruiz, PhD (Fellow ’92), CIC bioGUNE, Derio, Spain and Lee Zou, PhD (Fellow ’00-’03), Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown Homeobox B9 induces epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition-associated radioresistance by accelerating DNA damage responses. Chiba N, Comaills V, Shiotani B, Takahashi F, Shimada T, Tajima K, Winokur D, Hayashida T, Willers H, Brachtel E, Vivanco MD, Haber DA, Zou L, Maheswaran S. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Sep 20. Robert H. Vonderheide, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon-Lilly Clinical Investigator ’00-’05), University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Karin U. Sorenmo, Erika Krick, Christina M. Coughlin, Beth Overley, Thomas P. Gregor, Robert H. Vonderheide, Nicola J. Mason. CD40-Activated B Cell Cancer Vaccine Improves Second Clinical Remission and Survival in Privately Owned Dogs with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. PLoS ONE, 2011; 6 (8): e24167 Xiaodong Wang, PhD (Fellow ’91-’94), University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas SMAC Mimetic (JP1201) Sensitizes Non-Small Cell Lung Cancers to Multiple Chemotherapy Agents in an IAP-Dependent but TNF-α-Independent Manner. Greer RM, Peyton M, Larsen JE, Girard L, Xie Y, Gazdar AF, Harran P, Wang L, Brekken RA, Wang X, Minna JD. Cancer Res. 2011 Dec 15;71(24):7640-8. Catherine J. Wu, MD (Clinical Investigator ’07-’12), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston and Matthew L. Meyerson, MD, PhD (Fellow ’95-’98), Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston SF3B1 and Other Novel Cancer Genes in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. Wang L, Lawrence MS, Wan Y, Stojanov P, Sougnez C, Stevenson K, Werner L, Sivachenko A, Deluca DS, Zhang L, Zhang W, Vartanov AR, Fernandes SM, Goldstein NR, Folco EG, Cibulskis K, Tesar B, Sievers QL, Shefler E, Gabriel S, Hacohen N, Reed R, Meyerson M, Golub TR, Lander ES, Neuberg D, Brown JR, Getz G, Wu CJ. N Engl J Med. 2011 Dec 12. Hongtao Yu, PhD (Scholar ’99-’00, Fellow ’95-’98), UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas SIRT2 maintains genome integrity and suppresses tumorigenesis through regulating APC/C activity. Kim HS, Vassilopoulos A, Wang RH, Lahusen T, Xiao Z, Xu X, Li C, Veenstra TD, Li B, Yu H, Ji J, Wang XW, Park SH, Cha YI, Gius D, Deng CX. Cancer Cell. 2011 Oct 18;20(4):487-99. » Visit the New Discoveries and Honors page for more

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Judith Lieberman, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '84-'86) of the Immune Disease Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, and colleagues, reported the first description of competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) and their function.  ceRNAs comprise a complex regulatory network that controls gene expression through binding of other RNAs called microRNAs.  This study demonstrated that PTEN, a tumor suppressor, is regulated by 150 ceRNAs in human prostate and colon cancer cell lines.  A separate study linked ceRNA-mediated regulation of PTEN to glioblastoma brain cancer.  The discovery provides a new understanding of the genetics underlying cancer.  These results were published in the journal Cell. 

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Julien Sage, PhD (Damon Runyon Scholar '05-'07) of Stanford University, Stanford, and colleagues, reported a crucial role for Hedgehog signaling in the development of small-cell lung cancer (SCLC).  They demonstrated that blocking Hedgehog signaling inhibited the growth of SCLC, particularly after chemotherapy.  Their findings suggest that Hedgehog pathway inhibition may be a promising therapeutic strategy to slow disease progression and delay cancer recurrence in SCLC patients.  This study was published in the journal Nature Medicine.

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Our Theater Benefits are exciting cancer fundraising events that offer the chance to attend a dinner at a premier New York restaurant, followed by tickets to a successful or highly-anticipated Broadway show.  Guests also have the opportunity to hear first-hand from the scientists themselves about the impact that Damon Runyon funding and support has on their cancer research.

Fall Theater Benefit:  On a Clear Day You Can See Forever

On November 15, 2011, friends of the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation enjoyed a performance of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever starring three-time Grammy Award winner, two-time Emmy Award winner and Tony Award nominee Harry Connick, Jr.  The evening began with dinner at Ça Va, celebrity chef Todd English's French-inspired Brasserie, where four of our early career scientists spoke about their research and were able to personally thank supporters.

Spring Theater Benefit: Catch Me If You Can

For more information on our Theater Benefits, contact Kim Kubert, Director of Special Events, at 212.455.0501 or kim.kubert@damonrunyon.org.

Ralph M. Steinman, MD (Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Mentor) of The Rockefeller University, New York, received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2011 "for his discovery of the dendritic cell and its role in adaptive immunity."  His work revealed new insights into how infections, cancer, and inflammatory diseases can be prevented and treated.  Dr. Steinman passed away on September 30 at the age of 68.

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The intent of the NIH High-Risk Research Awards is to encourage investigators to explore bold ideas that have the potential to catapult fields forward and speed the translation of research into improved health.  We congratulate the Damon Runyon scientists who are recipients of these awards.

Pioneer Award:
Brenda L. Bass, PhD (Fellow '85-'88), University of Utah, Salt Lake City
William M. Clemons, PhD (Fellow '02-'04), California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
Tao Pan, PhD (Fellow '91-'93), University of Chicago, Chicago

New Innovator Award:
Heather R. Christofk, PhD (Innovator '10-'12), University of California, Los Angeles
Lea A. Goentoro, PhD (Fellow '07-'10), California Institute of Technology, Pasadena

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Peter S. Nelson, MD (Clinical Investigator Mentor, Damon Runyon Scholar '02-'04) of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, and colleagues, conducted the first comprehensive assessment of the genome of advanced, lethal prostate cancer.  They discovered a number of recurrent genetic mutations common to advanced prostate cancer that may contribute to disease progression and resistance to commonly used therapies.  The researchers hope that these findings will lead to development of new strategies for diagnosis and treatment.  The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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President Obama named Rudolf Jaenisch, MD (Fellowship Sponsor) of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, one of seven recipients of the National Medal of Science, the nation’s highest scientific honor.  Awarded annually, the Medal recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to science and engineering.  

Click here for The White House press release. 

Scott A. Armstrong, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon-Lilly Clinical Investigator '03-'08) of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital Boston, and Kornelia Polyak, MD, PhD (Clinical Investigator Award Committee Member) of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, are two of this year’s recipients of the Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research.  The awards recognize three young investigators under the age of forty-six for their exceptionally innovative work that has helped to advance the field of cancer research.  Dr. Armstrong is recognized for notable achievements in the fields of cancer stem cell research and genomics that have led to landmark findings pointing to potential new therapies for leukemia.  Dr. Polyak is recognized for her pioneering genomic discoveries in normal and cancerous breast tissue and for her efforts to translate those findings into improved diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

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James E. Bradner, MD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator '11-'13) of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, and colleagues, identified the protein Brd4 as a critical requirement for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) disease maintenance.  Brd4 functions to control expression of Myc, a protein frequently disrupted in many cancers.  Blocking Brd4, using either RNA interference or a drug called JQ1, led to anti-leukemic effects such as cancer cell death and a delay in disease progression.  These findings were published in the journal Nature.   In a second paper published in the journal Cell, Bradner and colleagues reported the additional success of JQ1 in stopping the growth of multiple myeloma cells, which are dependent on Myc.  These studies establish inhibition of Brd4 as a promising therapeutic strategy in multiple cancers. 

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Ramesh A. Shivdasani, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Scholar '98-'99) of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, and colleagues discovered a mechanism for how cancer cells become resistant to cetuximab/Erbitux, which is used to treat colorectal cancer or squamous cell cancer of the head and neck. They reported that a protein called ERBB2 allows cells to remain unresponsive to the drug. The study suggests that combining cetuximab with ERBB2-inhibiting drugs could be an effective therapy to both heighten and/or restore the drug's potency. These findings were published in the journal Science Translational Medicine. 

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Runyon 5K elite runners took the first lap on the warning track at Yankee Stadium	Participants and press watched as the crowd was addressed by Runyon 5K special guests
One group celebrated their teammate's birthday at the Runyon 5K with party hats, birthday crown and all	13 members of Team Phys Ed made the trip from New Milford, CT, for the Runyon 5K
Alan Leventhal, Lorraine Egan, Michael Gargiulo, Roy White, and Tom Werner addressed participants	Runyon 5K volunteers kept runners and walkers motivated with catchy cheers
This Runyon 5K team did a locker room breakout before starting their run	Dozens of spectators posted notes in honor/memory of a loved one on the Runyon 5K Tribute Wall
Team Big Bob eagerly awaited their heat to be called to the start line	Runyon 5K Starter Roy White and NBC4's Michael Gargiulo blasted the fog horn for the first heat
Like their favorite baseball players, many Runyon 5K participants found time to play to the camera	Everybody's favorite part of the Runyon 5K: the warning track
Runners and walkers could see themselves on the center field video board as they rounded the field	4,000 participants were able to see the Stadium from a player's point of view
Sean Norberg and Mike Galonski tied for first place with a time of 19:12:00	Even those trying to beat the heat found ways to honor loved ones affected by cancer

> View videos from the 2011 Runyon 5K at Yankee Stadium

> View more photos on our Facebook page

Former Yankees Left Fielder, Red Sox Chairman Lead Event Kickoff

Update: As of October 18, the Runyon 5K has raised $720,000! New York, NY, August 8, 2011 — On August 7, 2011 thousands of avid runners, passionate baseball fans, cancer survivors, and supporters of cancer research took part in the third annual Damon Runyon 5K at Yankee Stadium, the only charitable run/walk that uses the legendy ballpark as its course. The event sold out two weeks in advance, with 4,000 participants raising $615,000 for the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, which provides today's best young scientists with funding to pursue innovative cancer research.
	On a warm and muggy summer day, fans – from 5 to 76 years old and traveling from 30 states – ran their own victory laps around the famous field in support of cancer research. Cancer survivors and patients were joined by exhuberant baseball fans and the Foundation's own scientists. Former New York Yankees left fielder Roy White, who helped the team win two World Series Championships in 1977-78, kicked off the 5K along with special guests Michael Gargiulo, co-anchor of NBC4's "Today in New York," and Thomas Werner, Chairman of the Boston Red Sox.
Werner came at the request of Damon Runyon Board Chairman Alan Leventhal, a personal friend. "He is here because even one of the oldest rivalries in baseball can be set aside to support the fight against cancer," Leventhal said. While official results will be released later in the week, this year's fastest time is estimated to have been nineteen minutes and twelve seconds. Most runners and walkers, however, opted for a slower pace to enjoy the scenery and take photos in the Great Hall and on the warning track that surrounds the field.
Carl Ressa, a cancer survivor and three-time Runyon 5K top fundraiser from Rockville, Maryland, won the event's MVP Prize Package for raising $10,000 by July 29. He and his wife Jennifer won a private flight to Boston with Leventhal and Werner, two premium tickets to the New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park that evening, and a night at the Boston Harbor Hotel. The Ressas know what it means to bat a thousand, having used tickets they won as part of last year's top fundraising prize to attend the July game during which Derek Jeter his his historic 3,000th hit. More details can be found at www.damonrunyon.org/yankeestadium. SPONSORS In addition to the generous support of the New York Yankees, other event sponsors included MetLife Foundation, Unilever, White Rose, C9 by Champion, NYSID, 24 Hour Fitness, NBC4 New York, New York Daily News, SiriusXM Radio, Poland Spring, and Utz. > View photos from the event. > Watch Runyon 5K videos on Youtube. > View NY1 coverage. > Read NY Daily News coverage.

DAMON RUNYON 5K AT YANKEE STADIUM

The Runyon 5K is a unique charity run/walk that uses Yankee Stadium as its course. The 2011 event began at 9:30 am and ended around 2 pm. Participants explored the Stadium from the basement level to the upper concourses and ran their own victory laps around the warning track that circles the field. Friends and family of participants cheered on from the Delta Sky360 Suite overlooking home plate. Videos, photos, and more details can be found at www.damonrunyon.org/yankeestadium.

DAMON RUNYON CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION

To accelerate breakthroughs, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation provides today's best young scientists with funding to pursue innovative research. Eleven scientsits supported by the Foundation have received the Nobel Prize, seven have received National Medals of Science, and 61 have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Damon Runyon is currently funding more than 100 scientists at leading medical centers and research institutions.

Since its founding in 1946, Damon Runyon has invested more than $240 million and funded more than 3,300 young scientists. This year, it will commit approximately $10.6 million in new awards to brilliant young investigators. 100% of all donations to the Foundation are used to support cutting-edge scientific research. Its administrative and fundraising cossts are paid from Damon Runyon Broadway Tickets and an endowment.

CONTACT

Todd Brogan
Communications Coordinator
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
212.455.0552
todd.brogan@damonrunyon.org

Researchers from the Broad Institute, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, including Joseph A. Califano, III, MD (Damon Runyon-Lilly Clinical Investigator '01-'06), Matthew L. Meyerson, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '95-'98), Kenneth W. Kinzler, PhD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award Committee Member), and Todd R. Golub, MD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award Committee Member, Board Member), collaborated to identify genetic mutations present in tumor DNA from head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.  They found defects in the tumor suppressor gene p53, as well as in the Notch signaling genes.  In the future, scientists hope to be able to use these genetic alterations to predict a patient's prognosis and define personalized treatment strategies.  These studies were published in two papers in the journal Science.

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Hai Yan, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Scholar '05-'07) of Duke University, Durham, Kenneth W. Kinzler, PhD (Innovation Award Committee Member) of Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, and colleagues identified two genes that may regulate telomere length in cancer cells.  Telomeres are “DNA caps” that protect the ends of chromosomes; telomerase is the enzyme that is normally used to maintain telomeres.  These researchers found that rapidly dividing cancer cells can use an alternative means of maintaining telomere length, through the genes ATRX and DAXX.  Mutations in these genes have been found in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors and in several brain cancer types, including pediatric and adult glioblastoma; preliminary studies indicate that patients with these mutations in their tumors had better survival than those without the mutations.  The results could have important implications in the future for determining patient prognosis and developing new treatments.  The study was published in the journal Science.

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Jeremy N. Rich, MD (Damon Runyon-Lilly Clinical Investigator '04-'09) of Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, and colleagues, reported new findings about brain cancer stem cells.  Malignant gliomas, aggressive brain tumors with limited treatment options, contain highly tumorigenic subpopulations of cancer stem cells.  The researchers identified an enzyme, nitric oxide synthase-2 (NOS2), required for these stem cells to grow and seed tumors. High NOS2 levels correlate with decreased survival in patients with glioma.  Drugs that block NOS2 slow brain tumor growth in mice.  Scientists hope these findings will enable glioma stem cells to be targeted in humans, providing an effective new treatment option.  This study was published in the scientific journal Cell. 

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Grants totaling $2.8M give early career investigators independence to pursue novel ideas

New York, NY (July 5, 2011) – The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on supporting innovative early career researchers, named 18 new Damon Runyon Fellows at its spring Fellowship Award Committee review.  The recipients of this prestigious, three-year award are outstanding postdoctoral scientists conducting basic and translational cancer research in the laboratories of leading senior investigators across the country. The Fellowship encourages the nation's most promising young scientists to pursue careers in cancer research by providing them with independent funding ($156,000 each) to work on innovative projects.

May 2011 Damon Runyon Fellows:

Pedro J. Batista, PhD [Kenneth G. and Elaine A. Langone Fellow] with his sponsor Howard Y. Chang, MD, PhD, at Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, is investigating the molecular mechanism by which long noncoding RNAs regulate gene expression. Long noncoding RNAs form a vital link between the information encoded in the genome and the instructions recorded at the structural chromatin level, thus maintaining cell identity. Understanding how long noncoding RNAs regulate gene expression will allow the development of powerful tools for diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

David K. Breslow, PhD [Connie and Bob Lurie Fellow] with his sponsor Maxence V. Nachury, PhD, at Stanford University, Stanford, California, is studying the primary cilium, a cellular structure that enables cells to sense and respond to specific external cues. While disruptions to primary cilia are known to promote tumor formation and cause developmental defects, how cilia orchestrate these processes remains poorly understood. He is using a combination of genetic, biochemical and imaging approaches to investigate how lipid molecules contribute to the unique functions of cilia.

Leon Y. Chan, PhD [HHMI Fellow] with his sponsor Karsten Weis, PhD, at the University of California, Berkeley, California, is focusing on how cells slow their growth rate in response to stress. He aims to understand how stress signals are relayed to the cellular machinery that directs cell growth. Because tumor cells are constantly under stress yet display unregulated growth, it is critical to understand how stress signaling and growth control are coordinated. This research may lead to new understanding of how a broad range of cancers can be therapeutically targeted.

Adam de la Zerda, PhD, with his sponsor Carolyn R. Bertozzi, PhD, at the University of California, Berkeley, California, is developing imaging technology to visualize and monitor changes in living cells. Cancer cells display unique sugar patterns on their surface, which contain tremendous diagnostic information about tumor aggressiveness and responsiveness to therapy. The initial goal is to use this imaging technology to monitor tumor sugar patterns, as a method to stratify patients with prostate cancer and determine which patients may benefit from treatment vs. “active surveillance.” In the future, this technology may be applied to other cancer types and may also shed light on the role of sugars in cancer development.

Sarah E. Ewald, PhD [Dennis and Marsha Dammerman Fellow] with her sponsor John C. Boothroyd, PhD, at Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, studies the relationship between the parasite Toxoplasma gondii and the host cell. Nearly every cell in the body is equipped with sensors to survey itself for evidence of infection. Once triggered, these sensors often lead to cell suicide and the recruitment of immune cells to control the infection. She hopes to identify novel pathogen sensors that can be exploited to develop selective anti-tumor therapies.

Xi Huang, PhD, with his sponsor Lily Y. Jan, PhD, at the University of California, San Francisco, California, is investigating the mechanism of how an ion channel protein promotes brain tumor growth. He hypothesizes that medulloblastoma, the most common pediatric brain cancer, utilizes a specific ion channel for its uncontrolled growth and metastasis. By exploring the functional roles of the ion channel in medulloblastoma, his goal is to identify new prognostic markers for tumor diagnosis and potentially develop novel cancer therapies.

Calvin H. Jan, PhD [Rebecca Ridley Kry Fellow] with his sponsor Jonathan S. Weissman, PhD, at the University of California, San Francisco, California, is developing novel methods to examine the spatial control of gene expression within the cell. During gene expression, mRNAs are translated into proteins at different locations in the cell, which determines cell shape and behavior. Spatially localized mRNA translation influences cell adhesion and migration, both of which are disrupted in cancer—particularly during metastasis.

Hua Lu, PhD [The Jake Wetchler Foundation Fellow for Pediatric Innovation] with his sponsor Peter G. Schultz, PhD, at The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, aims to develop antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) that can specifically recognize and kill acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cancer cells. His goal is to generate highly specific ADCs that will attack tumor cells without having harmful effects on normal cells. This work may identify new clinical candidate drugs with optimized efficacy.

Wan-Jin Lu, PhD [Merck Fellow] with her sponsor Philip A. Beachy, PhD, at Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, is investigating the process of how cells interact with their surrounding microenvironment, specifically in the context of the regenerative response triggered by injury. She aims to better understand the underlying mechanisms of regeneration and how they influence the initiation and growth of malignant tumors.

Maurizio Righini, PhD [Merck Fellow] with his sponsor Carlos Bustamante, PhD, at the University of California, Berkeley, California, aims to characterize the dynamics of protein synthesis (translation). His research will permit a deeper understanding of this process and will provide insight on how it can be controlled. He will build a detailed model of translation, which may suggest new strategies for cancer therapy.

Sumeet Sarin, PhD [Marion Abbe Fellow] with his sponsor Joshua R. Sanes, PhD, at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, is studying how neurons use unique molecules on their cell surface to recognize one another during development. Such recognition is critical in ensuring appropriate spatial patterning and normal organ formation. A hallmark of cancerous cells is the inappropriate reactivation of cell migration, and the disruption of these patterns.

Daniel Schmidt, PhD [Norman B. Leventhal Fellow] with his sponsor Edward S. Boyden, PhD, at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, focuses on the brain cancer glioblastoma multiforme, one of the most malignant, invasive and difficult-to-treat brain tumors. He aims to develop innovative research tools (bioengineered molecules) to investigate the role of critical proteins, ion channels, in glioblastoma growth and metastasis. These findings will lead to a better understanding of how ion channel disorders contribute to cancer development. Ion channels may represent new targets for cancer therapy.

Yoko Shibata, PhD [HHMI Fellow] with her sponsor Richard I. Morimoto, PhD, at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, focuses on specialized protein quality control (QC) mechanisms in the cell, which ensure the proper folding of new proteins and the disposal of mature ones that no longer perform their duties adequately. Protein QC in the cell nucleus likely plays a pivotal role in protecting the integrity of the genome, but very little is known about this pathway.  She aims to identify the network of components that make up the nuclear protein QC system. Cancer cells rely on protein QC pathways to proliferate uncontrollably, and the identification of the QC components may provide new therapeutic targets against cancer.

Deniz Simsek, PhD [Philip O’Bryan Montgomery, Jr., MD Fellow] with her sponsor David P. Toczyski, PhD, at the University of California, San Francisco, California, is studying the role of ubiquitin protein signals in the maintenance of genome integrity. Since components of the ubiquitin system are often highly conserved from yeast to humans, yeast is ideally suited for the study of this complex process using a combination of functional genomics and biochemistry. The insights gained from the proposed studies may identify additional targets to combat cancer.

Cole Trapnell, PhD, with his sponsor John L. Rinn, PhD, at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, studies the role of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in cancer. When tissue is damaged (e.g. by radiation or carcinogens), this class of genes may cause cancer or make it more difficult to treat. Using software and mathematics that he has developed for the analysis of massive-scale sequencing data, he aims to discover which genes are misregulated by lncRNA in tumor cells. This research may lead to the discovery of lncRNAs that could be targeted to halt cancer progression.

Scott J. Valastyan, PhD, with his sponsor Joan S. Brugge, PhD, at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, seeks to uncover novel regulators of breast cancer metastasis. He has devised a novel experimental system that is capable of defining and exploiting the phenotypic heterogeneity and genetic diversity that exists within tumor cell populations. He anticipates that these studies will provide insights that further our comprehension of metastatic progression and suggest novel targets for the diagnosis and/or treatment of human breast cancer.

Alexander Ward, PhD [HHMI Fellow] with his sponsor Liqun Luo, PhD, at Stanford University, Stanford, California, is studying key genetic pathways that may play a role in development of neurons in the Drosophila olfactory system. Many of the genes in these pathways are also involved in cancer. Correct neuronal wiring in this system requires precise targeting of neuronal outgrowths (axons and dendrites); this targeting depends largely on cell-cell interactions mediated by cell surface molecules. The ultimate goal of this research is to identify the upstream cell surface effectors of these pathways, thus providing further insight into cancer signaling.

Hyun Youk, PhD [HHMI Fellow] with his sponsor Wendell A. Lim, PhD, at the University of California, San Francisco, California, aims to use quantitative models and experiments in yeast to unravel the central principles that enable cells to adhere to and communicate with each other in multicellular clusters. He is also investigating general strategies that these cells use to collectively process information and respond to biochemical signals that are present outside the cluster. These studies will lead to a better understanding of how multicellular clusters, such as tumors, develop and are maintained.

####

DAMON RUNYON CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION

To accelerate breakthroughs, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation provides today’s best young scientists with funding to pursue innovative research.  The Foundation has gained worldwide prominence in cancer research by identifying outstanding researchers and physician-scientists.  Eleven scientists supported by the Foundation have received the Nobel Prize, and others are heads of cancer centers and leaders of renowned research programs.  Each of its award programs is extremely competitive, with less than 10% of applications funded.  Since its founding in 1946, the Foundation has invested over $235 million and funded more than 3,250 young scientists.  This year, it will commit approximately $10.5 million in new awards to brilliant young investigators.

100% of all donations to the Foundation are used to support scientific research.  Its administrative and fundraising costs are paid from its Damon Runyon Broadway Tickets Service and endowment.

For more information visit www.damonrunyon.org

CONTACT
Yung S. Lie, PhD
Scientific Director
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
yung.lie@damonrunyon.org 
212.455.0521

Jean Y. Tang, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator '11-'14) of Stanford University, Stanford, and colleagues, reported analysis of data from the Women's Health Initiative.  They found that women with a history of non-melanoma skin cancer, such as basal cell or squamous cell cancers, who took a calcium-vitamin D combination developed 57 percent fewer melanomas than women with similar histories who were not given the supplements.  In the future, researchers plan to further examine the potential relationship between vitamin D and cancer prevention.  The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Click here for more. 

• Pharma/biotech companies join together to fund Accelerating Cancer Cures, a new model of collaboration in cancer research led by the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
• $25 million fund to support 50 clinical investigators over next five years
• Newest clinical investigator award winners announced today

New York, NY (June 21, 2011) – The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation today announced the formation of Accelerating Cancer Cures, a historic collaboration of the biopharmaceutical industry and academia with a strong commitment to achieving key breakthroughs in cancer treatments. A five-year, $25 million program will be established to rebuild the ranks of young clinical investigators by funding and training more than 50 physician-scientists. The project will help advance a translational research model whereby industry and academia work together in a new effort to discover tomorrow’s cancer cures.

“We risk losing tremendous ground in our effort to find cures for cancer if we cannot attract new talent and new ideas to clinical research,” said Lorraine W. Egan, Executive Director, Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation. “Accelerating Cancer Cures will accelerate our mission to identify and fund the best young scientists working on innovative cancer research. It will bring industry and academia together to collaborate on new research. Our best hope for crucial breakthroughs to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer lies with the committed young scientists who will be able to pursue critical research, thanks to this effort.”

Accelerating Cancer Cures is supported by some of the world’s leading biopharmaceutical companies working to find cures for cancer. Charter participants include Eli Lilly and Company, Celgene, Merck, Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, Pfizer, and The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). Although these companies are competitors in the marketplace, they have a shared belief that funding young physician-scientists with a commitment to innovation in cancer research will have a profound impact on the next generation of cancer breakthroughs. Together, they have already pledged over $5 million.

The program builds on the success of the prestigious Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award program, which has made possible some of the most critical breakthroughs in oncology research of the last decade. Yervoy, a newly approved drug featured at the most recent meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), and the first treatment that improves overall survival in melanoma skin cancer patients, resulted from the clinical research of Dr. Jedd Wolchok, a previous Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Awardee. Since 2000, 58 outstanding physician-scientists have received these Damon Runyon awards; all of those scientists remain in clinical cancer research today. At least 17 of these scientists presented their work at ASCO 2011.

Future cancer breakthroughs require more support. Accelerating Cancer Cures will:

• Fund the work of early career physician-scientists to meet the critical shortage of young scientists entering the clinical oncology research field.
• Provide the investigators with access to the expertise of senior oncology executives and leaders in academic cancer research to help translate discoveries into therapeutic treatments.
• Create opportunities for the investigators to collaborate with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and learn about industry science as visiting scientists.
• Foster collaboration between researchers by hosting an annual translational research summit that connects young scientists and leaders from industry and academia.

Newest Clinical Investigator Award Winners Announced

The new funding from Accelerating Cancer Cures will increase the number of Clinical Investigator Awards up to 10 per year. Award selections are made by the Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award Committee, comprised of leading cancer researchers nationwide. The five newest investigators were announced today. Those scientists are:

• Marie Bleakley, MD, PhD, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle.  Dr. Bleakley is working on new approaches to separate the graft versus host leukemia (GVL) effect from graft versus host disease (GVHD) after bone marrow transplantation.
• Ralph J. DeBerardinis, MD, PhD, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas. Dr. DeBerardinis is working to understand the role of metabolism in tumor growth and use those findings to improve cancer treatment.
• Joshua D. Schiffman, MD, University of Utah, Salt Lake City. Dr. Schiffman is working to understand the underlying molecular genetics of pediatric sarcoma.
• Zsofia K. Stadler, MD, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York. Dr. Stadler is working to determine the genetic basis of sporadic cancers in young adults.
• Jean Y. Tang, MD, PhD, Stanford University, Stanford. Dr. Tang is working to characterize mechanisms of drug resistance in treatment of skin cancer.

“Accelerating Cancer Cures is an opportunity to build a new generation of leaders in clinical cancer research that not only produce exceptional science, but can work with industry to bring new treatments to patients,” said John J. Castellani, President and CEO, PhRMA. “At a time of tremendous financial challenge for industry and academia, this novel collaboration demonstrates industry-wide commitment to progress against cancer. It’s a win-win for biomedicine, our economy and millions of patients worldwide.”

“We recognize the importance of partnerships that help accelerate drug discovery and development and improve the outlook of cancer patients worldwide,” said Mikael Dolsten, President, Pfizer Worldwide Research & Development. “We are excited to be collaborating with the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation through the Accelerating Cancer Cures initiative, as engaging and motivating young researchers to pursue clinical cancer research today is critical to achieving tomorrow’s medical breakthroughs."

About Accelerating Cancer Cures

Accelerating Cancer Cures addresses the critical shortage of new clinical researchers working on breakthroughs in cancer treatments and cures. Under the leadership of the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation and with the support of industry and academia, the efforts to help identify breakthrough treatments in the fight against cancer will be accelerated. Accelerating Cancer Cures is supported by some of the world’s leading companies including: Eli Lilly and Company, Celgene, Merck, Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, Pfizer, and The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). For more information, visit www.damonrunyon.org/accelerate.

About the Foundation

To accelerate breakthroughs, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation provides today’s best young scientists with funding to pursue innovative cancer research. The Foundation supports emerging leaders who have great potential to achieve breakthroughs in how we diagnose, treat and prevent cancer. Since its founding in 1946, Damon Runyon has invested over $235 million and funded more than 3,250 early career scientists.

100% of all donations to the Foundation are used to support scientific research. Its administrative and fundraising costs are paid from its Damon Runyon Broadway Tickets Service and endowment.

For more information visit http://www.damonrunyon.org.
 
CONTACT
Todd Brogan
Communications Coordinator
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
todd.brogan@damonrunyon.org
212.455.0552

Bryant Hilton
Media Contact
The Herald Group
bhilton@theheraldgroup.com
202.347.7947

Public release date: 21-Jun-2011

New York, NY, June 21, 2011 — The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation named five new Damon Runyon Clinical Investigators at its spring 2011 Clinical Investigator Award Committee review.  The recipients of this prestigious three-year 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.  Each will receive $450,000 to support the development of his/her cancer research program.

The Foundation also awarded Continuation Grants to four Damon Runyon Clinical Investigators.  Each award will provide an additional two years of funding totaling $300,000.  The Continuation Grant is designed to support Clinical Investigators who are approaching the end of their original awards and need extra time and funding to complete a promising avenue of research or initiate/continue a clinical trial.  This program is possible through the generous support of the William K. Bowes, Jr. Foundation, and Connie and Robert Lurie.

The Clinical Investigator Award program is specifically intended to help address the shortage of physicians capable of translating scientific discovery into new breakthroughs for cancer patients.  In partnerships with industry sponsors and through its new Accelerating Cancer Cures initiative, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has committed more than $38 million to support the careers of 58 physician-scientists across the United States since 2000.

2011 Clinical Investigator Awardees

Marie Bleakley, MD, PhD [Richard Lumsden Foundation Investigator]
Bone marrow transplantation, or allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT), is the only curative therapy for many patients with leukemia.  Certain immune cells, called T cells, contained in the donor HCT graft can cause a “graft versus leukemia” (GVL) effect which eliminates leukemic cells.  Unfortunately, there are also donor T cells in the HCT graft that can cause a condition called “graft versus host disease” (GVHD).  GVHD is a life-threatening immune response that remains the major barrier to the success of transplantation. 

Dr. Bleakley focuses on developing new approaches to separate the beneficial GVL effect from detrimental GVHD after bone marrow transplantation.  Her goal is to identify specific subsets of immune cells that promote GVHD; these cells can then be eliminated to reduce the frequency or severity of GVHD, while at the same time maintaining and improving the GVL effect.  In addition, she aims to discover novel leukemia-associated proteins that could be potential targets for therapeutics.  

Dr. Bleakley works under the mentorship of Stanley R. Riddell, MD, at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington.

Ralph J. DeBerardinis, MD, PhD
Cancer cells use specific metabolic pathways to fuel their growth into tumors.  A great deal of work has already defined some of these pathways that allow cancer cells to grow in the laboratory, but very little is known about which pathways drive the growth of actual tumors in cancer patients. 

Dr. DeBerardinis aims to understand the role of metabolism in tumor growth and to use these findings to improve treatment of cancer.  He plans to use novel, highly sensitive methods to study metabolic activity in vivo in primary human glioma brain tumors, and to image these activities in growing tumors.  This approach should also be applicable to other cancer types and will be important for disease imaging and therapy.

Dr. DeBerardinis works under the mentorship of Helen H. Hobbs, MD, at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas.

Joshua D. Schiffman, MD
Ewing’s sarcoma is the second most common bone tumor in children and adolescents.  Patients have a poor prognosis, yet the causes of the disease are not understood.  Certain genetic changes have been linked to Ewing’s sarcoma: a specific translocation (joining of two different chromosome parts) and microsatellites (series of repeating DNA sequences).  Another reported observation is increased development of hernias in patients with this disease. 

Dr. Schiffman, a pediatric oncologist, is interested in understanding the underlying molecular genetics of Ewing’s sarcoma.  He will take a genetic epidemiologic approach to studying the disease, by examining the genes of parent-child trios: patients with Ewing’s sarcoma and their parents.  He will examine inheritance of DNA microsatellites and genetic changes associated with hernia development.  This study will identify novel genetic risk factors for Ewing’s sarcoma, which can be used for future preventative and therapeutic strategies. 

Dr. Schiffman works under the mentorship of Stephen L. Lessnick, MD, PhD, at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Zsofia K. Stadler, MD
Heritable factors are an important determinant of cancer risk.  At present, a large portion of the genetic basis of cancer predisposition remains unexplained. 

Dr. Stadler is a clinical geneticist whose research goal is to determine the genetic basis of “sporadic” cancers in young adults.  She will be testing the hypothesis that de novo (spontaneous) chromosomal changes in the genome are associated with testicular germline cancer.  High-resolution sequencing technology will be used to compare the whole genomes of patients to those of their parents, with the goal of identifying rare genetic variants associated with cancer susceptibility.  This approach represents a new paradigm in cancer genetics, which could have broad applications in terms of cancer risk stratification and cancer prevention.

Dr. Stadler works under the mentorship of Kenneth Offit, MD, MPH, and Michael H. Wigler, PhD, at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York.

Jean Y. Tang, MD, PhD
Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common type of skin cancer.  Mutations in the Hedgehog (HH) signaling pathway are frequently found in these cancers.  Early-stage clinical studies of a HH pathway inhibitor drug have been successful, with 55% of patients reported to respond.  However, most tumors change during the course of therapy and drug resistance eventually develops. 

Dr. Tang, a dermatologist, will characterize mechanisms of drug resistance and identify new drug combinations that are effective in treatment of BCC.  The ultimate goal of her research is to prevent or delay drug resistance.  Her studies have the potential to benefit patients with BCC as well as those with other HH-dependent cancers, such as medulloblastoma.  

Dr. Tang works under the mentorship of Philip A. Beachy, PhD, and Ervin H. Epstein, MD, at Stanford University, Stanford, California. 

2011 Clinical Investigator Continuation Grants

Andrew T. Chan, MD, MPH
Dr. Chan is developing molecular “smart” probes and novel imaging techniques for earlier and improved detection of colorectal cancer.  The Continuation Grant will be used to complete a clinical trial testing an innovative high-definition non-fiberoptic imaging system for both colonoscopy and upper endoscopy.  This work also has the potential to accelerate the discovery and development process for therapeutic and chemopreventative agents in colorectal cancer.

Dr. Chan works under the mentorship of Charles S. Fuchs, MD, MPH, and Ralph Weissleder, MD, PhD, at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.

Rachael A. Clark, MD, PhD
Dr. Clark has made important findings on the role of immune T cells in skin cancers, particularly squamous cell carcinomas and cutaneous T cell lymphoma.  The Continuation Grant will allow her to expand her research to Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), a highly malignant skin cancer associated with a novel polyoma virus.  She plans to characterize T cells present in MCC.  The goal is to use this information to better identify patients at risk for this cancer and to develop novel effective tumor vaccines. 

Dr. Clark works under the mentorship of Thomas S. Kupper, MD, at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. 

Vassiliki Karantza, MD, PhD
Dr. Karantza is examining the role of autophagy in tumor cell survival and responsiveness to chemotherapy.  Autophagy is a process of “cellular self-digestion” that is used by both normal cells and tumor cells as a survival mechanism in times of metabolic stress, such as nutrient and oxygen deprivation.  She will use the Continuation Grant to pursue novel studies examining the role of autophagy in pregnancy-associated breast cancer.  She also plans to conduct a clinical trial combining autophagy inhibition with other existing therapies for treatment of certain types of pancreatic cancer, for which there is a need for more effective treatment options. 
Dr. Karantza works under the mentorship of Robert S. DiPaola, MD, at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, New Jersey. 

Elahe A. Mostaghel, MD, PhD [Genentech Investigator]
Dr. Mostaghel is defining key mechanisms underlying resistance of prostate cancer to hormone treatment.  Suppression of the hormone testosterone is currently the most effective treatment for advanced prostate cancer; however, tumors frequently develop resistance to this therapy.  The Continuation Grant will enable her to continue developing novel treatments for prostate cancer that can be rapidly moved into the clinic.

Dr. Mostaghel works under the mentorship of Peter S. Nelson, MD, at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington.

###

DAMON RUNYON CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION

To accelerate breakthroughs, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation provides today’s best young scientists with funding to pursue innovative research.  The Foundation has gained worldwide prominence in cancer research by identifying outstanding researchers and physician-scientists.  Eleven scientists supported by the Foundation have received the Nobel Prize, and others are heads of cancer centers and leaders of renowned research programs.  Each of its award programs is extremely competitive, with less than 10% of applications funded.  Since its founding in 1946, the Foundation has invested over $235 million and funded more than 3,250 young scientists.  This year, it will commit approximately $10.5 million in new awards to brilliant young investigators.

100% of all donations to the Foundation are used to support scientific research.  Its administrative and fundraising costs are paid from its Damon Runyon Broadway Tickets Service and endowment.

For more information visit www.damonrunyon.org 
 
CONTACT
Yung S. Lie, PhD
Scientific Director
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
yung.lie@damonrunyon.org
212.455.0521

Amanda Paulovich, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '02-'03), Peter S. Nelson, MD (Damon Runyon Scholar '02-'04, Clinical Investigator Mentor), and colleagues at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, used a highly sensitive and targeted analytical technology, selected reaction monitoring mass spectrometry, to test candidate protein biomarkers.  This technology allows highly specific and sensitive measurement of many proteins from a small drop of blood.  The researchers identified those proteins that were elevated in the blood of mice with breast cancer as compared to healthy mice.  A subset of these proteins were found to be elevated before tumors could be seen, suggesting that they could be used for early detection of the cancer.  The goal is to apply this strategy to determine the most promising protein biomarkers associated with early breast cancer development in humans.  The study was published in the journal Nature Biotechnology.

Click here for more. 

Nathanael S. Gray, PhD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator '08-'10), Matthew Meyerson, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '95-'98) and colleagues at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, reported that the gene FGFR1 is amplified in 21% of squamous cell lung cancers.  In cell lines, inhibition of FGFR blocked cell growth.  These findings suggest that FGFR may be a promising therapeutic target for these lung cancers.  The report was published in the journal PLoS ONE.

Click here for more. 

On August 7, 2011, thousands of avid runners, baseball fans, cancer survivors, and supporters of cancer research took part in the third annual Damon Runyon 5K at Yankee Stadium, the only charitable run/walk that uses the legendary ballpark as its course. Former New York Yankees left fielder Roy White kicked off the 5K along with special guests Michael Gargiulo, co-anchor of NBC4’s “Today in New York,” Alan Leventhal, Chairman of the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, and Thomas Werner, Chairman of the Boston Red Sox. The event sold out with 4,000 participants raising more than $640,000 for cancer research.

To be among the first to know when the 2012 event date is confirmed and when online registration will open, please sign up for our Runyon 5K Email Alert. 

For more information, please email runyon5k@damonrunyon.org or call 212.455.0501.

> Read the full press release on the 2011 Runyon 5K

> See photos from the 2011 Runyon 5K

> See videos from the 2011 Runyon 5K

New York, NY (June 1, 2011) — On Wednesday morning, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation held its Annual Breakfast at the Metropolitan Club, raising $1.16 million to support the most brilliant young minds in cancer research. Opening remarks were delivered by Alan M. Leventhal, the Foundation's Chairman of the Board, and Lorraine W. Egan, its Executive Director.  The morning's program featured a panel discussion with Memorial Sloan-Kettering President Craig B. Thompson, MD, Elaine V. Fuchs, PhD, of The Rockefeller University, and Ken Cadwell, PhD, one of the first recipients of the Dale F. Frey Award for Breakthrough Scientists.
	The panelists agreed that cancer research is at a "tipping point" in finding radical new approaches to curing cancer, and that Damon Runyon scientists are at the forefront of this effort. "Damon Runyon's young scientists become passionate about curing cancer," noted Dr. Fuchs, a former Damon Runyon Fellow and National Medal of Science recipient.  "That's what makes them so special.  Damon Runyon has made the difference, and we're now reaping the benefits."
Board member David M. Beirne also introduced the Cancer Breakthrough Fund, which aims to raise $50 million to fund 100 of the top young cancer researchers as rapidly as possible.  Its goal is to invest in the most innovative young scientists capable of novel discoveries that will accelerate the pace of therapeutic innovation. The breakfast honored Norman B. Leventhal for his visionary civic leadership as the founder of The Beacon Companies and one of Boston's leading philanthropists.
A strong supporter of Damon Runyon, he has been committed to higher education and the pursuit of scientific knowledge for more than half a century. Mr. Leventhal was introduced by friend and former Foundation Chairman Dale F. Frey.  "A while back," Frey said, "Tom Brokaw wrote a book about the 'Greatest Generation.'  Today we honor someone who is certainly one of that generation's brightest stars."  Mr. Frey also informed the crowd that Damon Runyon researcher Daniel Schmidt, PhD, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, would be named the Norman B. Leventhal Fellow.   The breakfast's 250 guests included some of New York's and Boston's leading philanthropists. > View photos from the event.

To accelerate breakthroughs, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation provides today's best young scientists with funding to pursue innovative research. The Foundation has gained worldwide prominence in cancer research by identifying outstanding researchers and physician-scientists. Eleven scientists supported by the Foundation have received the Nobel Prize, seven others have received National Medals of Science, and 61 have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences. The Foundation currently is funding more than 100 scientists at leading medical centers and research institutions.  Since its founding in 1946, Damon Runyon has invested more than $235 million and funded more than 3,250 young scientists.  This year, it will commit approximately $10.6 million in new awards to brilliant young investigators.

100% of all donations to the Foundation are used to support cutting-edge scientific research. Its administrative and fundraising costs are paid from its Damon Runyon Broadway Tickets and endowment. For more information visit www.damonrunyon.org.

CONTACT
Todd Brogan
Communications Coordinator
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
212.455.0552
todd.brogan@damonrunyon.org

New York’s leading business people and philanthropists come together each year for a morning call to raise funds in support of innovative cancer research.

Held at a premier New York City location, our Annual Breakfast is an entertaining cancer fundraising event that gives guests the chance to learn about the important work of our scientists and network with well known New Yorkers – all before the work day starts. 

Annual Breakfast 2011

Our 2011 Annual Breakfast honoring Norman B. Leventhal, Founder, The Beacon Companies, was held on June 1st at The Metropolitan Club in New York City. The event raised $1.16 million to fund cancer research and was attended by 250 guests, including leaders of science, academia and industry.  The event featured a panel discussion with Elaine V. Fuchs, PhD, Professor, The Rockefeller University and Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Craig B. Thompson, MD, President and CEO, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Kenneth H. Cadwell, PhD, Assistant Professor, New York University School of Medicine and one of the first recipients of the Dale F. Frey Award for Breakthrough Scientists.  The panel discussed current breakthroughs and the importance of funding innovative cancer research.  
    
> See photos of the Annual Breakfast in support of cancer research

> Read the complete media release

William C. Hahn, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '98-'99), Serena J. Silver, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '05-'06), Kornelia Polyak, MD, PhD (Clinical Investigator Award Committee Member), and colleagues at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, reported new findings about stem cells in triple-negative breast cancers, which tend to be aggressive and highly resistant to current therapies.  The researchers discovered that these cells have elevated activity of genes in the Jak2/Stat3 pathway.  Blocking this pathway halted tumor growth in a mouse model of triple-negative breast cancer.   These findings may lead to more specific and effective breast cancer therapies.  The report was published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Click here for more. 

Election to the National Academy of Sciences is one of the highest honors that can be earned by a U.S. scientist.  In recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original biomedical research, 13 members of the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation circle were inducted this May:

DAMON RUNYON FELLOWS
Alexander D. Johnson, PhD (Fellow '81-'83 and Former Sponsor), Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco
Luis F. Parada, PhD (Fellow '85-'86 and Fellowship Award Committee '99-'03), Professor and Diana K. and Richard C. Strauss Distinguished Chair in Developmental Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas

DAMON RUNYON COMMITTEE MEMBERS
David P. Bartel, PhD (Current Fellowship Award Committee), HHMI Investigator, Professor of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
Daniel E. Gottschling, PhD (Current Fellowship Award Committee), Member, Basic Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle
Michel C. Nussenzweig, PhD (Fellowship Award Committee '00-'02), HHMI Investigator, Sherman Fairchild Professor and Senior Physician, Department of Molecular Immunology, The Rockefeller University, New York

DAMON RUNYON FELLOWSHIP SPONSORS and CLINICAL INVESTIGATOR MENTORS
George M. Church, PhD, Director, Lipper Center for Computational Genetics, and Professor of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston
R. Scott Hawley, PhD, Investigator, Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City
Steven E. Jacobsen, PhD, HHMI investigator, Professor, Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles
James L. Manley, PhD, Julian Clarence Levi Professor of Life Sciences, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York
J. Andrew McCammon, PhD, HHMI Investigator, Joseph E. Mayer Chair of Theoretical Chemistry, Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Department of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla
Susan K. McConnell, PhD, Susan B. Ford Professor, Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford
Ira S. Mellman, PhD, Vice President of Research Oncology, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco
X. Sunney Xie, PhD, Mallinckrodt Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge

Click here for more. 

New York, NY (May 3, 2011) — Thousands of avid runners, passionate baseball fans, cancer survivors, and supporters from across the country will descend on Yankee Stadium on August 7, and it won't be to see the Bronx Bombers play the Red Sox.  Instead, they will be supporting the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, which opened registration today for its annual Runyon 5K at Yankee Stadium.

The only charitable run/walk that uses the legendary ballpark as its course, the 5K will take place on Sunday, August 7, 2011.  The event is on track to reach a three-year total of $1 million raised to fund groundbreaking cancer research by the nation's most innovative young scientists.

Registration for individuals and teams opened today at www.damonrunyon.org/yankeestadium and is limited to the first 4,000 registrants. For a $40 registration fee and a minimum fundraising requirement of $60, participants can run or walk the Stadium’s concourses, climb stairs between levels, appear on the video board, and follow in the footsteps of their favorite players by taking their own victory laps on the warning track that circles the field. After July 7, the registration fee will increase to $50. Family members and supporters will have the opportunity to view the event from the Delta SKY360° Suite overlooking home plate.

100% of all funds raised by participants will go directly to top cancer researchers, some of whom will be on hand to answer questions about their cancer research. “You can’t win the World Series without the best team, and we can’t strike out cancer without supporting the most brilliant minds of our time,” said Lorraine W. Egan, Executive Director of the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation. “This is a great opportunity for fans to enjoy the Stadium, and – most importantly – for every participant to make a real impact on cancer."

The Foundation, established in 1946 and based in New York City, has a long history with the Yankees. Joe DiMaggio was on its Board of Directors, and Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle were active fundraisers. Damon Runyon himself was a New York writer who began his career as a baseball journalist, revolutionizing how the game was reported and often covering Yankees games.

Last year’s event raised more than $400,000 and drew a capacity crowd of 4,000 participants, from ages 5-75 and from 29 states. Click to see videos and photos of the 2010 Runyon 5K.

In addition to the New York Yankees’ support, other event sponsors include the MetLife Foundation, 24 Hour Fitness, the New York Daily News, SiriusXM Radio, and WNBC 4 New York.

The Foundation was created in 1946 in memory of Damon Runyon, a New York writer who began his career as a baseball journalist and revolutionized coverage of the game. Of the more than 3,250 scientists funded since, 11 are Nobel Laureates and many lead cancer centers nationwide.

CONTACT
Kim Kubert
Director of Special Events
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
212.455.0501
kim.kubert@damonrunyon.org

Doug Drotman
Drotman Communications
631.462.1198
doug@drotmanpr.com

Hong Wu, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '92-'95, Former Fellowship Sponsor) and colleagues at the University of California Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, discovered that the experimental drug NVP-BEZ235 inhibits ovarian cancer cell growth and prolongs survival in an ovarian cancer mouse model.  The drug blocks two critical cancer cell signaling pathways, PI3K and mTOR.  The researchers are currently assessing safety and tolerability of the drug in humans and hope to initiate a clinical trial for women with ovarian cancer.  The study was published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research. 

Click here for more. 

Monte Winslow, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '06-'09), Matthew Meyerson, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '95-'98, former Fellowship Sponsor), Tyler Jacks, PhD (Former Fellowship Award Committee Member and Fellowship Sponsor) and colleagues at MIT, Cambridge, identified the important role of a gene called NKX2-1 in metastasis of lung adenocarcinoma.  In animal studies, the researchers linked reduced activity of the gene to enhanced tumor seeding activity and metastasis.  They also found that reduced gene function is associated with higher death rates for lung-cancer patients.  The study was published in the prestigious journal Nature.  

Click here for more. 

John V. Heymach, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon-Lilly Clinical Investigator  '04-'09), Waun Ki Hong, MD (Former Clinical Investigator Committee Member and Mentor), and colleagues at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, reported the identification of two sets of genes that predict response to Tarceva/erlotinib, a targeted therapy used for treatment of certain non-small cell lung cancers.  These gene “signatures” were based on the results of the BATTLE clinical trial and will have broad significance, as they will allow physicians to better determine effective treatment regimens for patients.  The findings were reported at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting in Orlando.  

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The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) has recognized leading cancer researchers whose work has significantly contributed to progress in the fight against cancer.  Among those honored are 5 Damon Runyon scientists:

Nathanael S. Gray, PhD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator '08-'10) of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston: 31st Annual AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cancer Research
Philip C. Hanawalt, PhD (Former Fellowship Sponsor) of Stanford University, Stanford: Fifth Annual AACR Princess Takamatsu Memorial Lectureship
Guillermina Lozano, PhD (Former Fellowship Award Committee Member) of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston: Sixth Annual AACR-Minorities in Cancer Research Jane Cooke Wright Lectureship
Carol L. Prives, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '68) of Columbia University, New York: 14th Annual AACR-Women in Cancer Research Charlotte Friend Memorial Lectureship
Gregory L. Verdine, PhD (Former Fellowship Award Committee Member) of Harvard University, Cambridge: 5th Annual AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Chemistry in Cancer Research

Click here for more. 

Robert H. Vonderheide, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon-Lilly Clinical Investigator '00-'05) and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, reported the success of an experimental antibody that activates the immune protein CD40 and targets pancreatic cancer.  In a preliminary study, on average, patients with advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma who were treated with the CD40 antibody survived longer and experienced temporary tumor regression.  By studying mice, the researchers determined that this effect was caused by the activation of immune cells, called macrophages, that destroyed the environment surrounding the tumor and attacked the cancer cells.  This discovery may lead to a promising new treatment for pancreatic cancer.   The report was published in the prestigious journal Science.   

Click here for more. 

Adrian P. Bird, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '71-'73) of the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh has been named one of five recipients of the 2011 Canada Gairdner International Award.  This highly prestigious award recognizes individuals who have made significant tangible achievements in the field of medical science.  Dr. Bird is honored "for pioneering discoveries on DNA methylation and its role in gene expression."  His work has had an important impact on the understanding of Rett Syndrome and is likely to also result in insights for cancer and other human diseases.   

Click here for more. 

A team of scientists including Rafael Fonseca, MD (Damon Runyon-Lilly Clinical Investigator '00-'05), William C. Hahn, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '98-'99), Matthew Meyerson, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '95-'98) and Todd R. Golub, MD (Innovation Award Committee Member, Board Member) reported the first-ever sequencing of genomes from 38 patient samples of multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer.  The study revealed new and unexpected genetic mutations affecting certain pathways, such as NF-κB signaling and the kinase BRAF, as well as mutations in genes regulating RNA processing, protein folding, and blood coagulation.  These findings give further insight into the disease.  Identification of the link between BRAF and multiple myeloma will likely lead to clinical studies evaluating existing targeted drugs (BRAF inhibitors) for treatment of myeloma.  The study was published in the scientific journal Nature.    

Click here for more. 

Craig J. Ceol, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '05-'07) of University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, and colleagues, reported the identification of the gene SETDB1 which is capable of accelerating melanoma formation in zebrafish.  SETDB1 cooperates with BRAF(V600E), the most common mutation in human melanoma; the SETDB1 gene encodes a histone modifying enzyme often upregulated in those tumors.  This finding supports the model that disruption of histone modification promotes cancer.  SETDB1 may also be a promising drug target.  This study was published in and is featured on the cover of the prestigious journal Nature.

Click here and here for more. 

Elaine V. Fuchs, PhD (Damon Runyon Board Member, Damon Runyon Fellow '77-'79) of The Rockefeller University, New York, and James A. Thomson, VMD, PhD (Current Fellowship Sponsor) of the Morgridge Institute for Research at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, have been named recipients of the 11th annual Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research.  They are honored for their pioneering work in the field of stem cell biology.  Stem cells have the potential to someday be used to treat or reverse diseases and conditions such as cancer, diabetes, Parkinson's disease and spinal cord injury. 

Click here and here for more. 

President Obama appointed William R. Sellers, MD (Board Member, Damon Runyon-Lilly Clinical Investigator '01-'05) to the National Cancer Advisory Board.  The board is charged with advising the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Director of the National Cancer Institute.

Click here for more. 

Tobias J.E. Carling, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon-Doris Duke Clinical Investigator '10-'13) and colleagues at Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, identified novel genetic mutations that can give rise to tumors of the hormone-producing adrenal gland (aldosterone-producing adrenal adenoma) and severe hypertension (high blood pressure).  By sequencing the genes from these tumors and comparing them to normal DNA, the researchers identified mutations in a potassium channel gene, KCNJ5.  In addition to causing these tumors, they also found that inherited mutations in KCNJ5 cause a rare familial form of severe hypertension.  These findings were published in the journal Science.

Click here for more. 

A team of researchers including David E. Lebwohl, MD (Damon Runyon Fellow '86-'87), Novartis Oncology, Florham Park, New Jersey, reported the results of a Phase 3 trial demonstrating the efficacy of Everolimus/Afinitor in patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer.  The median progression-free survival was 11.0 months with everolimus as compared with 4.6 months with placebo, with limited side effects.  As these patients have few treatment options, this finding is likely to be rapidly applied in the clinic.  The targeted drug blocks a protein called mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), which stimulates cell proliferation and tumor angiogenesis. This study was published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Click here for more. 

Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Awards $2.25M to Five Innovative Young Scientists

New York, NY (February 2, 2011) – The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation announced that five scientists with novel approaches to fighting cancer have been named 2011 recipients of the Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award.  The grant of $450,000 over three years is awarded each year to early career scientists whose projects have the potential to significantly impact the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. 

The 2011 Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovators are:

Alexei A. Aravin, PhD
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California

About one half of the human genome is occupied by sequences of DNA called transposable elements that can move within the genome, damaging normal genes and causing mutations or chromosomal rearrangements.  Often referred to as “junk DNA,” several lines of research highlight the importance of transposable elements in cancer development.

Dr. Aravin’s goal is to comprehensively investigate the role that transposable elements play in cancer.  He will study how transposable elements mobilize, their effect on gene regulation, and how they contribute to cancer initiation and growth.  His research will provide a better understanding of tumorigenesis and may form the basis for new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for cancer.

James E. Bradner, MD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts

The ability to undergo cell division is encoded in the genomes of all human cells.  This process requires a symphony of growth genes to be turned on, and then silenced when cell division is no longer needed.  The activation of the growth program in healthy cells is conducted by a small number of master regulatory genes called transcription factors.  In contrast, abnormal unrestricted cell growth is encoded in the genomes of all cancer cells.  This uncontrolled growth is attributable to acquired mutations in the genome, which result in hyperactivity of the master regulators.  Many people in the field of cancer research regard these master regulators as the most desirable targets for drug discovery.  Unfortunately, developing drugs against these proteins has proven to be technically difficult.

Dr. Bradner is using new chemical approaches to develop small molecule drugs directed at the master regulators of cancer cell growth.  The primary focus of his efforts is a master regulator called Myc.  Abnormal activation of Myc is one of the most common events in all human cancers.  By targeting Myc in cancer cells, he hopes to discover new, prototype drugs that can be used as more effective targeted anti-cancer agents. 

Joshua E. Elias, PhD
Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California

A great deal of cancer research focuses on investigating the methods by which tumors cope with damage to their DNA.  Less is known about the ways cancer cells deal with damage to any of the thousands of proteins necessary for cell survival.  Cancerous cells often occupy environments that subject them to numerous stresses, including oxygen and nutrient depletion, which can lead to protein damage or misfolding.  To survive and proliferate in these conditions, cancer cells use specific protective mechanisms to destroy or restore damaged proteins; in contrast, normal cells would die in such surroundings. 

Cancer cells may, for example, activate degradation pathways to do away with dysfunctional proteins.  Dr. Elias proposes that cancer cells may also promote long-term survival by dividing asymmetrically, thus producing one daughter cell free of damaged proteins.  To test these ideas, he will measure the lifetimes of damaged proteins, model the processes cancer cells use to dispose of proteins, and investigate the ways by which these methods contribute to tumor formation.  By understanding the mechanisms cancer cells depend on to escape death and promote growth, he hopes to discover new treatments and diagnostics, as well as ways to better target existing therapeutics to individual patients’ cancers.

Benjamin P. Tu, PhD
UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas

Despite decades of research, how cell growth and proliferation are coordinated with the metabolism in a cell has remained a critical unresolved question.  Understanding these specific mechanisms would address the long-standing question of how cells assess their metabolic and nutritional state to decide when to proliferate.

Dr. Tu has discovered a key mechanism by which carbon sources, such as glucose, signal cells to grow and divide; these studies were conducted in the model organism, baker's yeast.   His goal is to investigate these mechanisms in mammalian cells and determine whether such mechanisms can be exploited to selectively kill rapidly proliferating cancer cells.  He also aims to explore whether novel, unconventional metabolic strategies might be highly effective for the treatment of a variety of cancers.

Matthew G. Vander Heiden, MD, PhD
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Nutrient metabolism in cancer cells is different from that in most normal cells.  This metabolic difference has not yet been exploited for therapy. 

Dr. Vander Heiden aims to rigorously define how altered cell metabolism contributes to cancer cell proliferation; he seeks to elucidate exactly how nutrients are used by cancer cells.  This approach will lead to a better understanding of how specific metabolic pathways are used to help cancer cells grow, and holds the key to targeting metabolism for better cancer treatments.

Funding Daring Research

The Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award funds cancer research by exceptionally creative thinkers with “high-risk/high-reward” ideas who lack sufficient preliminary data to obtain traditional funding.  The awardees are selected through a highly competitive and rigorous process by a scientific committee comprised of leading cancer researchers who are innovators themselves.  At the final stage of selection, candidates are screened by an in-person interview with committee members.  Only those scientists with a strong vision and passion for curing cancer are selected to receive the prestigious award. 

This program is possible through the generous support of Andy and Debbie Rachleff and the Island Outreach Foundation.

Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation

To accelerate breakthroughs, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation provides today’s best young scientists with funding to pursue innovative research. The Foundation has gained worldwide prominence in cancer research by identifying outstanding researchers and physician-scientists. Eleven scientists supported by the Foundation have received the Nobel Prize, and others are heads of cancer centers and leaders of renowned research programs. Each of its award programs is extremely competitive, with less than 10% of applications funded. Since its founding in 1946, the Foundation has invested over $235 million and funded more than 3,250 scientists. This year, it will invest approximately $10 million in the most outstanding young investigators in the nation.

100% of all donations to the Foundation are used to support scientific research. Its administrative and fundraising costs are paid from its Damon Runyon Broadway Tickets Service and endowment.

For more information visit http://www.damonrunyon.org
 
CONTACT
Yung S. Lie, PhD
Scientific Director
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
yung.lie@damonrunyon.org
212.455.0521

Hai Yan, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Scholar'05-'07) of Duke University Medical Center, Durham, and colleagues, reported that levels of specific metabolites (products of metabolism) were altered by up to 50-fold in brain tumor cells containing mutations in the genes IDH1 and IDH2.  Previous studies had identified these genetic mutations in brain tumors; this research links IDH gene mutation to changes in cancer cell metabolism.  These findings suggest that IDH mutation could act as a biomarker for diagnosis and could also lead to new improved types of cancer therapeutics.  The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Click here for more. 

L. Stirling Churchman, PhD (Dale F. Frey Scientist '11, Merck Fellow '08-'11) of the University of California, San Francisco, developed a new technique that allows the process of transcription (how the cell makes RNA from the DNA template) to be studied in living cells at high resolution.  Using this technology, researchers will now be able to watch transcription as it is happening, leading to important insights into how genes are turned on and off.  This is likely to have implications for the understanding of normal development as well as of cancer and other diseases.  The study was published in the prestigious journal Nature.

Click here for more. 

Grants totaling $1.7M give early career investigators independence to pursue novel ideas

New York, NY (January 5, 2011) – The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on supporting innovative early career researchers, named 11 new Damon Runyon Fellows at its fall Fellowship Award Committee review.  The recipients of this prestigious, three-year award are outstanding postdoctoral scientists conducting basic and translational cancer research in the laboratories of leading senior investigators across the country. The Fellowship encourages the nation's most promising young scientists to pursue careers in cancer research by providing them with independent funding ($156,000 each) to work on innovative projects.

November 2010 Damon Runyon Fellows:

Maria Genander, PhD [Dale F. and Betty Ann Frey Fellow] with her sponsor Elaine V. Fuchs, PhD, at The Rockefeller University, New York, New York, is studying how hair follicle stem cell quiescence, or dormancy, is maintained. She aims to identify genes that are turned on or off in response to bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs). This will provide insights into how BMP receptor mutations lead to development of skin cancer.

Yumi Kim, PhD [HHMI Fellow] with her sponsor Abby F. Dernburg, PhD, at the University of California, Berkeley, California, is investigating how sexually reproducing organisms faithfully transmit their genetic information from parent to progeny through a specialized cell division called meiosis. Understanding the mechanisms that ensure accurate chromosome segregation during a cell division is imperative to designing effective cancer therapeutics.

Ying Lu, PhD, with his sponsor Marc W. Kirschner, PhD, at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, is designing a novel technique to study cellular reactions called ubiquitination and deubiquitination, which are essential for normal biological processes and are often mutated in cancer. He will examine single molecules in cell extracts, with the goal of gaining insights into the role of these reactions in cancer development and growth.

Raymond E. Moellering, PhD [HHMI Fellow] with his sponsor Benjamin F. Cravatt, PhD, at The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, is investigating whether cancer cells use small molecule signaling, known as quorum-sensing, to communicate and thus control tumor initiation, growth and metastasis. Such mechanisms are well characterized in other complex cellular populations, such as bacteria, but none have been discovered yet in human cancer. Understanding this form of cancer cell communication will provide insights into many aspects of tumor progression and may identify new opportunities for therapeutic intervention.

Erin A. Osborne, PhD [HHMI Fellow] with her sponsor Jason D. Lieb, PhD, at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, is examining asymmetric cell division, a process that when disrupted has been linked to cancer occurrence and progression. By combining deep sequencing technology with single-cell dissection, she hopes to fully characterize unequal RNA transcript partitioning that occurs during asymmetric cell division and to identify cellular components important for cancer occurrence, prevention and therapy.

James P. Scott-Browne, PhD, with his sponsor Anjana Rao, PhD, at La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, California, is studying a recently identified modification of DNA, called 5-hydroxymethylcytosine, to understand how it controls expression of different genes and influences the development of immune cells. As this DNA modification is mutated in certain leukemias, his research may lead to new understanding of these cancers. 

Joshua J. Sims, PhD, with his sponsor Peter K. Sorger, PhD, at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, is using biochemistry and mathematical modeling to study the molecular mechanisms by which cells commit to programmed cell death. Tumor cells acquire changes that allow them to evade this fate, a property that is critical for disease progression and often underlies resistance to treatment.  

Rita L. Strack, PhD [Lallage Feazel Wall Fellow] with her sponsor Rachel D. Green, PhD, at The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, is studying how cells ensure quality control during protein synthesis. The quality control process, called nonsense-mediated decay, is essential for cells to function properly; synthesizing defective proteins can lead to many types of cancer. This process may be a novel target for cancer diagnosis or therapeutics. 

Nathan D. Thomsen, PhD [Suzanne and Bob Wright Fellow] with his sponsor James A. Wells, PhD, at the University of California, San Francisco, California, is studying the mechanism by which a newly discovered class of small molecules can activate enzymes known as caspases and induce programmed cell death (apoptosis) in cancer cells.  Disruption of apoptosis is a defining feature of many cancers.  Understanding the mechanism of small molecule-induced caspase activation may thus directly contribute to the rational design of improved cancer therapies.

Qiong Yang, PhD [HHMI Fellow] with her sponsor James E. Ferrell, MD, PhD, at Stanford University, Stanford, California, is developing theoretical models and quantitative experiments to capture the fundamental principles that govern the robust oscillations in early embryonic cell cycles. These principles may reveal a better understanding of cancer development and new possibilities for therapeutic intervention.

Jihye Yun, PhD, with her sponsor James A. Thomson, VMD, PhD, at Morgridge Institute for Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, is studying the transcription factors that can generate transplantable blood-forming stem cells from embryonic stem cells. Her research will aid the development of practical protocols for the treatment of blood cell cancers, such as leukemia and lymphoma.

####

DAMON RUNYON CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION

To accelerate breakthroughs, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation provides today’s best young scientists with funding to pursue innovative research. The Foundation has gained worldwide prominence in cancer research by identifying outstanding researchers and physician-scientists. Eleven scientists supported by the Foundation have received the Nobel Prize, and others are heads of cancer centers and leaders of renowned research programs. Each of its award programs is extremely competitive, with less than 10% of applications funded. Since its founding in 1946, the Foundation has invested over $230 million and funded more than 3,250 scientists. This year, it will invest approximately $10 million in the most outstanding young investigators in the nation.

100% of all donations to the Foundation are used to support scientific research. Its administrative and fundraising costs are paid from its Damon Runyon Broadway Tickets Service and endowment.

For more information visit www.damonrunyon.org

CONTACT
Yung S. Lie, PhD
Scientific Director
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
yung.lie@damonrunyon.org
212.455.0521

Public release date: 20-Dec-2010

New York, NY (December 20, 2010) — The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on supporting innovative early career researchers, named the first recipients of the Dale F. Frey Award for Breakthrough Scientists.  This new award provides additional funding to scientists completing a prestigious Damon Runyon Fellowship Award who have greatly exceeded the Foundation’s highest expectations and are most likely to make paradigm-shifting breakthroughs that transform the way we prevent, diagnose and treat cancer.

Recipients of the Frey Award were selected by leaders in biomedical research based on the following criteria: exceptional productivity and significant accomplishments during the Damon Runyon Fellowship; potential of the scientist to become a leader in the field of cancer research; potential of the research to impact the prevention, diagnosis or treatment of one or more forms of cancer.  They will each receive $100,000 to be used toward their research.

The Dale F. Frey Award for Breakthrough Scientists is named for the Foundation’s retiring Chairman, in recognition of his 16 years of visionary leadership and role in transforming Damon Runyon into the premier charity funding today’s best young cancer researchers.
 

Recipients of the Dale F. Frey Award:

Ken Cadwell, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow at Washington University in Saint Louis ‘08-‘10)

Dr. Cadwell studies the link between inflammation and diseases such as cancer and Crohn’s disease.  He has discovered a new phenomenon whereby intestinal disease, in mouse, is triggered by a particular genetic mutation combined with viral infection.  His long-term research goal is to learn how viral infections disrupt the balance of our immune system, hopefully leading to therapeutics that target these processes and prevent cancer.

Dr. Cadwell recently moved to New York City, where he is now Assistant Professor at the New York University School of Medicine.

L. Stirling Churchman, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow at University of California, San Francisco ‘08-‘11)

The process of transcription (how DNA is copied to RNA) is a key point at which gene expression is regulated.  Dr. Churchman has developed a new technology that for the first time allows transcription to be examined at high resolution in live cells.  She will use this technology to address questions about how transcription is controlled, potentially identifying new targets and pathways for cancer treatment.

###

DAMON RUNYON CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION

To accelerate breakthroughs, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation provides today’s best young scientists with funding to pursue innovative research.  The Foundation has gained worldwide prominence in cancer research by identifying outstanding researchers and physician-scientists.  Eleven scientists supported by the Foundation have received the Nobel Prize, and others are heads of cancer centers and leaders of renowned research programs.  Each of its award programs is extremely competitive, with less than 10% of applications funded.  Since its founding in 1946, the Foundation has invested over $230 million and funded more than 3,250 scientists.  This year, it will invest approximately $10 million in the most outstanding young investigators in the nation.

100% of all donations to the Foundation are used to support scientific research.  Its administrative and fundraising costs are paid from its Damon Runyon Broadway Tickets Service and endowment.

For more information visit www.damonrunyon.org

CONTACT
Yung S. Lie, PhD
Scientific Director
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
yung.lie@damonrunyon.org
212.455.0521

Science magazine published a special issue highlighting Insights of the Decade.  Of the ten featured insights from all areas of scientific research, two of them highlight work of current and former Damon Runyon Scientists:

Howard Y. Chang, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Scholar '06-'08, former Fellowship Sponsor) of Stanford University, Stanford, and John L. Rinn, PhD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator '09-'11, Current Fellowship Sponsor, Damon Runyon Fellow '05-'07) of Harvard University, Cambridge: “Shining a Light on the Genome’s ‘Dark Matter’”

Sarkis K. Mazmanian, PhD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator '08-'10) of California Institute of Technology, Pasadena: “Body’s Hardworking Microbes Get Some Overdue Respect”

Click here for more. 

A team of researchers including Thomas Curran, PhD, FRS (Former Fellowship Award Committee, Damon Runyon Fellow '82-'84), Daniela S. Gerhard, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '83-'85), Peter C. Phillips, MD (Damon Runyon Fellow '84-'86), Hai Yan, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Scholar '05-'07) reported new findings about the genetic basis of medulloblastoma (MB), the most common malignant brain tumor in children.  Kenneth W. Kinzler, PhD (Innovation Award Committee Member) of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, was one of the leading investigators of the study.  The researchers sequenced tumor DNA and found that, on average, each tumor had 11 gene alterations; this is 5 to 10 times fewer than in the adult solid tumors that have been sequenced to date.  They identified mutations in signaling pathways previously known to be linked to brain cancers (Hedgehog and Wnt pathways), and also discovered novel mutations in genes that regulate activity of other genes through a process called histone methylation.  These findings may eventually lead to better targeted therapies for treatment of MB cancers.  The report was published in the prestigious journal Science. 

Click here for more. 

Public release date: 13-Dec-2010


December 13, 2010 — A new pilot partnership between the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, the National Cancer Institute's Center for Cancer Research, and the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation will offer some of the capabilities and expertise of America's research hospital to an external group of clinical investigators in cancer research. The special talent and resources of the NIH will allow Damon Runyon-funded investigators to undertake studies and collaborations that will advance understanding of the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer.

Damon Runyon Clinical Investigators (DRCIs) are early career physician-scientists whose focus is on the translation of basic science discoveries into practical therapies. Since 1946, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has invested more than $230 million in early career cancer researchers who have the energy, drive, and creativity to become leading innovators in their fields.

"Thanks to the new three-component partnership, these young investigators can apply to use certain equipment, facilities, and patient cohorts at the Clinical Center in research collaborations with NIH clinician-scientists," said John I. Gallin, M.D., Clinical Center director.

An approved research proposal could also provide access to select research materials, services, or products that may not be available or possible at their home institutions — such as products from the Pharmacy Department's Pharmaceutical Development Facility — through arrangements with the Clinical Center but without a formal research collaboration with a specific institute.

If the pilot proves successful, the NIH and the Clinical Center may pursue similar partnerships with other NIH institutes and centers and external organizations.

"This is a first step toward opening the doors of the Clinical Center to a new band of clinician-scientists, further supporting the NIH mission to enhance health and reduce the burden of disease," said Gallin. The partnership allows DRCIs to partner with an NIH-tenured or tenure-track investigator on a research project. If the NIH research partner is not identified independently, the DRCI can submit a research proposal to the National Cancer Institute and the Clinical Center for assistance in naming a suitable collaborator.

A scientist applying for a Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Clinical Investigator Award could apply with a mentor from the National Cancer Institute or another NIH institute or center. The application would identify the research to be done and the resources used at the Clinical Center.

"We are thrilled to offer these opportunities and resources to the clinical investigators we fund," said Lorraine Egan, executive director of the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation. To facilitate these partnerships, the Clinical Center and the National Cancer Institute's Center for Cancer Research will create an annually updated portfolio of ongoing research and of the research interests of NIH investigators.

In addition to scientific collaborations, this pilot partnership will provide interested DRCIs opportunities to participate in the Clinical Center's clinical research training curriculum. Courses are Introduction to the Principles and Practice of Clinical Research, Principles of Clinical Pharmacology, and Ethical and Regulatory Aspects of Clinical Research. Furthermore, DRCIs are invited to apply to the Clinical Center Sabbatical in Clinical Research Management.

To accelerate breakthroughs, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation (http://www.damonrunyon.org/) provides today's best young scientists with funding to pursue innovative research. The Foundation has gained worldwide prominence in cancer research by identifying outstanding researchers and physician-scientists. Eleven scientists supported by the Foundation have received the Nobel Prize, and others are heads of cancer centers and leaders of renowned research programs. Since its founding in 1946, the Foundation has invested over $230 million and funded more than 3,250 early career scientists.

The NIH Clinical Center (CC) is the clinical research hospital for the National Institutes of Health. Through clinical research, physician-investigators translate laboratory discoveries into better treatments, therapies and interventions to improve the nation's health. For more information, visit http://clinicalcenter.nih.gov/.

NCI leads the National Cancer Program and the NIH effort to dramatically reduce the burden of cancer and improve the lives of cancer patients and their families, through research into prevention and cancer biology, the development of new interventions, and the training and mentoring of new researchers. For more information about cancer, please visit the NCI Web site at http://www.cancer.gov/ or call NCI's Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov/.

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CONTACT
Yung S. Lie, PhD
Scientific Director
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
yung.lie@damonrunyon.org
212.455.0520

Maggie McGuire
Communications Specialist
NIH Clinical Center
mcguirema@nih.gov
301.496.2563

Bruce W. Stillman, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '79-'81), President of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), was awarded the 2010 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize for key research that led to an understanding of the mechanisms involved in the process of DNA replication.  This process is critical for normal cells and also goes awry in cancer.  The prize has been awarded annually since 1967 for outstanding basic research in biology and biochemistry.

Click here for more. 

In two separate studies, Melissa R. Junttila, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '07-'10) of University of California, San Francisco, and Monte Winslow, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '06-'09) of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, reported the results of studies in animal models of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). They observed tumor progression in the absence of the tumor suppressor gene p53.  When p53 function was restored, advanced tumor cells were prevented from growing and spreading.  In contrast, restoring p53 did not have any effect on benign earlier-stage tumors.  The studies suggest that using drugs to activate p53 function may be effective at preventing growth of advanced tumors but will not likely prevent cancer initiation or progression.  These findings were published in the journal Nature.

Click here for more. 

Adriana Heguy, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '86-'88) of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, and international colleagues participated in a multi-center study that identified novel genetic mutations linked to uveal melanoma, the most common form of eye cancer.  They found mutations in either of two related genes, GNAQ and GNA11, in 83% of tumor samples taken from patients with uveal melanoma.  There are currently no effective therapies for this cancer once it has metastasized; this new understanding of the disease may lead to targets and treatments in the future.  These findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Click here and here for more. 

Muneesh Tewari, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator '09-'11) of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, was named a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.  Awardees are selected for their pursuit of innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology and their commitment to community service.

Click here and here for more. 

President Obama named ten eminent researchers as recipients of the National Medal of Science, the nation’s highest scientific honor.  Awarded annually, the Medal recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to science and engineering.  Stephen J. Benkovic, PhD (Former Fellowship Award Committee Member and Sponsor), Pennsylvania State University, University Park, and Susan L. Lindquist, PhD (Fellowship Sponsor), Whitehead Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, are among this year’s honorees.

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Election to the Institute of Medicine is one of the highest honors that can be earned in the fields of medicine and health.  In recognition of their outstanding achievements, 4 members of the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation circle were inducted this month:

Linda S. Birnbaum, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '73-'74), National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park
Titia de Lange, PhD (Former Fellowship Sponsor), The Rockefeller University, New York
Jennifer A. Doudna, PhD (Fellowship Sponsor, Former Fellowship Award Committee Member), University of California, Berkeley
Kevan M. Shokat, PhD (Innovation Award Committee Member), University of California, San Francisco

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The intent of the NIH High-Risk Research Awards is to encourage investigators to explore bold ideas that have the potential to catapult fields forward and speed the translation of research into improved health.  We congratulate the Damon Runyon scientists who are recipients of these awards.

Transformative R01 Award:
Madhav Dhodapkar, MD (Damon Runyon-Lilly Clinical Investigator '02-'07), Yale Cancer Center, New Haven; Richard A. Flavell, PhD (Former Fellowship Award Committee Member), Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven; X. Sunney Xie, PhD (Current Fellowship Sponsor), Harvard University, Cambridge 

Pioneer Award:
Pamela J. Bjorkman, PhD (Former Fellowship Sponsor), California Institute of Technology, Pasadena; Stephen W. Fesik, PhD (Former Innovation Award Committee Member), Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville; Jun O. Liu, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '91-'93), Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore

C. Ryan Miller, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon-Genentech Clinical Investigator '09-'12) of University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and colleagues, genetically characterized nearly 400 patient samples of lung squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). They defined four subtypes - primitive, classical, secretory, and basal. The primitive subtype correlates with worse patient survival and recurrence rates, suggesting that more aggressive therapies may be more appropriate for these patients.  These findings were published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research. 

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Ivan Maillard, MD, PhD and Yi Zhang, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovators '09-'11) of University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, reported that Notch signaling is a critical regulator of T cell responses mediating graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a life-threatening immune response that remains the major barrier to the success of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT).  The researchers demonstrated that inhibition of Notch signaling in donor T cells significantly reduced GVHD severity and mortality in mouse models of HSCT.  In addition, Notch-deficient T cells remained able to efficiently kill cancer cells.  This resulted in the elimination of the tumor cells without causing GVHD.  The study was published in the scientific journal Blood. 

Click here and here for more.

The 2010 Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award honors Napoleone Ferrara, MD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award Committee Member) of Genentech.  He is recognized “for the discovery of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) as a major mediator of angiogenesis and the development of an effective anti-VEGF therapy for wet macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness in the elderly.”  His work led to the development and success of the drugs Lucentis® for the treatment of wet AMD and Avastin® for treatment of colorectal and other cancers.  The Lasker Awards will be presented at a ceremony on October 1 in New York City.

Click here and here for more.

Grant A. McArthur, MBBS, PhD, FRACP (Damon Runyon Fellow '95-'98) and colleagues at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute, Melbourne, Australia, and a team of U.S. researchers reported the success of a Phase I clinical trial of the drug PLX4032 in treatment of metastatic melanoma.  Mutation of a protein called BRAF causes the protein to become overactive in more than half of all melanomas.  PLX4032 inhibits BRAF, resulting in complete or partial tumor regression in over 80% of patients with mutated BRAF.  Patients begin to feel better within a week of starting treatment, giving them a significantly improved quality of life.  The results were reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Click here and here for more.

Alonzo H. Ross, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '77-'78) of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, discovered that combining chemotherapy (temozolomide, TMZ) with a targeted therapy that blocks Notch signaling (γ-secretase inhibitor, GSI) blocks glioblastoma brain tumor recurrence in mice.  In patients, these tumors are typically treated with surgery, radiation and TMZ, but these therapies ultimately fail due to tumor recurrence.  GSIs are thought to block the cancer stem cells that resist chemotherapy/radiation and allow tumor recurrence.  The researchers hope to ultimately translate these findings into the clinic.  This study was published in the journal Cancer Research.   

Click here for more.

Raffaella Sordella, PhD (Island Outreach Foundation Innovator '10-'12) of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, reported the discovery of a subpopulation of cells in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumors that are intrinsically resistant to the targeted therapy erlotinib/Tarceva.  These cells have features suggestive of a fate change termed epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and the researchers showed that these features are dependent on signaling by TGF-β and secretion of a factor called IL-6.  Both TGF-β and IL-6 trigger inflammation.  Interestingly, this study suggests that inflammation (e.g., in the tumor microenvironment) can reduce the tumor response to Tarceva; this represents an important new understanding of how tumor cells develop resistance.  These findings were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Click here for more.

Runyon 5K runners take their first lap on the warning track at Yankee Stadium	Many Runyon 5K teams included family members of all ages
Participants listened as speakers thanked and motivated the crowd	These women used special tribute bibs to dedicate their run/walk to loved ones affected by cancer
As the bullhorn sounded, elite runners launched off of the Runyon 5K starting line	Runners began the Runyon 5K on Concourse 1 at Yankee Stadium
Friends and family took photos and cheered from the DeltaSky360 Suite at Yankee Stadium	The Yankee Stadium jumbotron showed live video of Runyon 5K participants on the warning track
Three of the youngest Runyon 5K participants celebrated their finish in Yankee Stadium's Great Hall	Damon Runyon scientists Erik Debler, Laura Banaszynski, & Duncan Smith chatted with participants during the Runyon 5K
Several Runyon 5K teams came with creative names and coordinated uniforms	Finishers were greeted by volunteers handing out water, fruit, pretzels and more
Top male finisher Lou Dinuzzo crossed the finish line at 19:08:54	Every Runyon 5K participant who finished the race received a medal
NBC's DeMarco Morgan and Damon Runyon Executive Director Lorraine Egan pumped up the crowd	Dozens of Runyon 5K volunteers helped make the event a success, handing out goody bags, t-shirts and more

> View videos from the 2010 Runyon 5K at Yankee Stadium

Participants Run Their Own Victory Laps Inside the Home of the World Champions

New York, NY, August 16, 2010 — On August 15, 2010 thousands of cancer research supporters, including survivors and patients, took part in the second annual Runyon 5K, the cancer fundraiser that takes place inside Yankee Stadium. The event reached capacity at 4,000 registrants who raised more than $375,000 for the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, which funds the 'Derek Jeters of cancer research.' On an overcast, mild summer day, fans aged from 5 to 81 years old ran their own victory laps around the famous field in support of cancer research. Cancer survivors and patients were joined by exhuberant Yankees fans and the Foundation's own scientists.
	The top male finisher was Lou Dinuzzo of Albany, NY with a time of 19:08:54. The top female finisher was Heather Stephens from Danbury, CT with a time of 19:53:88. Many walkers and participants who ran at slower paces were content to take their 'winning' photos from the warning track surrounding the field. DeMarco Morgan, Anchor/Reporter for WNBC 4 kicked off the 5K and later reported on the event and his own experience of running the course for NBC 4's 6pm newscast.
EVENT DETAILS The Runyon 5K is a unique charity run/walk that uses the Stadium as its course. The event began at 9:30am with the 5K run, and ended near 2pm. Participants explored the Stadium from the basement level to the upper concourses, and ran their own victory laps around the warning track circling the field. Friends and family of participants cheered on their heroes from the DeltaSky360° Suite overlooking home plate. More details can be found at www.damonrunyon.org/yankeestadium.
SPONSORS In addition to the New York Yankees' support, other event sponsors include 24 Hour Fitness, Walgreens, White Rose, Unilever, SIRIUS XM Radio, New York Daily News and WNBC 4 New York. > View photos from the event. > Watch Runyon 5K videos on Youtube. > Read My Fox New York coverage. > Read a feature story on participant Jen Reynolds in the New Haven Register.

ABOUT THE FOUNDATION

To accelerate breakthroughs, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation provides today's best young scientists with funding to pursue innovative cancer research. We support emerging leaders who have great potential to achieve breakthroughs in the how we diagnose, treat and prevent cancer.

The Foundation was created in 1946 in memory of Damon Runyon, a New York writer who began his career as a baseball journalist and revolutionized how the game was covered. Of the more than 3,250 scientists funded since, 11 are Nobel Laureates and many lead cancer centers nationwide. Today more than 119 scientists currently funded by Damon Runyon are working at labs and major research institutions around the country, including 15 awardees in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

CONTACT

Catherine Bright
Communications Director
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
212.455.0506
catherine.bright@damonrunyon.org

Darrell J. Irvine, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '00-'01) and colleagues at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, reported a new approach to encase drugs in nanoparticles for better targeting of immune therapies to tumors.  They demonstrated success of this technique in mice and hope the particles can be used in clinical trials in cancer patients within the next two to three years.  The approach could also potentially be applied to targeted delivery of chemotherapy agents.  These findings were published in the journal Nature Medicine. 

Click here for more.

John L. Rinn, PhD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator '09-'11, Damon Runyon Fellow '05-'07) of Harvard Medical School and the Broad Institute, Boston, Laura D. Attardi, PhD (Damon Runyon Scholar '02-'04) of Stanford University, Stanford, and colleagues, discovered that one particular non-coding RNA, lincRNA-p21, acts as a repressor of p53-dependent gene expression and apoptosis (cell death).  p53 is the most commonly-mutated gene in human cancers.  These findings were published in the journal Cell.  In a separate study, Howard Y. Chang, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Scholar '06-'08, former Fellowship Sponsor) and colleagues at Stanford University, Stanford, reported that lincRNAs may function by serving as scaffolds to bring together select enzymes that regulate the expression of target genes by modifying histones.  This report was published in the journal Science.

Click here and here for more.

Hong Wu, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '92-'95, Former Sponsor) and a team of researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, have developed a new technology that can measure signaling pathway levels in a single cell from tissues, including brain tumors.  The new technology, microfluidic image cytometry (MIC), combines microfluidics and microscopy-based cell imaging.  These molecular "fingerprints" are a new advance in diagnostics that could ultimately help physicians predict patient prognosis and guide personalized treatment.  This study was published in the journal Cancer Research.

Click here for more.

Grants totaling over $2.8M give early career investigators independence to pursue novel ideas

New York, NY (July 8, 2010) — The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on supporting exceptional early career researchers and innovative cancer research, named 18 new Damon Runyon Fellows at its spring Fellowship Award Committee review.  The recipients of this prestigious, three-year award are outstanding postdoctoral scientists conducting basic and translational cancer research in the laboratories of leading senior investigators across the country. The Fellowship encourages the nation's most promising young scientists to pursue careers in cancer research by providing them with independent funding ($156,000 each) to work on innovative projects.

May 2010 Damon Runyon Fellows

Niels Bradshaw, PhD, with his sponsor Richard M. Losick, PhD, at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, is studying the regulation of an enzyme called protein phosphatase that acts in specific cells to promote cellular differentiation.  Protein phosphatases are required for many processes, including cell growth, division, differentiation and stress adaptation.  He hopes that understanding phosphatase regulation will clarify the role of these enzymes in cancer and potentially aid in the development of anti-cancer therapies that target phosphatases.

Elizabeth M. Duncan, PhD [HHMI Fellow] with her sponsor Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado, PhD, at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, is examining how DNA-sequence-independent (epigenetic) mechanisms regulate gene expression during regeneration in the planarian flatworm.  Such mechanisms are involved in the establishment and maintenance of cellular memory; understanding the normal function of epigenetics will lead to a better understanding of how their misregulation leads to cancer.

Kimberly Evason, MD, PhD, with her sponsor Didier Y.R. Stainier, PhD, at the University of California, San Francisco, California, is studying liver development and liver tumor formation in zebrafish. Her focus is on hepatic stellate cells, support cells that surround both normal liver tissue and liver tumors.  She hopes to improve our understanding of how these cells influence liver cancer, including ways by which hepatic stellate cells might promote formation of liver tumors and/or lead to more aggressive tumor behavior.

Christopher J. Hale, PhD [HHMI Fellow] with his sponsor Steven E. Jacobsen, PhD, at the University of California, Los Angeles, California, is focusing on the basic biological processes that allow cells to coordinate the replication of their genes with the regulation of when those genes are turned on/off.  By studying the interplay of these two biological processes, he hopes to elucidate how tumor cells are able to bypass the strict controls that a cell uses to normally operate each process.

Daniel A. Heller, PhD, with his sponsor Robert S. Langer, ScD, at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, is developing a method to direct gene therapies to cancerous tissues.  He is synthesizing polymer nanoparticles that can target tumors using specific receptors on their surface.

David G. Hendrickson, PhD, with his sponsor John L. Rinn, PhD, at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, aims to identify and describe RNA molecules called lincRNAs that may regulate how cancer cells read genetic information. Defining the roles of lincRNAs in cancer could open new avenues for more accurate diagnostics and effective therapeutics.

Sujun Hua, PhD, with his sponsor Ronald A. DePinho, MD, at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, aims to complete a comprehensive, genome-wide assessment of regulatory networks governing self-renewal and fate-determination programs in normal and malignant neural stem cells.  Tumor progression of certain tumor types, including glioblastoma, depends on a subpopulation of cells within the tumor called tumor stem cells.  Understanding the shared and distinct features of normal and malignant stem cells is critical to develop novel therapies that selectively target tumor stem cells but spare their normal counterparts.

Nikhil S. Joshi, PhD, with his sponsor Tyler Jacks, PhD, at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, is studying the response of the body’s immune system to tumors.  The goal of his research is to understand how cells of the immune system interact with growing tumors and why these cells are not able to effectively kill tumors.  One particular type of immune cell, the regulatory T cell, blocks anti-tumor immune cells from killing tumor cells.  Understanding how regulatory T cells function and how they promote tumor growth may be critical to developing future immune-based treatments and therapies for cancer patients.

Kristin A. Krukenberg, PhD, with her sponsor Timothy J. Mitchison, PhD, at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, is studying the role of a molecule called poly(ADP-ribose) in cell division and mitotic spindle formation. By understanding poly(ADP-ribose) function and regulation in both cancer and non-cancer cells, she will investigate new avenues for the design of more effective and selective cancer therapeutics.

Gabriel C. Lander, PhD, with his sponsor Eva Nogales, PhD, at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, is using electron microscopy to examine the mechanism by which cells initiate division.  His research will help explain why cancer cells form and will potentially lead to new molecular targets for cancer treatment.

John R. Lydeard, PhD, with his sponsor Jeffrey W. Harper, PhD, at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, is interested in studying how proteins are targeted for destruction. Defects in maintaining the balance between newly made proteins and those to be destroyed are often linked with cancer progression. Better understanding of how these processes are regulated will help to develop more effective anticancer therapeutics.

Costas A. Lyssiotis, PhD, with his sponsor Lewis C. Cantley, PhD, at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, is studying the underlying differences in cellular metabolism between cancer cells and normal cells.  In particular, he is interested in understanding (i) how cancer cells rewire their metabolic networks to satisfy the demands of continuous proliferation and (ii) what happens to cancerous cells when they are forced to behave metabolically like normal cells. While his initial studies will be aimed at addressing these questions in breast cancer, these studies have the potential to provide new ways to treat many types of cancers.

Dale Muzzey, PhD [HHMI Fellow] with his sponsor Jonathan S. Weissman, PhD, at the University of California, San Francisco, California, is studying how both the sequence and structure of mRNAs affect the efficiency by which they are translated into protein in the yeast Candida albicans.  Defects in mRNA translation have been linked to several cancers, and he hopes to reveal features of translational control that generalize to humans.  Additionally, his project may highlight potential ways to combat Candida infections, which frequently afflict immune-compromised cancer patients undergoing therapy.

Jason A. Reuter, PhD, with his sponsor Michael P. Snyder, PhD, at Stanford University, Stanford, California, is investigating the role of a new class of RNAs (long non-protein-coding RNAs) in regulation of cellular differentiation, a process that generates the specialized cell types found throughout our bodies.  Aberrant differentiation is commonly observed in human tumors; poorly differentiated tumor cells are associated with the worst prognosis.  Research on the regulation of normal cellular differentiation may, therefore, provide insight into the mechanisms underlying tumor progression.  These RNAs may also represent exciting possibilities as novel anti-cancer therapies.

Volker Schweikhard, PhD, with his sponsor Steven M. Block, PhD, at Stanford University, Stanford, California, is investigating, at the single molecule level, how certain transcription factors assist an enzyme called RNA polymerase II in faithfully copying the genetic information stored in our DNA to messenger RNA—the blueprint for the proteins in our body. Aberrant gene expression lies at the heart of cancer, and thus, a detailed understanding of the activities of specific transcription factors may open up a potential route toward cancer therapy.

Lara C. Skwarek, PhD, with her sponsor David Bilder, PhD, at the University of California, Berkeley, California, is examining epithelial-to-mesenchymal transitions (EMTs), cellular changes that are required for normal development.  EMTs are also crucial benchmarks in tumor progression towards metastasis.  She will be performing a genetic screen for new molecules involved in EMTs.  These studies will broaden our knowledge of the role of EMTs in cancer progression with the additional goal of identifying new targets for cancer therapeutics.

Ian Y. Wong, PhD, with his sponsors Mehmet Toner, PhD, and Daniel Irimia, MD, PhD, at Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts, is developing a new experimental platform for characterizing how cancer cells migrate in response to biochemical signals and 3D structural architectures. This approach may yield novel insights into how malignant cancer cells invade, which would aid the development of anti-metastatic therapies.

Dong Yan, PhD [HHMI Fellow] with his sponsor Norbert Perrimon, PhD, at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, is aiming to generate profiles of phosphorylation for each kinase and phosphatase enzyme in the genome, and to relate these profiles to their in vivo functions during development.  Given the large number of kinase mutations associated with various cancers, understanding the phosphorylation network could prompt treatment tailored to aberrant signaling of specific pathways.

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DAMON RUNYON CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION

To accelerate breakthroughs, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation provides today’s best young scientists with funding to pursue innovative research.  The Foundation has gained worldwide prominence in cancer research by identifying outstanding researchers and physician-scientists.  Eleven scientists supported by the Foundation have received the Nobel Prize, and others are heads of cancer centers and leaders of renowned research programs.  Each of its award programs is extremely competitive, with less than 10% of applications funded.  Since its founding in 1946, the Foundation has invested over $230 million and funded more than 3,250 scientists.  This year, it will invest approximately $10 million in the most outstanding young investigators in the nation.

100% of all donations to the Foundation are used to support scientific research.  Its administrative and fundraising costs are paid from its Damon Runyon Broadway Tickets Service and endowment.

For more information visit www.damonrunyon.org

to Support Early Career Physician-Scientists

Public release date: 01-Jul-2010

New York, NY (July 1, 2010) — The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation (DRCRF) and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) are pleased to announce their partnership in supporting an early career physician-scientist.  Tobias J.E. Carling, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Surgery at the Yale University School of Medicine has been named as the first Doris Duke-Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator.
 
Dr. Carling will receive a total of $486,000 over three years for his project “Molecular Genetics of Endocrine Tumor Disease” (see below for lay summary).  In addition, DRCRF will retire up to $100,000 of any qualifying outstanding medical school debt still owed by Dr. Carling. 

“It is a great honor to receive the Doris Duke-Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award for my research and scientific career development and to be supported by two of the most prestigious private medical research foundations in the country,” said Dr. Carling.

The Damon Runyon and Doris Duke Foundations support young physician-scientists through similar grant programs, the Clinical Investigator Award and Clinical Scientist Development Award, respectively.  Dr. Carling was recommended to receive each of these awards following rigorous independent peer review processes by both Foundations.

“There is a significant shortage of talented physician-scientists dedicated to translating research from the laboratory to the patient’s bedside in search of breakthrough treatments,” said Lorraine Egan, Executive Director of the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation.  “Both Foundations are highly committed to encouraging the careers of these unique individuals.”

 “We’re delighted to be partnering with the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation to fund Dr. Carling’s project,” said Ed Henry, president of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.  “This award allows Dr. Carling the financial and professional benefits of being affiliated with both DDCF and DRCRF.”

Lay Summary of Research

Dr. Carling focuses on endocrine tumors, a type of cancer which affects hormone-producing tissues in the body (such as the thyroid, pituitary gland, adrenal gland and islet cells of the pancreas).  The underlying genetic basis for endocrine tumors is not yet known.  Dr. Carling’s goal is to complete a comprehensive genomic analysis of patients with endocrine tumor disease in order to identify individual genes involved in early cancer formation.  His research will provide important insights into the development of endocrine tumors as well as other cancer types, laying the basis for future individualized medical and surgical management of cancer. 

Dr. Carling works under the mentorship of Richard P. Lifton, MD, PhD, and Robert Udelsman, MD, MBA.

DAMON RUNYON CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION

The Clinical Investigator Award program is specifically intended to help address the shortage of physicians capable of translating scientific discovery into new breakthroughs for cancer patients.  In partnerships with industry sponsors (Eli Lilly and Company, Amgen, Genentech, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, and Siemens Medical Solutions), the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has committed more than $35 million to support the careers of 53 physician-scientists across the United States since 2000.

100% of all donations to the Foundation are used to support scientific research.  Its administrative and fundraising costs are paid from its Damon Runyon Broadway Tickets Service and endowment.

For more information visit www.damonrunyon.org

CONTACT
Yung S. Lie, PhD
Scientific Director
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
yung.lie@damonrunyon.org
212.455.0521

THE DORIS DUKE CHARITABLE FOUNDATION

Since 1998, the Doris Duke Medical Research Program has committed approximately $360 million to strengthen and support clinical research, which advances the translation of basic biomedical discoveries into new treatments, preventions and cures for human diseases.  To learn more about the program or to receive competition announcements, visit www.ddcf.org/mrp.

The mission of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation is to improve the quality of people’s lives through grants supporting the performing arts, environmental conservation, medical research and the prevention of child maltreatment, and through preservation of the cultural and environmental legacy of Doris Duke’s properties.

CONTACT
Reiko Fitzsimonds, PhD
Program Officer
Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
rfitzsimonds@ddcf.org
212.974.7105

Public release date: 01-Jul-2010

New York, NY (July 1, 2010) — The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation named five new Damon Runyon Clinical Investigators at its April 2010 Clinical Investigator Award Committee review.  The recipients of this prestigious three-year 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. Each will receive $450,000 to support the development of his/her cancer research program.

For the second time, the Foundation also awarded Continuation Grants to three Damon Runyon Clinical Investigators.  Each award will provide an additional two years of funding totaling up to $300,000.  The Continuation Grant is designed to support Clinical Investigators who are approaching the end of their original awards and need extra time and funding to complete a promising avenue of research or initiate/continue a clinical trial.  This program is possible through the generous support of the William K. Bowes, Jr. Foundation, and Connie and Robert Lurie.

The Clinical Investigator Award program is specifically intended to help address the shortage of physicians capable of translating scientific discovery into new breakthroughs for cancer patients.  In partnerships with industry sponsors (Eli Lilly and Company, Amgen, Genentech, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer and Siemens Medical Solutions), the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has committed more than $35 million to support the careers of 53 physician-scientists across the United States since 2000.

2010 Clinical Investigator Awardees

Tobias J.E. Carling, MD, PhD [Doris Duke-Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator]
Dr. Carling focuses on endocrine tumors, a type of cancer that affects hormone-producing tissues in the body (such as the thyroid, pituitary gland, adrenal gland and islet cells of the pancreas).  The underlying genetic basis for endocrine tumors is not yet known.  Dr. Carling’s goal is to complete a comprehensive genomic analysis of patients with endocrine tumor disease in order to identify individual genes involved in early cancer formation.  His research will provide important insights into the development of endocrine tumors as well as other cancer types, laying the basis for future individualized medical and surgical management of cancer.
Dr. Carling works under the mentorship of Richard P. Lifton, MD, PhD, and Robert Udelsman, MD, MBA, at the Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut. 

N. Lynn Henry, MD, PhD [Lilly Investigator]
Due to advances in cancer screening and treatments, the majority of women diagnosed with breast cancer will be cured of their disease.  However, many will require at least five years of therapy with medications called aromatase inhibitors, which greatly reduce the amount of estrogen circulating in the body.  These drugs cause new or worsening aches and pains in about half of women, resulting in decreased quality of life. 

One hypothesis is that medication-induced lowering of estrogen levels may affect pain perception, resulting in increased sensation of pain during therapy.  In order to evaluate this hypothesis, Dr. Henry will conduct a clinical trial to assess change in pain threshold and development of aches and pains in women who are being treated with an aromatase inhibitor.  In addition, she will determine if there is a link between pain symptoms during treatment and inherited mutations in genes involved in pain perception; this will address whether some women are predisposed to developing symptoms during aromatase inhibitor therapy. The overall goal is to gain a better understanding of why pain symptoms occur, so that these symptoms can be prevented or treated, thereby improving the quality of life of breast cancer survivors.
Dr. Henry works under the mentorship of Daniel F. Hayes, MD, at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. 

Kevin R. Kozak, MD, PhD [Genentech Investigator]
Tumors depend on new blood vessel formation for growth and spread.  This process, known as angiogenesis, is an attractive target for cancer therapy.  Unfortunately, antiangiogenic agents have proven less efficacious than anticipated.  Preclinical results suggest that combinations of antiangiogenic agents and radiation may have great therapeutic utility; however, it remains unclear how these treatment modalities interact and how best to integrate them. 

Dr. Kozak will use biochemical, cellular and animal models to develop strategies to optimally integrate antiangiogenic therapies with radiation.  Positron emission tomography (PET) will be used for non-invasive monitoring of angiogenesis in mouse tumor models, and these results will be correlated to treatment responses. Guided by results of these studies, he plans to initiate a pilot human trial of antiangiogenic therapy to determine if PET imaging can identify a therapeutic window during which radiation may be particularly effective. The proposed project represents an integrated “bench-to-bedside” effort to optimize antiangiogenic therapy.
Dr. Kozak works under the mentorship of Paul M. Harari, MD, at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin.

Igor Matushansky, MD, PhD
Novel therapeutic approaches are necessary to improve the outcome of patients with sarcomas and other solid tumors.  Dr. Matushansky aims to test his hypothesis that chromatin remodeling agents, which alter gene expression, can induce solid tumors to undergo biological and morphological changes that lead them to resemble their corresponding normal tissue, a process referred to as maturation or differentiation.  Maturation or differentiation therapy provides an opportunity to fundamentally change the biology of the underlying cancer (and thus its overall prognosis).  While a change of an undifferentiated/high grade sarcoma (or carcinoma) into completely normal tissue remains an ideal, albeit likely unrealistic goal, a change from a ‘poorly differentiated/high grade’ tumor to a ‘well differentiated/low grade’ tumor is attainable; this can improve an individual’s median time of survival from months to decades.  Dr. Matushansky hopes to implement this therapeutic approach for sarcomas and other solid tumors.
Dr. Matushansky works under the mentorship of Carlos Cordon-Cardo, MD, PhD, at Columbia University, New York, New York.

Brian G. Till, MD [Pfizer Investigator]
Certain types of lymphoma, such as the indolent B cell lymphomas and mantle cell lymphoma, are incurable with standard therapies. These diseases can, however, be cured using stem cell transplantation, in which immune T cells from the donor kill lymphoma cells.  This procedure unfortunately carries the serious risk of graft-versus-host disease, which can be life-threatening.

In order to provide safer therapy options, Dr. Till’s goal is to develop a new treatment for lymphoma using patients’ own T cells to fight their cancers: patient cells are collected, a gene is inserted into the cells that allows them to recognize and kill lymphoma cells, and then the cells are infused back into the patient.  He is leading a phase I clinical trial testing this treatment in lymphoma patients. He is optimistic that this strategy will translate into a safe, curative treatment for patients with lymphoma; insights from this work may help to advance similar treatments for other types of cancer.
Dr. Till works under the mentorship of Oliver W. Press, MD, PhD, at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington.
 

2010 Clinical Investigator Continuation Grants

Colleen Delaney, MD, MSc [Novartis Investigator]
Dr. Delaney completed a Phase I clinical trial demonstrating that expanded cord blood cells infused into acute leukemia patients resulted in successful rapid engraftment (recovery of the immune system after transplantation).  The Continuation Grant will be used to examine the immune mechanism of how these transplanted cord blood cells persist in the patient.  These studies will be important for improving the success of transplants in patients.
Dr. Delaney works under the mentorship of Irwin Bernstein, MD, and Frederick Appelbaum, MD, at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington.

Douglas K. Graham, MD, PhD [Novartis Investigator]
Dr. Graham focuses on Mer, a receptor tyrosine kinase that plays a role in hematological cancers, such as leukemias, as well as brain cancer (glioblastoma) and certain lung cancers.  He has demonstrated that blocking Mer activity leads to enhanced leukemia cell death, particularly when combined with chemotherapy.  The Continuation Grant will provide support for Dr. Graham to continue research evaluating two biological inhibitors of Mer (an antibody and a small molecule inhibitor) as potential new therapeutics for pediatric leukemias.  Current therapies are highly toxic both in the short-term and long-term; highly targeted treatments such as a Mer inhibitor could offer less toxic, more effective therapy for patients.
Dr. Graham works under the mentorship of James V. DeGregori, PhD, and Sue Gail Eckhardt, MD, at the University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, Colorado.

Catherine J. Wu, MD
Dr. Wu’s goal is to develop new immune-based treatments for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).  Current treatments for these diseases are effective for a short time, but patients ultimately relapse and die of their disease.  The Continuation Grant will enable Dr. Wu to continue developing tumor-specific immunotherapy with minimal side effects that will target the leukemia cells and ultimately lead to a non-toxic therapy to cure CLL.
Dr. Wu works under the mentorship of Jerome Ritz, MD, at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts. 
 

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DAMON RUNYON CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION

To accelerate breakthroughs, the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation provides today’s best young scientists with funding to pursue innovative research.  The Foundation has gained worldwide prominence in cancer research by identifying outstanding researchers and physician-scientists.  Eleven scientists supported by the Foundation have received the Nobel Prize, and others are heads of cancer centers and leaders of renowned research programs.  Each of its award programs is extremely competitive, with less than 10% of applications funded.  Since its founding in 1946, the Foundation has invested over $230 million and funded more than 3,250 scientists.  This year, it will invest approximately $10 million in the most outstanding young investigators in the nation.

100% of all donations to the Foundation are used to support scientific research. Its administrative and fundraising costs are paid from its Damon Runyon Broadway Tickets Service and endowment.

For more information visit www.damonrunyon.org

CONTACT
Yung S. Lie, PhD
Scientific Director
Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation
yung.lie@damonrunyon.org
212.455.0521

Ken Cadwell, PhD (Lallage Feazel Wall Fellow '08-'11) and colleagues at Washington University, St. Louis, reported that the combination of a genetic mutation in Atg16L1 plus a specific viral infection induces Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory disease of the gut.  The mutation alone is not sufficient to promote the disease.  In addition, their research suggests that the genetic and viral combination harms the gut microbial community.  Treatment with an antibiotic clears out the gut microbes and eliminates disease symptoms in mice.  This study indicates that viruses may play an important role in disease onset.   These findings were published in the journal Cell. 

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The following Former Fellows are four of the 21 early career scientists named 2010 Pew Scholars in the Biomedical Sciences.  The Pew Charitable Trusts grants Scholars $240,000 over four years for this prestigious award, which helps support their work in areas ranging from cancer to Alzheimer's to Autism.

David A. Guertin, PhD (Fellow '03-'06) University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts
Valerie Horsley, PhD (Fellow '04-'07) Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
Rajat Rohatgi, MD, PhD (Fellow '06-'07) Stanford University, Stanford, California
Susan R. Schwab, PhD (Fellow '04-'06) New York University, New York, New York

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William Y. Kim, MD (Damon Runyon-Merck Clinical Investigator '09-'12) of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and colleagues reported that the SRC, PI3K and MEK1/2 kinase signaling pathways act together in metastatic lung tumors that have deletions of the tumor suppressor LKB1.  These findings suggest that unique combinatorial therapies may be successful for treatment of lung cancers.  The research was published in the journal Cancer Cell.    

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Maura L. Gillison, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon-Lilly Clinical Investigator '00-'05) of Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, and colleagues reported that the presence of human papilloma virus (HPV) in tumors is the best predictor of response to therapy and survival for patients with oropharyngeal cancer (cancer of the back of the mouth).  Those with HPV-positive tumors had better 3-year rates of overall survival (82.4% vs. 57.1% for patients with HPV-negative tumors).   Christine H. Chung, MD (Damon Runyon-Lilly Clinical Investigator '05-'10) of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, was a collaborator on this study.  These findings were reported at the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference and in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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Jedd D. Wolchok, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon-Lilly Clinical Investigator '03-'08) of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, and colleagues reported the first treatment to improve overall survival in patients with metastatic melanoma.  In a phase III clinical study, patients were treated with ipilimumab, which blocks a protein called CTLA-4 to promote an antitumor T-cell immune response.  Overall survival was improved by 34.4% (10.1 months vs. 6.4 months).  These findings were reported at the American Society of Clinical Oncology conf