In 2022, the FDA approved the first therapy to target human leukocyte antigen (HLA), which has been implicated in a variety of cancers. (The approved drug, tebentafusp, treats uveal melanoma, an eye cancer.) Last year, another HLA-targeted therapy received FDA approval for the treatment of a sarcoma. There are now a plethora of clinical trials open to patients who are HLA-positive.

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has named five new Damon Runyon Clinical Investigators. The recipients of this prestigious 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.

Cancers caused by mutations in the RAS gene family—which include pancreatic, colorectal, lung, skin, and ovarian cancers, among others—have thwarted drug development efforts for decades. The RAS enzymes, KRAS, NRAS, and HRAS, act as molecular switches, turning “on” and “off” the cell’s ability to grow. When mutated, RAS proteins become stuck “on,” causing cells to proliferate uncontrollably. For 40 years, these mutants were considered “undruggable,” their surface too smooth for therapeutic molecules to bind.

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation held its Annual Breakfast at The Metropolitan Club in New York on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. The event raised over $1.1 million to support promising early-career scientists pursuing innovative strategies to prevent, diagnose, and treat all forms of cancer.

Enteroendocrine cells, which line the wall of the gut, secrete hormones that regulate glucose levels, food intake, and stomach emptying. Abnormal activity of these cells can cause gastrointestinal disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), as well as intestinal tumors.

Three exceptional young clinicians with novel approaches to fighting cancer have been named the 2025 recipients of the Damon Runyon Physician-Scientist Training Award. This award, established to help bolster the ranks of this vital cohort of cancer researchers, provides physicians who have completed clinical specialty fellowship training with the opportunity to become leaders in translational and clinical research.

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation today announced the launch of the Innovative Ventures in Early-Stage Technologies (InVEST) Program. This unique initiative will automatically provide the first seed check to biotech startups founded by Damon Runyon alumni scientists.

Damon Runyon has announced a new  cohort of Quantitative Biology Fellows, five exceptional early-career scientists who are bringing cutting-edge computational tools to bear on some of the most important questions in cancer biology. Whether designing new proteins or mapping DNA structure, their projects aim to shed light on these fundamental questions through large-scale data collection, mathematical modeling, and quantitative analysis.

On Saturday, April 12, 2025, an intrepid team of scientific luminaries led by biotech journalist and mountaineer Luke Timmerman embarked upon the trip of a lifetime—a hike to Mount Everest Base Camp in Nepal. Over the course of ten days, they covered more than forty miles of rugged, uneven terrain, bonded over card games and cups of tea, struggled through bouts of altitude sickness, and encouraged each other every day to keep going.

Kheewoong Baek, PhD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, has been named this year’s Damon Runyon-Meghan E. Raveis Fellow. This award honors former Damon Runyon Board Member Meghan Raveis, who tragically passed in a car accident in 2023.