Damon Runyon announces newest class of SPARK Scholars

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has named the 2026 cohort of the Damon Runyon Scholars Program for Advancing Research and Knowledge (SPARK), a one-year cancer research internship for post-baccalaureate scholars. Launched in 2023, the program provides promising young talent with rigorous scientific training and a network of mentors and peers to support their next steps into graduate school and beyond.

SPARK Scholars will conduct research in the labs of current or former Damon Runyon scientists at partnering institutions around the country. Each Scholar will receive a stipend of up to $50,000, along with a living allowance and a travel stipend. Throughout the year, they will gather for unique programming to foster community among the cohort and strengthen the skills needed for a research career. They will also have the opportunity to present a poster at the annual Damon Runyon Fellows’ Retreat alongside other Damon Runyon scientists in September.

“Being surrounded by incredible scientists who took all sorts of paths to get there helped me see what options are available,” said Carli Newman, one of the inaugural SPARK Scholars and a current PhD student in the Molecular Medicine and Mechanisms of Disease program at the University of Washington. “I could better imagine myself in their shoes.”

2026 Damon Runyon SPARK Scholars

Olumide Adesioye with her mentors A. Thomas Look, MD (Former Fellowship Award Committee Member), and Nina Weichert-Leahey, MD (Damon Runyon Physician-Scientist ’23-’27), at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston 

Olumide is a recent graduate of Brown University, where she majored in Immunobiology. Olumide was born and raised outside Chicago by parents who immigrated from Nigeria. After acquiring a passion for biology in her A.P. Bio class in high school, she continued her studies in the biology department at Brown, where she sought out research positions throughout her undergraduate career. Her recent senior honors thesis examined the effects of menopause on immune cell spatial distribution within the endocervix. She is looking forward to learning more about how the immune system can be exploited to fight cancer as a Damon Runyon SPARK Scholar. Olumide is a recipient of the NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates and a Brown Undergraduate Teaching and Research Award. In her free time, she enjoys weightlifting, roller skating, photography, reading, and hair styling.

Margaret Hu with her mentor Todd Golub, MD (Damon Runyon Board Member, Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Committee ’07-’16), and Mounica Vallurupalli, MD (Damon Runyon-David M. Livingston, MD, Physician-Scientist ’23-’27) at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, and the Broad Institute, Cambridge 

Margaret was born in Wisconsin and grew up in Rochester, Minnesota. She attended Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, majoring in Biology and Sociology/Anthropology. Margaret was first exposed to cancer research in Dr. Todd Golub’s lab, where she spent her undergraduate summers studying the tactics employed by leukemia to evade macrophage phagocytosis. This experience fostered her curiosity about cancer’s complex, ever-evolving nature and the wide range of strategies available to target this disease. She aspires to explore human disease at the most fundamental level in order to design elegant and effective new therapies. Margaret’s achievements have been recognized by the Patricia V. Damon Scholar Award from Carleton College. In her free time, she volunteers with her local hospital and patient advocacy organizations and loves to hike, play the piano, and pick up new crafting hobbies.

Aiyina Meng with her mentor K. Mark Ansel, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow ’01-’04), at the University of California, San Francisco 

Aiyina was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to Chinese immigrant parents, and has since lived in four states and three countries. She earned her B.S. in Biology and Biotechnology from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Massachusetts, where she developed her research foundation as a trainee in the federally funded Undergraduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement at WPI program. Driven by firsthand experiences watching loved ones navigate serious health challenges, Aiyina has long been motivated to pursue research with meaningful applications in human health and disease. Her research as an undergraduate deepened her commitment to uncovering the molecular mechanisms underlying disease. Aiyina is passionate about translating fundamental science into real-world solutions. Her goal in research is ultimately to contribute to the development of more efficient, targeted cancer therapies. Outside the lab, she enjoys reading, taking long walks, and cooking.

Deahzana Randall with her mentor Santosha A. Vardhana, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator ’23-’26, Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator ’22-’24), at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York 

Deahzana was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. She attended the University of Michigan as a first-generation college student, earning her B.S. in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. Her interest in a research career arose from a personal genetic discovery, which sparked her desire to understand the scientific basis of disease. As an undergraduate, Deahzana was selected as a 2025 NK & Irene Cheung Scholar and completed a summer internship in the laboratory of Dr. Santosha Vardhana at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where she explored mechanisms of T cell exhaustion. In the future, Deahzana hopes to attend graduate school with a goal of running her own laboratory and contributing meaningfully to the understanding of tumor progression and immune interactions. Outside of the lab, she enjoys reading, hiking, and watching anime.