Damon Runyon News

View New Articles By

News

New DiscoveriesMay 22, 2015

New chemical technology developed to degrade cancer proteins in the cell

Dennis L. Buckley, PhD (Damon Runyon Merck Fellow ’14-’18), James E. Bradner, MD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator ’11-’13), and colleagues at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, reported the development of a new strategy that uses tumor cells’ own machinery to disintegrate and dispose of proteins that drive cancer growth. When tested in laboratory samples of leukemia cells and in animal models of the disease, the approach caused cancer cells to die much more quickly than with conventional targeted therapies.

New DiscoveriesMay 19, 2015

New HHMI Investigators selected

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) announced its newest class of 26 Investigators, some of the nation’s top biomedical researchers who will receive the flexible support necessary to move their research in creative new directions. Four Damon Runyon scientists were selected for their individual scientific excellence. Their appointments will begin in September 2015.

New DiscoveriesMay 7, 2015

Pershing Square Sohn Prizes for Young Investigators in Cancer Research

The Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance has announced the winners of the 2015 Pershing Square Sohn Prize for Young Investigators in Cancer Research. The annual prize aims to catalyze collaboration among young investigators, academics, nonprofits, investors, and the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. The prize-winners will each receive funding for up to three years. Three of the six awards were granted to Damon Runyon scientists:

New DiscoveriesApril 24, 2015

Prestigious cell biology prize awarded

Elaine V. Fuchs, PhD (Damon Runyon Board Member, Damon Runyon Fellow ‘77-‘79) of The Rockefeller University, New York, has received the E.B. Wilson Medal, the highest scientific honor bestowed by the American Society for Cell Biology. She is recognized for her pioneering research on mammalian skin and adult stem cells.

New DiscoveriesApril 20, 2015

Combination therapy for treatment of advanced melanoma

Jedd D. Wolchok, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon-Lilly Clinical Investigator ‘03-‘08) and colleagues at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, reported the results of a Phase I study testing a combination therapy (Yervoy plus Opdivo/nivolumab) vs. Yervoy alone in patients with metastatic melanoma (with wild type BRAF gene). In 72 patients, the rate of confirmed response was 61% for the combination therapy (22% with complete response) vs. 11% for Yervoy alone (0% complete response).

New DiscoveriesMarch 30, 2015

New drug combination promising for treating aggressive breast cancer in brain

Carey K. Anders, MD (Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator '12-'15), and C. Ryan Miller, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator '09-'12) of UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chapel Hill, and colleagues, reported that they identified a drug treatment strategy that can improve survival for a particularly aggressive breast cancer sub-type (triple negative breast cancer) after it has spread to the brain. They demonstrated, in a mouse model of this cancer, that a combination of the drugs carboplatin and a PARP inhibitor improved survival.

New DiscoveriesMarch 26, 2015

Blocking cellular mechanism may make chemotherapy more effective

Maximilian W. Popp, PhD (HHMI-Damon Runyon Fellow '12-'15) and colleagues at the University of Rochester, Rochester, discovered that stopping a cellular quality-control mechanism can make chemotherapy more effective. This mechanism is called NMD (nonsense-mediated mRNA decay). The researchers found that exposing breast cancer cells to a molecule that inhibits NMD prior to treatment with doxorubicin, a drug used to treat leukemia, breast, bone, lung and other cancers, speeds cancer cell death.

New DiscoveriesMarch 25, 2015

Genetics underlying rare blood cancer identified

Eirini Papapetrou, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon-Edward P. Evans Foundation Innovator '13-'16) of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, reported the results of a technique called cellular reprogramming that takes mature blood cells from patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and reprograms them back into stem cells to study the genetic origins of MDS. MDS is a rare blood cancer that can progress into acute leukemia; its causes are not well understood.

New DiscoveriesMarch 23, 2015

Metformin and Vitamin D3 show promise in colorectal cancer prevention

Li Li, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator '01-'06), of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, and colleagues, demonstrated that a combination of the diabetes drug metformin and vitamin D3 work together to prevent colorectal cancer in two animal models. They plan to advance these findings to develop clinical trials in humans. These results were reported in the journal Cancer Prevention Research.

New DiscoveriesMarch 19, 2015

American Association for Cancer Research names recipient of prestigious award

William C. Hahn, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow '98-'99) of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, will be honored with the 39th annual AACR-Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Memorial Award. He is being recognized for his seminal contributions to the understanding of the mechanisms underlying cancer initiation, maintenance, and progression. His work has defined new paradigms and has provided a foundation for novel therapeutic approaches that are being tested in the clinic. He will receive the award at the AACR Annual Meeting 2015 in April.