News

New Discoveries October 21, 2013

Institute of Medicine elects new members

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, two Damon Runyon alumni were inducted this month:

Helen M. Piwnica-Worms, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow ‘84-‘85, Former Fellowship Award Committee Member), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston
Danny F. Reinberg, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow ‘83-‘85), New York University School of Medicine, New York City

New Discoveries October 7, 2013

2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

James E. Rothman, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow ‘76-‘78) of Yale University, New Haven, was named a recipient of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He shares the honor with Randy W. Schekman (Former Damon Runyon Fellowship Sponsor) and Thomas C. Südhof “for their discoveries of machinery regulating vesicle traffic, a major transport system in our cells.” Dr. Rothman is the twelfth Damon Runyon Scientist to be named a Nobel Laureate.

New Discoveries September 30, 2013

New NIH High-Risk High-Reward Research Awards announced

The intent of the NIH High-Risk High-Reward 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.

2013 NIH Pioneer Awards:
Michael Z. Lin, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator ‘13-‘15), Stanford University, Stanford
Mark J. Zylka, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow ‘00-‘03), University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

New Discoveries September 19, 2013

Regular colonoscopy screening and cancer prevention

Andrew T. Chan, MD, MPH (Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator ‘08-‘13) of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and colleagues at the Harvard School of Public Health reported the results of a large, long-term study demonstrating that 40% of all colorectal cancers could be prevented through regular colonoscopy screening. The new research also supports existing guidelines recommending that people with an average risk of colorectal cancer should have a colonoscopy every 10 years. The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

New Discoveries August 15, 2013

2013 W. M. Keck Foundation Medical Research Program Grants awarded

The W. M. Keck Foundation awarded 2013 Medical Research Program Grants to scientists conducting high-risk research with the potential for transformative impact. Three Damon Runyon scientists received grants of $1,000,000 each:
Sreekanth H. Chalasani, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow ‘04-‘07), Salk Institute, La Jolla
Joshua E. Elias, PhD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator ‘11-‘13), Stanford University, Stanford
Feng Zhang, PhD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator ‘12-‘14), Broad Institute, Cambridge

New Discoveries August 6, 2013

Personalized tumor vaccine boosts immune response in leukemia patients

Catherine J. Wu, MD (Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator ‘07-‘12) and colleagues at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, reported the success of a new strategy to boost leukemia patients’ immune systems after transplant. In a phase I clinical study, patients with advanced chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) were given a “personalized” tumor vaccine composed of their own inactivated leukemia cells combined with an immune stimulant called GM-CSF.

New Discoveries June 25, 2013

Aspirin effectiveness in reducing colorectal cancer risk linked to genetic mutation

Andrew T. Chan, MD, MPH (Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator ‘08-‘13) of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and colleagues, reported that the association between aspirin use and risk of colorectal cancer was affected by mutation of the gene BRAF. Researchers found that regular aspirin use was associated with a lower risk of BRAF-wild-type colorectal cancer but not with risk of BRAF-mutated cancer. These results were published in the journal JAMA.

New Discoveries June 4, 2013

New targeted therapy for advanced lung cancer

Alice Tsang Shaw, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow ‘04-‘05) of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and colleagues, reported that treatment with the investigational drug LDK378 resulted in an overall response rate of 60% to 78% in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with mutations in the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene. In March, LDK378 received Breakthrough Therapy designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These results were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

New Discoveries June 4, 2013

Drug stalls progression of thyroid cancer

Marcia S. Brose, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator ‘05-‘10) of University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and colleagues, reported results from a Phase 3 clinical trial (DECISION trial) demonstrating that the FDA-approved drug Nexavar (sorafenib) stopped metastatic thyroid cancers from progressing – nearly doubling progression-free survival from 5.8 to 10.8 months. This result is particularly exciting because no new drugs have been approved for this form of thyroid cancer in 40 years.

New Discoveries June 2, 2013

Promising new treatment for advanced melanoma

Jedd D. Wolchok, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon-Lilly Clinical Investigator ‘03-‘08) of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, and colleagues, reported the success of a new combination therapy for advanced metastatic melanoma. The therapy combines two drugs (Yervoy and nivolumab) to block “checkpoint” pathways, thus stimulating T cells in the immune system to attack cancers. In a Phase I clinical trial, the combination was demonstrated to be more effective than either drug administered alone.

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