Three scientists with exceptional promise and novel approaches to fighting cancer have been named the 2026 recipients of the Damon Runyon Physician-Scientist Training Award.

Congratulations to the newest Damon Runyon Quantitative Biology Fellows, three exceptional early-career scientists who are applying computational approaches to solve big questions in cancer biology!

Former Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Ralph J. DeBerardinis, MD, and his lab, including Damon Runyon SPARK Fellow Imani M. Williams, have illuminated a potential mechanism of chemotherapy resistance in cancer cells. Read more:

Cellular pathway suggests mechanism of chemotherapy resistance | New Discoveries

Purines, namely adenine and guanine, are one of two chemical compounds that cells use to make the building blocks of DNA and RNA. (The other are pyrimidines, cytosine and thymine.) Cells can make puri...

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Over the weekend, we were thrilled to welcome the 2026 Illini 4000 team to our office for breakfast with current Fellows Wenzhi Song, PhD, and James Swann, VetMB, DPhil. They're off on their cross-country adventure raising funds for cancer research - wish them luck! 🗽 -> 🌉

We've begun our final segment of #ArvCon2026 to benefit @damonrunyon.org, with our annual DRCRF scientist TTRPG game--Timewatch, GM'ed by @therisingtithes.bsky.social! We're only $750 away from our goal, so please join us, enjoy the time shenanigans, and help us get that final amount! :D

Gregory A. Wilson@gregoryawilson.com · 3mo ago

Finally, Day Four of #ArvCon2026 wraps up at 3:15 p.m. EDT with a special one-shot TTRPG adventure in the Gumshoe system, featuring @damonrunyon.org scientists @lesliedaymicro.bsky.social, @txrwang.bsky.social, and Hui Chiu as players, and @therisingtithes.bsky.social as GM! 11/?

Tune in now to meet some of our scientists during this special weekend-long fundraiser!

Gregory A. Wilson@gregoryawilson.com · 3mo ago

Day Two of #ArvCon2026 begins on May 23rd at 12 p.m. EDT with an interview of amazing @damonrunyon.org scientists @lesliedaymicro.bsky.social, @txrwang.bsky.social, and Hui Chiu! 4/?

#ArvCon2026 to benefit @damonrunyon.org begins with our Pre-Show TOMORROW, Thursday the 21st at 7:30 p.m. ET...please mark your calendars for an event full of community, giveaways, surprises, interviews, music, and--of course--lots of TTRPGs! Please spread the word, and we'll see you tomorrow night!

Gregory A. Wilson@gregoryawilson.com · 3mo ago

The time has come to announce the official schedule for #ArvCon2026, our twelfth annual TTRPG actual play/concert/interview/giveaway/surprise/and more event to benefit @damonrunyon.org, beginning next week on www.twitch.tv/arvaneleron! Please join us, spread the word, and share widely! 1/?

New research from former Damon Runyon-Sohn Pediatric Cancer Fellow Katherine E. Gadek, PhD, traces the childhood cancer rhabdomyosarcoma to its origins in developing blood vessels—paving the way for better detection and prevention strategies. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4nbQ1qs

Nearly a decade after former Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Scott Armstrong, MD, PhD, demonstrated that leukemia cells depend on a protein called menin for survival, the FDA approved the menin inhibitor revumenib for treatment of acute myeloid leukemia. Read more: https://bit.ly/4vuSmR4

FDA approves novel treatment for acute myeloid leukemia | New Discoveries

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is diagnosed in more than 20,000 people in the U.S. each year, and the five-year survival rate remains around 30%. For patients whose disease is driven by mutations in the...

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Congrats to @kinglhung.bsky.social from my lab on receiving a @damonrunyon.org Postdoctoral Fellowship! I was a Damon Runyon Fellow early in my career and know how much this recognition means. So proud! www.damonrunyon.org/news/damon-r...

We are thrilled to announce the newest class of Damon Runyon Fellows, 13 exceptional early-career scientists who are working to push boundaries and make breakthroughs in cancer research. Read more about their projects: https://bit.ly/4muFTsP

On March 24, clinically focused Damon Runyon scientists and industry partners gathered at Amgen in Cambridge, MA for the 2026 Accelerating Cancer Cures Symposium. The symposium aims to foster conversation and spark collaboration between academia and industry. Read more: https://bit.ly/47XXWkQ

Damon Runyon scientists gather for 2026 Accelerating Cancer Cures Symposium

Damon Runyon scientists and industry partners gathered on Tuesday, March 24, for the 2026 Accelerating Cancer Cures Research Symposium, hosted by Amgen in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Steven M. Corsello, MD, and his colleagues at Stanford have discovered a drug that can degrade nuclear pores—the passageways by which mRNA leaves the nucleus—in cancer cells, effectively inducing cell death. Read more: https://bit.ly/3NCJeZJ

A hidden weakness in pancreatic cancer cells | New Discoveries

Cancer drugs often target a molecule that cancer cells rely on for survival but, crucially, healthy cells do not. When they are first identified, this type of molecule is known as a therapeutic vulner...

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Congratulations to the newest recipients of the 2026 Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award! Five exceptional scientists received initial grants, and three previous awardees were given "Stage 2" support to continue their critical work. Read more:

Major breakthroughs in cancer research can come from the most unexpected sources. This World Cancer Day, we celebrate the curiosity that drives our scientists to look for answers in unusual places.

What does that have to do with cancer?

Current and former Damon Runyon scientists explain why breakthroughs can come from unusual places, and why Damon Runyon's funding strategy is so important.…

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A pediatric patient was able to walk again after a groundbreaking discovery by Damon Runyon alumni Michael E. Pacold, MD, PhD, and Robert S. Banh, PhD, led to an experimental therapy for his neurodevelopmental condition.

Pancreatic cancer research leads to treatment for neurological disease | New Discoveries

In 2021, Damon Runyon scientists Michael E. Pacold, MD, PhD, Robert S. Banh, PhD, and their colleagues at New York University Langone Health discovered how the enzyme CoQ10 is made, a synthesis pathwa...

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Shoutout to first author, Isabella Alves, a @damonrunyon.org SPARK postbaccalaureate fellow and rising star in hematology. Very proud to see this work in print and honored to have had the opportunity to review the original article and learn more about the coolness of ferroptosis🩸🔮

Last month, Arlene Sharpe and Gordon J. Freeman (Damon Runyon Fellow '79-'81) received the inaugural edition of the Gretener-Thürlemann Prize for their foundational work on the immune system, widening the field of immunology and demonstrating how important basic science is to medical breakthrough.

Deciphering the Immune System Side by Side

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No one organization can fill the gaps created by federal funding cuts to research. But as an independent funder, Damon Runyon is committed to ensuring that our scientists can continue their lifesaving work in 2026 and beyond. Until midnight, all gifts will be fully matched: damonrunyon.org/donate

Damon Runyon scientists on the impact of slashing research funding

Damon Runyon scientists explain how drastic cuts in federal research funding threaten progress in cancer research, and how Damon Runyon can help protect the breakthroughs…

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Recent research from former Damon Runyon–Dale F. Frey Breakthrough Scientist Abigail Overacre-Delgoffe, PhD, suggests that sucralose—a common artificial sweetener—may interfere with cancer immunotherapy. Read more: https://bit.ly/3MZvzv1

Artificial sweetener may interfere with immunotherapy

New research from Damon Runyon-Dale F. Frey Breakthrough Scientist Abigail E. Overacre-Delgoffe, PhD, and her lab at the University of Pittsburgh suggests that sucralose—the sugar substitute found in ...

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Our scientists explain what support from Damon Runyon has meant during a turbulent year for cancer research. To everyone in our Damon Runyon community, happy holidays and thank you!

A message of gratitude from our scientists

Damon Runyon scientists explain what your support has meant during a difficult year for cancer researchers. Help protect their progress in 2026 at at damonrunyon.org.

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Pancreatic cancer remains one of the deadliest diagnoses, with a 5-year survival rate of about 12%. But even amidst a federal funding crisis, Damon Runyon scientists are working to advance methods of detection and treatment.

How Damon Runyon scientists are making progress against pancreatic cancer

Learn more about our brilliant young scientists and support their work at damonrunyon.org.

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Congratulations to Damon Runyon scientists Omar Abdel-Wahab, MD, Wendy S. Garrett, MD, PhD, and David G. Kirsch, MD, PhD, for their election to the National Academy of Medicine last month! 👏 Read the full press release here: bit.ly/4hnDYDH

National Academy of Medicine Elects 100 New Members - NAM

The National Academy of Medicine has announced 100 new members for the Class of 2025.

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A study from Damon Runyon scientists Eirini Papapetrou, MD, PhD, Piro Lito, MD, PhD, Elli Papaemmanuil, PhD, and Elvin Wagenblast, PhD, explains why RAS-mutant leukemias behave differently, and may offer a clue to overcoming their treatment resistance. Read more: https://bit.ly/4p61B6k

A step toward overcoming treatment resistance in leukemia | New Discoveries

Since the Food and Drug Administration approved the targeted therapy drug venetoclax in 2020, it has become a first-line treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a blood cancer. Unfortunately, some...

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Earlier this month, we proudly welcomed the newest cohort of Damon Runyon Fellows! These 16 brilliant postdocs will receive four years of independent funding to advance their investigation of causes, treatments, and prevention strategies for all types of cancer. Read more: https://bit.ly/4nc25Hq

The recipient of the 2025 Damon Runyon-Jake Wetchler Award for Pediatric Innovation, recognizing work with great potential to impact pediatric cancers, is Pu Zheng, PhD, a Damon Runyon-Fayez Sarofim Fellow working on new technologies to visualize cancer cell behavior within its native environment.

Wanted to give a proper shout-out to @txrwang.bsky.social for earning a @damonrunyon.org QBio Fellowship! He is a perfect example of the next gen of scientists who think deeply and creatively across disciplines of biology and ML/AI. I learned a lot from him. www.damonrunyon.org/news/entries... 1/2

Creative Ways to Back Young Scientists. Listen to Yung Lie and Andy Rachleff of Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation on The Long Run podcast. timmermanreport.com/2025/07/crea...

Creative Ways to Back Young Scientists: Andy Rachleff and Yung Lie on The Long Run - TimmermanReport.com

Yung Lie and Andy Rachleff are today’s guests on The Long Run. Yung is the president and CEO of the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, based in New York. Andy is the board chair. Andy was one of...

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Damon Runyon mentor-mentee duo Piro Lito, MD, PhD, and Antonio Cuevas-Navarro, PhD, have developed a new approach to treating RAS-driven cancers, such as colorectal and pancreatic. Rather than inhibiting the cancerous protein, their drug restores its natural function. Read more:

The Clinical Investigator Award program was designed to increase the number of physician-scientists capable of translating discoveries in the lab into new treatments for cancer patients. @tanaya-shree.bsky.social was recognized as one of five new @damonrunyon.org Clinical Investigators in 2025.