Two Damon Runyon Clinical Investigators received the 2019 Pershing Square Sohn Prize for Young Investigators in Cancer Research. Recipients receive $200,000 per year for up to three years and  opportunities to present their work to scientific and business audiences, helping to bridge the gap between the academic and business communities.

This year, two of the seven awards were granted to Damon Runyon scientists:  

Adrienne A. Boire, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator ’17-’20), Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York. Adrienne studies the spread of cancer into the spinal fluid (Leptomeningeal metastasis, “LM”). Her project will explore how cancer cells exploit immune cells in order to metastasize and spread into the spinal fluid through a structure called the choroid plexus. Unlocking the mechanisms by which cancer cells spread into the spinal fluid will reveal potential targets for therapy and a novel approach for LM treatment.

Alex Kentsis, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator ’16-’19), Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York. Alex studies DNA transposase molecules that can mediate ‘cut-and-paste’ rearrangements of human genes and can cause mutations in childhood and select adult tumors. The goal is to develop new therapies to treat cancers caused by such “jumping genes” and to develop potential strategies for their prevention.

Previous Damon Runyon award winners:

2018

Benjamin L. Martin, PhD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator ’17 – ’20), Stony Brook University, New York, Learn more

2017

Yimon Aye, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow ’09 – ’12), Weil Cornell Medicine, New York, Learn more

Daniel A. Heller, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow ‘10 – ’12), Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, Learn more

Eirini P. Papapetrou, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator ’14 – ’17), Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, Learn more

2016

Agnel Sfeir, PhD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator ’14-’16), NYU School of Medicine, New York, Learn more

Omar Abdel-Wahab, MD (Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator ’13-’16), Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, Learn more

2015

Arvin C. Dar, PhD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator ’14-’16), Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, Learn more

Moritz F. Kircher, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator ’14-’16), Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, Learn more

Christine Mayr, PhD (Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovator ’13-’15), Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, Learn more