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Honors and AwardsMay 29, 2026

Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation names three new Quantitative Biology Fellows

Damon Runyon has awarded Quantitative Biology Fellowships to three outstanding young scientists applying computational approaches to persistent biological questions. Their projects will use machine learning, spatialomics, advanced network modeling, and other technologies to better understand breast cancer risk, improve response to immunotherapies, and identify new chromosomal drivers of cancer. Each postdoctoral scientist will receive independent funding ($240,000 total) to train under the joint mentorship of an established computational scientist and a cancer biologist.

New DiscoveriesMay 26, 2026

Cellular pathway suggests mechanism of chemotherapy resistance

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 purines in two ways: by building them from scratch, known as “de novo purine biosynthesis,” or by recycling them from existing molecules, known as “purine salvage.” When the salvage pathway is active, it signals to the cell to slow down the biosynthesis pathway so that the cell does not make too many purines. Until recently, scientists did not fully understand how this slowdown happens.

New DiscoveriesMay 4, 2026

Tracing a pediatric cancer to its origins

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a cancer of the soft tissue that predominantly affects children. Under the microscope, these tumors resemble developing skeletal muscle, but they appear in parts of the body where skeletal muscle does not exist, such as the bladder and salivary gland. For years, this has raised two fundamental questions: what types of cells give rise to RMS, and why does this cancer mainly occur in children?

Honors and AwardsApril 19, 2026

Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital award 2026 fellowships

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have once again teamed up to support a new class of pediatric cancer research fellows. The awards, totaling a $1.5 million investment, will fuel the work of five fellows who will each receive funding for four years ($300,000 total). Each fellow will conduct an innovative research project with the potential to significantly impact the diagnosis or treatment of one or more pediatric cancers.

New DiscoveriesApril 14, 2026

FDA approves novel treatment for acute myeloid leukemia

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 gene NPM1, the most common mutation in adult AML, treatment options have long been limited.

Honors and AwardsApril 10, 2026

Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation awards $4.5M to top young scientists

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has named 13 new Damon Runyon Fellows, exceptional postdoctoral scientists conducting basic and translational cancer research in the laboratories of leading senior investigators. The prestigious, four-year Fellowship encourages the nation’s most promising young scientists to pursue careers in cancer research by providing them with independent funding ($300,000 total) to investigate cancer causes, mechanisms, therapies, and prevention.

EventMarch 27, 2026

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.

New DiscoveriesMarch 20, 2026

A hidden weakness in pancreatic cancer cells

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 vulnerability—and what previously made the cancer cell especially fit now makes it an easier target.

EventMarch 10, 2026

Join the next Timmerman Traverse for Damon Runyon!

EventFebruary 25, 2026

2026 Timmerman Traverse summits Mt. Kilimanjaro and raises over $1.2M for cancer research

By the time this year’s Timmerman Traverse team of biotech executives and investors embarked upon their journey to Mt. Kilimanjaro, they had already raised $1 million for Damon Runyon’s scientists. So they set their sights—and their altitude—higher. On Sunday, February 15, 2026, the team reached the mountain’s summit (elev. 19,341 feet) and exceeded their fundraising goal, raising over $1.2 million for cancer research.