Seven Damon Runyon alumni were elected to the National Academy of Sciences (the science “Hall of Fame”), one of the highest honors that can be given to a U.S. scientist. This brings the total number of Damon Runyon scientists who are members of the National Academy of Sciences to 86.

Damon Runyon-Gordon Family Clinical Investigator Geoffrey R. Oxnard, MD; Board Member Michael V. Seiden, MD, PhD; and colleagues published results of a new blood test that can detect more than 50 types of cancer, often before symptoms develop. This may give patients and doctors a huge advantage and opportunity to treat the disease before it reaches advanced stages.

Former Damon Runyon Fellow Aaron D. Viny, MD, cares for people with leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) at Memorial Sloan Kettering as an oncologist specializing in blood cancers. Recently, Dr. Viny spent two weeks treating cancer patients in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are his reflections, from his twitter thread, as a physician-scientist at a unique time in medical history. 

Co-Authored by Damon Runyon Fellow Caroline Bartman, PhD, and Sponsor Joshua Rabinowitz, MD, PhD, and published in the New York Times 

As with any other poison, viruses are usually deadlier in larger amounts.

Damon Runyon Board Member Elaine V. Fuchs, PhD, the Rebecca C. Lancefield Professor of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development at The Rockefeller University, has received the 2020 Canada Gairdner Award in recognition of her pioneering work on tissue stem cells, the cells of our tissues that are responsible for repairing wounds. 

We’re thrilled to welcome Judy Swanson to the Damon Runyon Board of Directors this year. Judy is passionate about encouraging science and innovation at all levels, which is one of the reasons she supports Damon Runyon. Judy has been a member of the Damon Runyon Bay Area Committee since January 2017.

While parents have been coaxing kids to eat more vegetables for generations, only recently have researchers delved into understanding the science behind the health benefits. Elizabeth S. Sattely, PhD (Damon Runyon Fellow ‘08-‘10), has been at the forefront of this trend to harness plant chemistry to improve human health.

From all of us at the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, we sincerely hope that you are safe and healthy. We are aware that everyone is affected by COVID-19/novel coronavirus, from our scientists to our donors. 

After decades of trying, scientists developed drugs that target one of the most elusive cancer-causing proteins, KRAS, which is activated in nearly a third of cancers, including difficult to treat lung and colorectal cancers. In 2016, Piro Lito, MD, PhD, (Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator ‘17-’20) and his colleagues at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center showed that a compound could shut down the most common form of the KRAS mutation in lung cancer without harming healthy cells.

Advances in Genome Biology and Technology (AGBT) and the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation have partnered to award a new fellowship in honor of world-renowned genomics pioneer, Elaine R. Mardis, PhD. Steven W. M. Crossley, PhD, at the University of California, Berkeley, will receive this award during the AGBT General Meeting to be held February.