Damon Runyon awards $1.4M to advance innovative cancer research by next-generation physician-scientists

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has announced nearly $1.4 million in awards to three physician-scientists, supporting innovative cancer research and future clinical breakthroughs. The four-year awards provide up to $460,000 in research funding alongside medical debt relief. Recipients include Lindsey Draper (University of California, San Francisco), studying engineered immune therapies for ovarian cancer; Michelle Ferreira (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine), researching microbiome-based approaches to immunotherapy-related colitis; and Vivian Liu (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center), investigating acute myeloid leukemia biology and treatments.