Lustgarten Foundation boosts annual funding 60% to $22.8M for pancreatic cancer research 

The Lustgarten Foundation has announced $22.8 million in new pancreatic cancer research funding for fiscal 2026, an $8.6 million (60%) increase over the previous year. The grants support 18 projects focused on early detection and interception, therapeutics and personalized medicine, including clinical trials, biomarker research, AI-driven imaging and KRAS-targeted approaches. Recipients include Ashwin Somasundaram (University of North Carolina), Anirban Maitra (NYU Langone Health’s Perlmutter Cancer Center), and Rebecca Snyder (University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center). The Foundation’s broader portfolio includes 62 active grants across leading research institutions. Since 1998, Lustgarten has invested $333 million across 386 projects at 86 academic institutions.