ANNUAL REPORT 2019 unding brave and bold. Cancer. No disease in F the history of medicine has proven more elusive and resilient. It defies logic. It’s unpredictable. It hides in plain sight. It evolves. And it’s soon to be the number one killer in America. The very nature of cancer is why, at the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, OUR we believe that only by pursuing And we support them the and investing in the most best way we know how— with audacious and ambitious ideas the money they need to bring will we achieve victory over their ideas from whiteboards humankind’s deadliest enemy. to reality. The funding and freedom to pursue theories, Our research focus is singular: concepts and strategies that high-risk, high-reward. others are not brave or bold enough to bet their careers on. Research that others might deem radical or believe to be Brave and bold. reaching too far. Research that has a good chance of failure, but That’s where the Damon at the same time has a chance to Runyon Cancer Research fundamentally change the game. Foundation invests. That’s where we believe the answers Who does that kind of will come from. research? Brave and bold. Young scientists with the brilliance and unbridled passion The only two words that will to push boundaries and break beat cancer. rules. People with the incredible brainpower to earn millions of dollars on Wall Street or in Silicon Valley, but who have chosen to take a different path, a path that could instead save millions of lives. 2 3 A MESSAGE FROM THE DAMON RUNYON’S NOBEL PRIZE-WINNING SCIENTIFIC PRESIDENT & CEO BREAKTHROUGHS Discovery of Most recently, we identified a critical area for Quantitative Biology Fellowship Award, to machinery regulating vesicle cancer research: quantitative biology. In this recruit and invest in these people. traffic, a major transport system current era of vast amounts of patient data in our cells (genetic and clinical) and research data, there Earlier this year, we increased our Innovation is an urgent need for scientists with the unique and Clinical Investigator Awards by 33% to provide more robust and much-needed additional resources to our scientists. This Discovery “WE LOOK FOR THE of catalytic new quantitative biology program (described properties Discovery of of RNA the genetic NEXT FRONTIERS, more on page 6) will further increase our principle for generation annual Damon Runyon award programs of antibody AREAS THAT ARE budget to nearly $21.5 million in 2020. We diversity are confident that our sustained investment Discoveries MOST PROMISING AND will lead to even more brave and bold impact concerning the structural YUNG S. LIE, PhD on cancer research. and functional SHOW THE GREATEST organization of the cell POTENTIAL FOR Discoveries concerning the replication BREAKTHROUGHS.” mechanism and Our scientists are brave and bold. They have Discoveries DAMON RUNYON the genetic concerning structure of viruses taken the path less traveled, a path that could hormonal save lives and change medicine forever. expertise to analyze these data in the best way treatment of BOARD MEMBER prostatic cancer possible. What can we learn from these data— As an organization, we also strive to be brave when combined, compared, sorted in the WILLIAM G. KAELIN, and bold. We look for the next frontiers, right ways or perhaps unexpected ways—that JR., MD, WINS 2019 areas that are most promising and show the will inform how to improve cancer treatment, greatest potential for breakthroughs. We diagnosis, and prevention? What are the right NOBEL PRIZE Discovery that seek opportunities to provide funding that types of data to collect in order to explore genes act by regulating Discovery of is catalytic to young innovative scientists, to the ability of important questions in cancer? definite chemical William G. Kaelin, Jr., MD, events poliomyelitis cancer research and to cancer patients. Our viruses to grow in shares the Nobel Prize in cultures of various esteemed scientific leaders work with us to Can we learn more about how cancers types of tissue Physiology or Medicine rigorously evaluate the research landscape, evolve and develop resistance to therapy, Discovery of for discoveries of how cells identifying areas where breakthroughs are or transition from latent to acute disease? co-enzyme A and sense and adapt to oxygen its importance needed and looking for gaps in funding. We To answer these questions, we need for intermediary availability. This work has led metabolism work efficiently and rapidly to design and scientists who are specially trained to work to the development of potential create mechanisms to respond to these needs in quantitative fields (such as mathematics, drugs for heart attack, stroke, anemia and fill these gaps. We ask our current Damon physics, computer science) in addition to and cancer. Dr. Kaelin has shown Runyon scientists to help us brainstorm other cancer biology. For these reasons, we are incredible dedication to the leadership Preparation of enzymes and virus ways we can support their career trajectory proud and excited to announce that we have of the Foundation’s scientific programs, proteins in a pure form and success, and accelerate their progress. created a new program, the Damon Runyon particularly the Clinical Investigator and Physician-Scientist Training Awards. Discovery of the chemical nature of vitamin K Discoveries in connection with the biological combustion processes 4 5 e are at a unique time in cancer QUANTITATIVE research, when the volume and W diversity of data—including genome sequences, catalogs of all the proteins in a single cell and patient information such as pathology and imaging —is exponentially growing. Increasingly, biologists are required to not only work at the lab bench, but also mine vast amounts of data to find the valuable clues that will address key challenges in cancer research and patient treatment. Damon Runyon anticipates the need for an elite cadre of computational biology INAUGURAL AWARD leaders with expertise and understanding in both quantitative and biological sciences—scientists who are capable of traversing both worlds with ease and BIOLOGY “BECAUSE THIS IS MEET AVIV REGEV, PhD IN ESSENCE A NEW The Foundation is thrilled to have one of the world’s most accomplished FIELD...IT IS CRITICAL computational biologists, Aviv Regev, PhD, lead the selection committee for TO DRAW FEARLESS the new Damon Runyon Quantitative Biology Fellowship Award. “She AND BRILLIANT has a proven track record of using quantitative tools to drive major discoveries in cancer,” says Todd R. 2020 YOUNG SCIENTISTS Golub, MD, of the Broad Institute, and Damon Runyon Board Member. TO THESE PROBLEMS Dr. Regev, also of the Broad Institute, has pioneered many leading TO DRIVE THE FIELD experimental and computational methods that are now widely used FORWARD.” by her colleagues in the field. She is AVIV REGEV, PhD co-leading one of the most ambitious projects in the history of biology—the FELLOWSHIP are truly bilingual, comfortably speaking Human Cell Atlas—which is creating both languages fluently. Highly skilled a reference map that categorizes the quantitative scientists, however, may be approximately 37 trillion cells that comprise the human body. 6 7 QUANTITATIVE BIOLOGY FELLOWSHIP AWARD Q&A WITH DR. AVIV REGEV pulled toward the technology industry The Damon Runyon Quantitative Biology WHAT IMPACT DO to create the next Google, Amazon or Fellowship Award will support a new YOU HOPE THE AWARD YouTube. To proactively address this generation of computational scientists who WILL HAVE IN THE need, Damon Runyon has created a new will pioneer novel approaches to the design DR: WHY IS THIS AWARD SHORT-TERM? AND WHY IS DAMON funding mechanism designed to encourage and interpretation of experiments in cancer SO IMPORTANT AT THIS IN THE LONG-TERM? RUNYON THE RIGHT quantitative scientists (trained in fields such research, to answer a myriad of important PARTICULAR TIME IN ORGANIZATION TO In the short-term, as mathematics, physics, computer science, biological and clinical questions. CANCER RESEARCH? BE LAUNCHING THIS empowering trailblazing engineering and others) to pursue research AWARD? young scientists in this careers in computational biology. “Damon Runyon is well-positioned to launch Dr. Regev: The vast amount such an ambitious and bold endeavor. of data being collected area will impact our ability Damon Runyon has long We must ensure that the presents a remarkable to predict and understand been at the very forefront cancer research field has opportunity to connect all disease and find therapeutic of training generations of strong leadership at the aspects of cancer biology targets. In the mid-term, the scientists in pursuing bold intersection of cancer in human patients and in scientists trained through new approaches to cancer biology and computational animal models that are both these awards will be part of research. It is mission-driven science. The Foundation has predictive and mechanistic. a new cadre of leaders to and can ensure the focus a long history of identifying This will not only drive drive the field forward. And and drive in this critical area. visionary, early career cancer research forward, but in the long-term, it will make scientists and investing in will also unveil new clinically it possible to bring new them,” says Todd R. Golub, relevant insights that will data-driven and machine MD, of the Broad Institute, ultimately impact patient learning approaches to and Damon Runyon Board care. However, it also poses cancer research beyond the Member. a large analysis challenge, lab and into the clinic. and requires deep expertise Exposing more cancer not just in applying researchers and oncologists current methods but also to data science, and in inventing new ones. computational scientists “DAMON RUNYON IS Fortunately, the remarkable to the biological complexity of cancer are “Because this is in essence a new field at advances in data science and critical steps to finding cures.