Newswise NEW YORK, August 5, 2020The Cancer Research Institute (CRI), a U.S. nonprofit organization dedicated to the discovery and development of powerful immunotherapies for all cancers, awarded more than $30.2 million in research grants and fellowships in the 2020 fiscal year ending June 30, 2020. In total, CRI gave 94 awards that will advance cancer immunology research at 56 institutions in 8 countries. This also includes an unprecedented six-month extension of funding support for 23 postdoctoral fellows in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

While the novel coronavirus has upended all aspects of life across the globe, CRI and our scientists remain committed to fulfilling the promise of cancer immunotherapy, said Jill ODonnell-Tormey, Ph.D., CEO and director of scientific affairs at the Cancer Research Institute. Were proud to support these brilliant scientists and clinicians, especially our young researchers and future leaders, at a critical time in order to bring the benefits of immunotherapy to more cancer patients.

The awards, which are funded entirely by individual, foundation, and corporate donors, include:

The 2020 Cancer Research Institute Lloyd J. Old STARs, or Scientists Taking Risks include:

To help advance immunotherapy for two types of ultra-rare cancer, chordoma and fibrolamellar cancer, which affect the bones of the spine and the liver, respectively, the Cancer Research Institute has partnered with two nonprofits focused on these diseases to fund promising research aimed at improving outcomes for patients with these cancers. These include:

Among this years Technology Impact Award recipients is Neville Sanjana, Ph.D., of the New York Genome Center, who is using massively-parallel genome engineering to comprehensively map all genes that can boost immune responses against pancreatic cancer, which will hopefully enable the development of next-generation T cell therapies for difficult-to-treat cancers.

Finally, included in the Impact Grants is funding for a glioma study carried out by Robert Michael Angelo, M.D., Ph.D., and Sean Bendall, Ph.D., of Stanford University in collaboration with investigators at City of Hope, Stanford, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of California, San Francisco, who will use Multiplexed Ion Beam Imaging (MIBI) to image intact, well-annotated glial tumor tissue from pediatric and adult patients in response to vaccine, checkpoint inhibitor, and cellular therapies. This dataset will inform therapeutic strategies based on the presence of tumor targets, expression of immune inhibitory proteins, and the types and functional statuses of T cells and myeloid cells within the context of an intact tumor microenvironment.

To view our full roster of 2020 grant and fellowship award recipients, visit cancerresearch.org/funding. More information about CRIs grants, fellowships, and other programs is available at cancerresearch.org/grants.

About the Cancer Research InstituteThe Cancer Research Institute (CRI), established in 1953, is a highly-rated U.S. nonprofit organization dedicated exclusively to saving more lives by fueling the discovery and development of powerful immunotherapies for all cancers. Guided by a world-renowned Scientific Advisory Council that includes four Nobel laureates and 26 members of the National Academy of Sciences, CRI has invested $445 million in support of research conducted by immunologists and tumor immunologists at the worlds leading medical centers and universities, and has contributed to many of the key scientific advances that demonstrate the potential for immunotherapy to change the face of cancer treatment. To learn more, go to cancerresearch.org.

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Cancer Research Institute Awards $30.2 Million in Grants and Fellowships to Support Basic and Clinical Research in Immunology and Cancer Immunotherapy...