LOS ANGELES, Calif., August 28, 2018 – The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) announced today that it has granted a total of $6 million to 29 promising early career scientists dedicated to advancing critical research in developing better early detection methods, improving life-saving treatments and finding a cure for prostate cancer. Sponsored by the PCF, the Young Investigator Awards program provides both financial support and a comprehensive career development program to early career scientists with unique approaches and groundbreaking ideas to drive the critical research needed to defeat prostate cancer, a disease that nearly 14 million men worldwide are currently battling.
“We are honored to invest in new cutting-edge ideas for prostate cancer research. This year’s recipients show great potential for unlocking new discoveries and achieving unprecedented strides toward research leading the way to help countless men affected by the disease,” said Jonathan Simons, MD, PCF’s President and CEO.
As a nonprofit organization committed to globally accelerating the development of new breakthroughs in prostate cancer, the PCF has invested more than $53 million to support 255 young investigators since 2007. The 2018 Young Investigator Awards recipients were selected from a pool of 103 applications from 55 institutions in 11 countries.
Recipients of the PCF Young Investigator Award must demonstrate significant promise for having a long-term and impactful career in the prostate cancer research field. Awardees must be within six years of completing professional scientific training programs and be under the guidance of at least one mentor. Eleven of the 2018 PCF Young Investigator Awardees are conducting research to improve prostate cancer outcomes in U.S. Veterans. Additional research focus areas include: novel precision medicine; new treatments and treatment strategies; immunotherapy; studying inherited genetic alterations for those at increased risk; and prostate cancer disparities particularly among African-American men.
The 2018 Young Investigator Awards recipients are:
| Name | Institution | Donor(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Saud AlDubayan, MD | Harvard: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute | Paz Littman and Morris Kahn |
| Mohammad Asim, PhD | University of Surrey, United Kingdom | Clovis Oncology, Inc. |
| Hala Borno, MD | University of California, San Francisco | Lenny Sands |
| Frank Cackowski, MD, PhD | University of Michigan | Jay Jordan |
| Megan Caram, MD | University of Michigan | Tony D. Minella |
| Kellie Cotter, PhD | University of Bern, Switzerland | Todd Boehly |
| Anis Hamid, MBBS | Harvard: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute | Jeremy Coller |
| Jennifer Jones, MD, PhD | National Cancer Institute | National Cancer Institute |
| Salma Kaochar, PhD | Baylor College of Medicine | John and Daria Barry Foundation |
| Sheng-Yu Ku, PhD | Weill Cornell Medicine | Michael and Lori Milken Family Foundation |
| Hui Li, PhD | University of California, San Francisco | John and Daria Barry Foundation |
| Brandon Mahal, MD | Harvard: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute | American Society for Radiation Oncology |
| Danil Makarov, MD | New York University | Thomas H. Lee |
| Megan McNamara, MD | Duke University | Thomas Finke |
| Kent Mouw, MD, PhD | Harvard: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute | Rebecca and Nathan Milikowsky |
| Vivek Narayan, MD | University of Pennsylvania, Abramson Cancer Center | James Maguire |
| David Oh, MD, PhD | University of California, San Francisco | John and Daria Barry Foundation |
| Eileen Parkes, MD, PhD | Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland | Foundation 14 |
| Raquel Perez-Lopez, MD, PhD | Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology, Spain | Gina Rinehart |
| Sethuramasundaram Pitchiaya, PhD | University of Michigan | Keith Frankel, Michael DeAddio, and Thomas H. Lee |
| Nicholas Reder, MD, MPH | University of Washington | Seth Bernstein |
| Zachery Reichert, MD, PhD | University of Michigan | Igor Tulchinsky |
| Veronica Rodriguez-Bravo, PhD | Thomas Jefferson University, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center | Clay Hamlin in honor of H. Ward Hamlin Jr. |
| Joshua Russo, MD, PhD | Harvard: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center | Michael and Lori Milken Family Foundation |
| Adam Sharp, MD, PhD | Institute of Cancer Research, London, United Kingdom | Larry Ruvo |
| Min Yuen Teo, MD | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center | Michael and Lori Milken Family Foundation in Honor of Selma Rabin |
| Vasanthi Viswanathan, PhD | Harvard: Broad Institute of MIT & Harvard | Seth Bernstein |
| Scott Wilkinson, PhD | National Cancer Institute | National Cancer Institute |
| David Wise, MD, PhD | New York University | John and Daria Barry Foundation |
For more information about the 2018 Young Investigator Awards recipients, visit pcf.org/c/young-investigator-award-class-of-2018/.
About the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF): PCF is the world’s leading philanthropic organization funding and accelerating prostate cancer research. Founded in 1993, PCF has raised more than $765 million and provided funding to more than 2,000 research programs at nearly 210 cancer centers and universities. The PCF global research enterprise now extends to 22 countries. PCF advocates for greater awareness of prostate cancer and more efficient investment of governmental research funds for transformational cancer research. Its efforts have helped produce a 20-fold increase in government funding for prostate cancer. For more information, visit www.pcf.org.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Colleen McKenna
Prostate Cancer Foundation
(310) 570-4722
[email protected]
Donald Wilson
(310) 428-4730
[email protected]