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Dedicated to improving patient outcomes, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) has announced the recipients of its 2019 research grants. Seven grants, totaling to more than $3 million, were awarded this year, bringing PanCAN’s total projected research investment to approximately $104 million, including its grants program and clinical and scientific initiatives.
“Pancreatic cancer is a public health crisis, with diagnoses on the rise,” said Julie Fleshman, JD, MBA, president and CEO of PanCAN. “Through our donor-funded grants program, we are proud to support science focused on developing new and better treatments and early detection tools – without the generosity of donors, we simply would not be able to fund this vital research.”
PanCAN’s research grants program launched in 2003. In partnership with generous donors, the organization has awarded 173 grants to 170 scientists at 64 institutions to date.
The following researchers are recipients of 2019 PanCAN grants:
- Yuan Chen, PhD, Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope
- Nicholas Cosford, PhD, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute
- Dannielle Engle, PhD, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, funded in memory of Skip Viragh
- Yilun Liu, PhD, Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope
- Andrew Lowy, MD, FACS, University of California, San Diego
- Ingunn Stromnes, PhD, University of Minnesota, funded by Nancy Stagliano in memory of Julia Stagliano
- Wantong Yao, MD, PhD, MD Anderson Cancer Center
Two of the seven grants awarded support projects led by early-career researchers. Receiving a grant at this critical stage helps them further establish their careers and secure funding from other sources in the future. The other grantees received translational grants, which support projects aiming to take important discoveries from the laboratory to the clinic for patient benefit.
PanCAN and its Scientific Reviewers have also awarded five grant extensions to previously funded researchers with projects that are already in-progress. Extension recipients include:
- Gregory Beatty, MD, PhD, University of Pennsylvania, funded in memory of Skip Viragh
- Michael Curran, PhD, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
- Sunil R. Hingorani, MD, PhD, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, funded by 1440 Foundation
- Kenneth Shroyer, MD, PhD, Stony Brook University
- Kenneth Zaret, PhD, University of Pennsylvania
“These grants enable pancreatic cancer researchers to pursue work that can make a major difference in our understanding of the disease and, most importantly, in patients’ lives,” said Lynn Matrisian, PhD, MBA, chief science officer at PanCAN.
She continued, “We are very excited about these projects and are extremely grateful to our generous donors for their partnership and all they make possible.”
