$325,000 Raised for Cancer Research to Fund Scientists at Damon Runyon and Dana-Farber

in WR Charitable Fund on

As a result of our 2020 Virtual Ride + Walk we have raised $325,000 to support scientists at the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Read about the 2021 William Raveis Charitable Fund Fellowships and their brilliant groundbreaking cancer research.

2021 William Raveis Charitable Fund Scientists

Andrew Dunbar, MD, Physician-Scientist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Blood Cancers.

Mutations in the cancer-causing oncogene JAK2 are a hallmark of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), a blood disorder characterized by over-production of mature blood cells. While currently available JAK2 inhibitor therapies improve symptoms, they are unsuccessful at completely eradicating diseased cells, so remissions are rare. Dr. Dunbar investigates how MPN cells remain dependent on JAK2 signaling for cell growth, and how additional mutations might contribute to drug resistance. His research aims to identify improved JAK2-targeted inhibitors for more effective therapy for patients.

Dr. Dunbar works under the mentorship of Ross Levine, MD, at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He earned his MD at New York Medical College, followed by internal medicine residency at New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York.

Matthew Oser, MD, PhD Clinical Investigator, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Lung Cancer.

Although small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is initially highly responsive to chemotherapy, the disease recurs in nearly all patients in less than a year. There are currently no approved targeted therapies for when the cancer returns. Previous studies have demonstrated that SCLCs require a cellular feature called “neuroendocrine differentiation” (NED) for survival, suggesting that targeting this process could be a good therapeutic strategy. Dr. Oser uses a variety of experimental models of SCLC to identify new enzymes required for NED and to develop targeted therapies that can block this process. He aims to identify molecular targets that could be developed into new lasting therapies for SCLC patients.

Dr. Oser works under the mentorship of William G. Kaelin Jr., MD, at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston. He earned his MD and PhD at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. He completed his Internal Medicine residency training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Medical Oncology fellowship at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Cancer Center. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology.

 

 

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