
Aggressive Cancer Research
Our Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai funding grant provides research whose goal is the development of strategies aimed at blunting the very essence of cancer. This in turn can lead to the improvement of current therapies for highly aggressive cancers whose chemotherapeutic regimens often result in high toxicity for patients, treatments that are difficult for patients to tolerate.
Current Grant: Manqi Zhang, Ph.D.
PROJECT: Loss of ALK4 promotes EMT through regulation of Golgi-mediated receptor glycosylation in pancreatic cancer
Renewal Grant: Siva Karthik Varanasi, Ph.D.
PROJECT: Evaluating the role of bile acids as a metabolic checkpoint of anti-tumor T cell Hepatocellular Carcinoma

The Breast Cancer Project
Our grant to Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC, funds research into breast cancer genetics and is geared to making existing approaches more effective in the prevention, detection and treatment of breast cancer. This project addresses issues at the cutting edge of cancer immunotherapy.
Current Grant: Ibtehaj Naqvi, M.D., Ph.D.
PROJECT: Mitigating inflammation using nucleic acid scavengers to prevent breast cancer metastasis
Renewal Grant: Siang-Boon Koh, Ph.D.
PROJECT: Synergistic targeting of DNA damage response and EMT pathways to reverse RASAL2-driven chemoresistance

The Children's Cancer Project
Fullfilling the National Cancer Center’s desire to provide funds for pediatric cancer research and education, we created the Children’s Cancer Project to investigate prevention and treatment of pediatric oncology, as well as public education relating to detection.
Our fellowship to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia focuses on neuroblastoma, the most common solid tumor cancer found in children.
Current Grant: Mireia Perez Verdaguer, Ph.D.
PROJECT: Improving the Tumor-Suppressing Efficacy of EGFR Antibodies on Head-and-Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Renewal Grant: Haopeng Xiao, Ph.D.
PROJECT: Proteomic approaches to investigate Redox control in cancer

Fighting Childhood Leukemia
The Fighting Childhood Leukemia program of the National Cancer Center provides research funding for the most common form of cancer in children. Research funded at Harvard’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute seeks to discover novel molecular markers and potential therapeutic targets that, in time, can lead to improved diagnosis and prognosis of acute myeloid leukemia patients.
Current Grant: Sohini Chakraborty, Ph.D.
PROJECT: Therapeutic targeting of stem cells in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia
Renewal Grant: Shixin Ma, Ph.D.
PROJECT: Metabolically harnessing anti-tumor CD8 T cells at epigenetic level

NCC Special Programs
In addition to our four earmarked primary research funding programs, NCC fellowships have also funded research showing particular promise in the following areas: brain tumors, melanoma, DNA repair, anti-cancer therapies, gene mutations and targeted therapeutics. Grants have included:
Current Grant: David M. Gau, Ph.D.
PROJECT: Profilin-1 as a Target for Vascular Normalization and Treatment for Renal Cell Carcinoma
Current Grant: Uribe-Echevarria Zubizarreta, Ph.D.
PROJECT: Defining the mechanisms by which genetic alterations in CTCF and CTCFL drive oncogenic transcription programs
Renewal Grant: Joy Bianchi, Ph.D.
PROJECT: Targeting copy number alterations to overcome immune evasion in melanoma

Prostate Cancer Project
One of the most common types of cancer in men is Prostate Cancer. Challenges remain in choosing the best treatments for individuals at different stages of the disease. NCC is launching a new project in Prostate Cancer. Our scientists have initiated the new project to fund our scientists in how to prevent, detect and treat Prostate Cancer. Funding is badly needed to fuel the progress which will enhance finding a cure.