The AACR Grantee Summit 2026: Fueling Discovery and Fostering Connection
The AACR Grantee Summit 2026 showcased impactful research funded by AACR grants, including new targeted therapy approaches and more.
Research Funding Impact
Since 1993, the AACR has awarded more than $551 million in grants to fund meritorious research projects across the spectrum of cancer science, including basic, translational, and clinical research. See how the AACR grants program has contributed to the AACR's mission.
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Because We Are All Different: The Hidden Geography of Drug Response
In observance of World Cancer Research Day, AACR highlights the work of UK-based investigator Louise Fets, PhD, whose research explores how tumor heterogeneity may influence treatment response in ovarian cancer. Supported by a 2024 Victoria’s Secret Global Fund for Women’s Cancers Career Development Award, in Partnership with Pelotonia and AACR, Dr. Fets and her team are investigating why PARP inhibitors accumulate unevenly across tumors and how that variability may affect patients.
An Unexpected Metabolite Reveals a New Weakness in Ependymomas
Ependymomas are rare tumors of the brain or spinal cord that affect both children and adults. Supported by a 2025 AACR-Sontag Foundation Brain Cancer Research Fellowship, research conducted by Siva Kumar Natarajan, PhD, identified itaconate, a metabolite more commonly associated with immune responses, as a previously unrecognized driver of ZFTA-RELA+ ependymomas. The study also uncovered metabolic vulnerabilities with therapeutic potential against these aggressive tumors.
New Frontiers in Kidney Cancer: Translating Discovery into Opportunity
The AACR-KidneyCAN Kidney Cancer Innovation and Discovery Grants advance translational kidney cancer research to help drive the development of new therapeutic strategies. Supporting bold ideas with the potential to drive meaningful impact, the program prioritizes projects focused on druggable targets, biomarkers, and biologically grounded mechanisms with clear clinical relevance. These awards help generate early proof-of-concept data, launch promising new research directions, strengthen the foundation for future funding, and help accelerate progress for patients with kidney cancer.
AI as a Clinical Copilot: Advancing Precision Oncology Through Spatial Biology
As highlighted in AACR’s Cancer Catalyst blog, 2024 AACR Innovation and Discovery Grant recipient Tae Hyun Hwang, PhD, is helping define how artificial intelligence can function as a clinical copilot in cancer care. Through his AACR-supported project, Dr. Hwang has developed AI-driven tools that integrate digital pathology with spatial molecular profiling to better understand why some tumors resist immunotherapy. His work reveals how tumor architecture and stromal “barriers” can prevent immune cells from reaching cancer cells, contributing to treatment failure. By pairing AI with spatial transcriptomics and in situ imaging, his team has begun to map these interactions at high resolution, uncovering new biomarkers and therapeutic targets to guide more precise, personalized treatment strategies.
Hijacking the Body’s Clock: How Breast Cancer Disrupts Brain-Regulated Rhythms
Research led by Dr. Jeremy C. Borniger at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a recipient of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation-AACR NextGen Grant for Transformative Cancer Research, has revealed that breast cancer hijacks the brain’s internal clock to fuel its own progression. In a recent publication in Neuron, the study found that tumors distally reprogram host circadian rhythms, blunting the daily surges of glucocorticoid hormones that are essential for energy and immune function.
AACR Grantees Highlight Research Progress at the AACR Annual Meeting 2026
The AACR Annual Meeting 2026 convened the global cancer research community at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California, from April 17–22. AACR grantees showcased scientific advances made possible through AACR and its funding partners, presenting their work in oral and poster sessions that spanned the full spectrum of cancer research. Together, these presentations highlighted the meaningful progress driven by AACR-supported investigators and the collective impact of this investment on advancing cancer science.
One-of-a-Kind Opportunity to Meet the Research Grant Reviewers at the AACR Annual Meeting 2026
Attendees at the 2026 AACR Annual Meeting are invited to attend an interactive session on Monday, April 20, 2026, featuring AACR research grant reviewers Greg Delgoffe, PhD, and Rulla Tamimi, ScD. Meet the Research Grant Reviewers will offer attendees the opportunity to ask grant-related questions to seasoned reviewers. Continue reading to learn more about the event speakers and what to expect from this session.
Age: More than a Demographic in Breast Cancer
Many people accept illness as an inevitable part of aging. But in breast cancer, the relationship between age and tumor biology is more complex than it may seem. Supported by one of the inaugural 2023 Victoria’s Secret Global Fund for Women’s Cancers Rising Innovator Grants, in Partnership with Pelotonia and AACR, Dr. Sandra McAllister is investigating how aging shapes breast cancer at the molecular level.
Armored for Victory: Reprogramming CAR T Cells Against Neuroblastoma
Transforming outcomes for children with high-risk cancers demands innovation. In 2023, Kristopher Bosse, MD, a physician-scientist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, received the AACR-AstraZeneca Career Development Award for Physician-Scientists, a grant designed to empower early-career investigators to bridge the gap between laboratory discoveries and clinical breakthroughs. His AACR-supported research, published in Molecular Therapy, explores promising new directions in immunotherapy for children with neuroblastoma.