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Research Funding Impact

Since 1993, the AACR has awarded more than $540 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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Targeting TNBC with an MDM2- PROTAC

Targeting TNBC with an MDM2- PROTAC

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive cancer with high rates of p53 inactivation and lower survival rates than other breast cancer types due to increased metastasis and relapse (1). Owing to the frequent inactivation of p53, compounds that inhibit p53 from binding to its negative regulator, MDM2, are ineffective in TNBC. In a recent study published in Cancer Discovery, Dr. Eischen and her colleagues used an MDM2-targeted PROteolysis TArgeting Chimera (PROTAC) to reveal the requirement for MDM2 in p53 inactivated TNBC and identify a new therapeutic target for the disease.

Launching Independent Careers with the AACR-PanCAN Pathway to Leadership Grant

Launching Independent Careers with the AACR-PanCAN Pathway to Leadership Grant

Dedicated to accelerating the conquest of cancer, the AACR is a unique organization committed to funding research projects across all cancer sites and researchers at all career levels. In partnership with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN), a nationwide organization dedicated to pancreatic cancer, the AACR-PanCAN Pathway to Leadership Grant was established in 2010. Running until 2017, the joint program offered $600,000 over five years to facilitate the career transition of pancreatic cancer researchers from postdoctoral/clinical research fellow to independent faculty.

Opening the Barriers in Glioblastoma with Tumor Treating Fields

Opening the Barriers in Glioblastoma with Tumor Treating Fields

Treatment options for brain cancers, including aggressive glioblastoma, are limited despite the availability of several chemotherapeutic drugs due to the inability of these drugs to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). AACR-Novocure grantee Dr. Carsten Hagemann and his team showed that the use of low-intensity alternating electric fields known as Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields), an FDA-approved treatment modality, can facilitate drugs crossing the BBB. Using multiple models, they elucidated the mechanisms driving this action.

AACR Grantees Share their Findings

AACR Grantees Share their Findings

We are extremely proud of our past and present grantees who published their findings this past year on their work that has been made possible through the support of the AACR and its funding partners.

Dr. Escobar-Hoyos Leverages Her AACR Grant

Dr. Escobar-Hoyos Leverages Her AACR Grant

Recipient of a 2021 AACR Career Development Award to Further Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Pancreatic Cancer Research, Luisa Escobar-Hoyos, PhD, shares how the AACR grant has been a critical step in her quest for federal funding for her more unconventional approach to treat pancreatic cancer.