Research Grant Recipients

For nearly 20 years, the IASLC has been providing funding to promising young researchers, helping fuel the next generation of life-saving lung cancer research.
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2021 ILCF Young Investigator Grant Recipients

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Dr. Kelsie Thu

St. Michael's Hospital - University of Toronto

Project Title: Deciphering anti-PD1 sensitization mechanisms in lung cancer

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Dr. Mariam Jamal-Hanjani

University College London Cancer Institute

Project Title: Investigating the Biological Processes Driving Metastatic Disease in Lung Cancer 

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Dr. Rachel Dodd

The University of Sydney

Project Title: Informed Choice for Lung Cancer Screening in Austrailia 

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Dr. Chiara Ambrogio

University of Turin 
Italy

Project Title: Identification of on-target and off-target resistance to KRAS-G12C inhibitors by comparing KRAS inhibition versus KRAS degradation

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Dr. Andrew Chow

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
United States

Project Title: Leveraging CD39 as a Biomarker of Tumor-Reactive CD8+ T cells to Improve Precision Immunotherapy

For investigators who are ready to begin independent research studies, ILC Foundation offers numerous grants on an annual cycle, dependent on geographic region of applicant. These one-year grants are for $50,000 in research funding.

  • 2020: Dr. Hua Zhang | New York University School of Medicine, United States 
    Dr. Cleo Goyvaerts | Vrje Universiteit Brussels, Belgium 
    Dr. Wencai Zhang | University of Central Florida, United States
  • 2019: Dr. Roberto Ferrara | I.R.C.C.S. National Cancer Institute, Italy < Dr. Ashanya Malalaserkera | Concord Cancer Centre, Australia 
    Dr. Ashwin Somasundaram | UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, United States 
  • 2018: Dr. Benjamin Lok | Princess Margaret CC, Toronto
    Dr. John Charles Rotondo | University of Ferrara Italy, Italy 
    Dr. Aaron Tan | National Cancer Centre Singapore, Singapore 
  • 2017: Dr. Paolo Ceppi | Interdisciplinary Center for Clinical Research (IZKF) Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen, Germany 
    Dr. William Lockwood | British Columbia Cancer Agency, Canada 
    Dr. Pedro Medina | University of Granada, Spain
  • 2016: Dr. Esra Akbay | UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, United States 
    Luiz Araujo | Brazilian National Cancer Institute, Brazil 
    Dr. Julie George | University of Cologne, Germany 
  • 2015: Dr. Mark Awad | Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, United States 
    Dr. Jill Larsen | QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institue, Australia 
    Dr. Adrian Sacher | Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Canada 
    Dr. Kenichi Suda | Kinki University, Japan 
    Dr. Silvestre Vicent | Center for Applied Medical Research, Spain
  • 2013: Dr. Narendra Wajapeyee | Yale University, United States 
  • 2012: Dr. Anne-Marie Baird | St. James Hospital/Trinity College Dublin, Ireland 
    Dr. Alexander Drilon | Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, United States 
    Dr. Jih-Hsiang Lee | National Taiwan University Hospital, Taiwan 
    Dr. Don Nguyen | Yale University, United States 
  • 2011: Dr. Milind Suraokar | University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, United States 
  • 2010: Dr. Tanawat Jirakulaporn | Siriraj Hospital, Thailand 
  • 2009: Dr. Yuichi Machida | May Rochester d/b/a Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, United States 
    Ms. Monica Spinola | The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, United States 
  • 2008: Dr. Prasad Adusumilli | Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, United States 
    Dr. D. Ross Camidge | University of Colorado Comprehensive Cancer Center, United States 
    Dr. Boone Goodgame | Washington University School of Medicine, United States 
  • 2007: Mr. Mohammed Hoque | John Hopkins University, United States 
    Dr. Mark Klein | University of Minnesota, United States 
  • 2004: Assoc. Professor Benjamin Solomon | Peter MacCallum Cancer Center, Australia

2021 ILCF Fellowship Grant Recipients

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Dr. Joao Victor Alessi

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Project Title: Dissecting the genomic and Tumor Microenvironment Determinants of Recurrence for Surgically-Resected Stage I NSCLC.

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Dr. Mohammad Aarif Siddiqui

University of Southern Denmark

Project Title: Reassessment of Thymidylate Synthase as a Therapeutic Option in NSCLC in Combination with Existing Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors

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Dr. Claudia Freitas

Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de São João e Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto

Project Title: The Role of Liquid Biopsy in Early Diagnosis of Lung Cancer

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Dr. Afaf Abed

Edith Cowan University
Australia

Project Title: Genomic HLA and pre-treatment TCR repertoire as biomarkers of response to immunotherapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients

Dr. Balasubramanian

Dr. Adithya Balasubramanian

Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, University of Melbourne
Australia

Project Title: Deciphering the regulation of the antigen presentation machinery in lung adenocarcinoma and its impact on response to immunotherapy

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Dr. Jose Carlos Benitez

Institut Gustave Roussy
France

Project Title: Immune and molecular characterization of Thymic Epithelial Tumors enrolled in IFCT-1104 RYTHMIC

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Dr. Misty Shields

University of South Florida/Moffitt Cancer Center
United States

Project Title: Investigation of APR-246 in small cell lung cancer

Exclusive to fellows, these grants provide $50,000 for a one-year research project. Opportunities are numerous and based on geographic region of applicant.

  • 2020: Dr. Karmele Valencia | University of Navarra, Spain
    Dr. Kasey Cargill | UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, United States 
    Dr. Biagio Ricciuti | Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, United States 
  • 2019: Dr. Mark Adams | Translational Research Institute, Queensland University of Technology, Austalia
    Dr. Hanbo Chen | VU University Medical Center Amsterdam, Canada
  • 2018: Dr. Anastasios Dimou | University of Colorado, United States
    Dr. Laura Mezquita | Gustave Roussy Villejuif, France
    Dr. Sanghyuk Song | Kangown National Univ. Hospital, South Korea, South Korea
  • 2017: Dr. Hou Guo | MD Anderson Cancer Center, China 
    Dr. Masaoki Ito | The heath and Sciences Research Institute of the "Germans Trias I Pujo" Foundation (IGTP), Japan 
  • 2016: Dr. Siddhartha Devarakonda | Washington University School of Medicine, United States 
    Dr. Nicolas Reynoird | INSERM, France 
  • 2015: Dr. Puey Ling Chia | Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, Australia 
    Dr. Colin Lindsey | Institut Gustave-Roussy, United Kingdom 
    Dr. Yoichiro Mitsuishi | Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Japan 
    Dr. Sara Pilotto | University of Verona, Italy 
  • 2014: Dr. Samuel Rowbotham | Boston Children's Hospital, United States 
    Dr. Steffen Sorensen | Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark 
  • 2013: Dr. Peter Choi | Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, United States
    Dr. Daniela Morales Espinosa | Hospital Germans Trias L Pujolo, Spain 
  • 2011: Dr. Martin Sos | Max Planck Institute for neurological research, Germany 
    Dr. Yang Wang | Guangdong Lung Cancer Institute and Cancer Center, China 
  • 2010: Dr. Daniel Chistoph | University of Colorado Health Science Center, Germany 
    Dr. Dawn Stults | Vanderbilt-Ingram Medical Center, United States 
  • 2009: Dr. Don Gibbons | University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, United States 
    Dr. Celine Mascaux | University of Colorado Cancer Center, France. 
    Dr. Meredith Tennis | University of Colorado Denver Health Science Center, United States
    Dr. Luca Toschi | Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Italy 
  • 2008: Dr. Shantanu Banerji | Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Canada 
    Dr. Khaled Hassan | University of Michigan, United States 
  • Dr. M. Naomi Horiba | University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center, United States 
    Professor Sebahat Ocak | Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Belgium 
    Professor Nir Peled | University of Colorado Cancer Center, Israel 
    Mr. Ilse Valencia | UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, United States 
  • 2007: Mr. Romulo (Martin) Brena | The Ohio State University, United States
    Dr. Grace Dy | Mayo Clinic-Department of Oncology, United States
    Dr. Tanguy Lim-Seiwert | The University of Chicago, United States
    Dr. David Shames | The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, United States
  • 2006: Ms. Daniela Basseres | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Brazil
    Professor Rafal Dziadziuszko | Poland
    Dr. Hiromichi Ebi | Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan
    Mr. David Jackman | Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, United States
    Assoc. Professor Thomas John | University Health Network, Ontario Cancer Institute, Princess Margaret Hospital, Australia
    Professor Stefano Landi | University of Pisa, Italy
    Dr. Jill Larsen | The Prince Charles Hospital, Australia
    Ms. Elena Levantini | Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Cente, United States
    Professor Roman Thomas | Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School and Broad Institute of M.I.T. and Harvard, Germany
    Dr. Glen Weiss | University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, United States
  • 2005: Dr. Jeffrey Engelman | Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Applicant), Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Supervisor), United States
    Dr. Ten Hoang | University of Wisconsin Medical School-Madison, Canada
    Mr. Remy Pedeux | Institute Albert Bonniot, INSERM U578 Grenoble France, France
  • 2004: Mr. Christopher Lyon | Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, United States
    Dr. Julian Molina | Department of Oncology Mayo Clinic, United States
    Ms. Maria Jose Pajares | University of Navarra, Spain
    Dr. Samir Witta | United States
  • 2003: Ms. Federica Gemignani | International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), France
  • 2002: Mr. Zdravko Kosjerina | Taiwan
  • 2001: Dr. Fred Hirsch | University of Colorado Denver, United States
    Mr. Yunfei Wang | United States
  • 2000: Dr. Jun Zhang | United States

2020 LCFA/BMS/ILCF Young Investigator Research Grant Recipients

Adrian Sacher

Dr. Adrian Sacher

Canada

Defining the tumor-myeloid axis as a key mechanism of PD1 inhibitor resistance and hyperprogressive disease in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer
 

Vincent Lam

Dr. Vincent Lam

United States

Enhancing the immune response in advanced ALK+ non-small cell lung cancer
 

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Dr. Jon Zugazagoitia

Spain

Project Title: Resistance to PD-1 Checkpoint Blockade in NSCLC Induced by Tumor Cell CD127 (IL-7R) Expression: Validation, Functional Assessment and Targeted Therapeutic Strategies. University Hospital 12 de Octubre.

Dr. Triparna Sen

Dr. Triparna Sen

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
United States

Project Title: Targeting Epigenetic Modifiers to Reactivate Anti-tumor Immune Response in Small Cell Lung Cancer 

LCFA/BMS/ILCF Young Investigator Research Grant in Translational Immuno-oncology: To support research in translational immuno-oncology undertaken by early-career investigators that aim to improve the care and treatment of individuals with lung cancers. Up to two grants may be given in this funding cycle, and each will be $100,000 per year for up to two years.

  • 2019: Dr. Jarushka Naidoo | Johns Hopkins University, United States
    Dr. Daniel Spakowicz | The Ohio State University, United States
  • 2018: Katheryn Beckermann | United States
    Dr. Zoltan Lohinai | National Koranyi Institute of Pulmonology, Hungary

ILCF John Fisher's Legacy Fellowship Grant

  • 2020: Dr. Robert Smyth | United States
  • 2019: Dr. Tejas Patil | University of Colorado Denver, United States

Lung Ambition Alliance Junior Faculty Research Grant for the Study of COVID-19 and Lung Cancer

  • 2020: Dr. Mattia Boeri | Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale Tumori Milano, Italy
    Dr. Jun-chieh Tsay | New York University Medical Center, United States
    Dr. Jeremias Sulam | Johns Hopkins Univeristy, United States
    Dr. Amit Kulkarni | University of Minnesota, United States

Addario Lung Cancer Foundation Young Investigator Grant 

  • 2017: Evgeny Izumchenko | Johns Hopkins University, United States
  • 2016: Robin Mjelle | Norwegian University of Science and Technology NTNU, Norway

APLCC Fellowship Grant

  • 2016: Dr. Apichat Tantraworasin | Mount Sinai, Thailand
  • 2017: Dr. Piyada Sitthideatphaiboon | Chulalongkorn University and King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand, United States

LCFA Fellowship Grant

  • 2019 Dr. Daniel Costa | Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, United States
  • 2010: Dr. Jessica Donington | New York University School of Medicine, United States
  • Dr. Geoffrey Liu | Ontario Cancer Institute, Princess Margaret Hospital, Canada

Free ME From Lung Cancer (FMFLC) and ILC Foundation (ILCF) Joint Fellowship Grant for the Early Detection of Lung Cancer 

  • 2018: Dr. Eva Koziolek | UCLA, United States

Boehringer Ingelheim/ILCF Chinese Fellowship Grant

  • 2019: Mrs. Sumei Lu | Ohio State University Medical Center, United States
  • 2017: Professor Deshui Jia | Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, China
    Dr. Shengxiang (Harry) Ren | University of Colorado, China
  • 2015: Yayi He | University of Colorado, United States
  • 2014: Dr. Xiangkun Han | Shanghai Instites for Biological Sciences, China
  • 2013: Dr. Lulu Yang | Guangdong General Hospital & Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, China

LCFA/ILCF Lori Monroe Fellowship in Translational Lung Cancer Research Grant

  • 2019: Dr. Haiying Cheng | Albert Einstein College of Medicine, United States
    Dr. Kellie Smith | Johns Hopkins University, United States
  • 2018: Dr. Alice Berger | Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, United States
    Dr. Christine Lovly | Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, United States
  • 2017: Dr. Carla Martins | University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
    Dr. Kellie Smith | Johns Hopkins University, United States

Prevent Cancer/ILCF Joint Fellowship Grant

  • 2019: Dr. Keshav Raj Paudel | University of Newcastle, Austalia
  • 2018: Dr. Md. Atiqur Rahman | Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI), University of Newcastle, Australia
  • 2015: Dr. Valsamo Anagnostou | Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, United States
  • 2013: Dr. Patrick Forde | Johns Hopkins University, United States

Donate to Support Research

Donations from patients, caregivers, and those individuals passionate about accelerating the pace of lung cancer research, as well as from our organization and corporate partners, go directly to funding our Research Grants. These Research Grants provide early-career researchers with vital funding opportunities, fostering both tomorrow's lung cancer visionaries and milestones in patient care.

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