NEW YORK, April 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research convened more than 150 scientists from 13 states and seven countries at its 2025 Scientific Symposium in New York City on April 3, 2025. The event provided a critical forum for the Foundation’s grantees to share their research, foster new collaborations, and build robust partnerships within a global network dedicated to accelerating breakthroughs in cancer research.
The program included talks by ten Mark Foundation-funded investigators, who shared groundbreaking discoveries in areas ranging from the use of circulating tumor DNA to monitor cancer evolution to how obesity impacts responses to cancer immunotherapy. Regina Barzilay, PhD, the School of Engineering Distinguished Professor for AI and Health at MIT, delivered a keynote address on the transformative potential of artificial intelligence in cancer medicine. James Bradner, MD, Executive Vice President, Research and Development at Amgen, joined Ross Levine, MD, Senior Vice President, Translational Research at Memorial Sloan Kettering and Chair, Mark Foundation Scientific Advisory Committee, for a fireside chat.
“The caliber of research presented by our grantees at the Symposium underscores the rapid progress being made in cancer research,” said Levine. “These findings are not just promising; they’re actively shaping the future of cancer treatment and diagnosis.”
In the Symposium’s opening remarks, Mark Foundation CEO Ryan Schoenfeld, PhD, pointed to the critical role that foundations play in the cancer research funding landscape and called for increased cooperation between organizations around the world to amplify their impact.
Schoenfeld also announced significant new initiatives at the Symposium, including the launch of The Mark Foundation Center for Lineage Plasticity. This $10 million, five-year commitment will support a collaborative effort between investigators at Columbia University’s Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The Center, co-funded by the Torrey Coast Foundation, will focus on unraveling the fundamental mechanisms of tumor plasticity, with the goal of developing novel and effective therapies for challenging cancers like bladder and esophageal cancer.
Additionally, the Foundation unveiled its latest cohort of Endeavor Award recipients. These $3 million, three-year grants support interdisciplinary teams tackling critical challenges in cancer research. This year’s awards go to a multi-institute collaborative team at the Weizmann Institute, Technion, and Tel Aviv University focused on understanding and treating cancer-associated cachexia, a debilitating syndrome affecting patients with advanced cancer, and, with co-funding from the Torrey Coast Foundation, to a team at the University of California, San Francisco that is engineering advanced CAR T-cell therapies for gastric cancer.
“This Symposium exemplifies our commitment to fostering an inspired, collaborative ecosystem that empowers scientists to push the boundaries of cancer research,” said Ryan Schoenfeld, PhD, CEO of The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research. “By facilitating knowledge exchange and strategic partnerships, we’re driving the kind of innovation that ultimately translates to meaningful benefits for patients worldwide.”
ABOUT THE MARK FOUNDATION FOR CANCER RESEARCH
The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research, a charitable organization based in New York City, actively partners with scientists worldwide to accelerate research that will transform cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Since 2017, The Mark Foundation has awarded over $250 million in grants to investigators at more than 100 academic institutions across 16 countries, with research programs focusing on early career support, team science collaboration, new technology innovation, and therapeutics discovery. Additionally, The Mark Foundation maintains a growing portfolio of investments in early-stage cancer diagnostics and therapeutics companies, including several that have transitioned from grantee projects into commercial development. To learn more, please visit www.themarkfoundation.org.
Media contact: Katherine Kremer katherine.kremer@the193.com
SOURCE The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research
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