Starr Cancer Consortium Awards $5 Million to 5 Research Teams to Advance Patient Care

The Starr Foundation’s sixth Starr Cancer Consortium (SCC) Grant Competition awarded $5 million to 5 cancer research teams focusing on discovering new cancer mechanisms related to genetic mutations or epigenetic involvement in a variety of cancers. The awards were given to the following 5 teams for these projects:

• Rockefeller University: “Elucidating mechanism of histone H3.3 mutation-mediated oncogenesis in pediatric brain cancer”
• Weill Cornell Medical College’s first team: “Comprehensive elucidation of the mechanisms of action of anticancer molecules”
• Weill Cornell Medical College’s second team: “Discovery of AID-dependent epigenetic mechanisms in hematological malignancies”
• Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center’s first team: “Define oncogenic mechanisms of protein methyltransferases SETDB1 and SUV39H1 in melanoma”
• Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center’s second team: “Therapeutic targeting IDH1 and IDH2 mutations in acute myeloid leukemia andchondrosarcoma”

“This Consortium has launched a number of innovative, collaborative cancer research projects that are already linking discoveries in the laboratory to the clinic. Better patient outcomes are our ultimate goal, and we see progress every year,” said Florence A. Davis, President of the Starr Foundation. Weill Cornell Medical College; February 1, 2013