Congratulations to residents and Radiation Oncology Research Scholars Mark Chen, MD, PhD (Class of 2026), and Yorleny Vicioso Mora, MD, PhD (Class of 2027), who both received 2026 Conquer Cancer Young Investigator Awards from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
Young Investigator Awards provide funding to promising investigators to encourage quality research in clinical oncology and to assist during the transition to a faculty appointment.
Dr. Chen's research focuses on Ewing sarcoma, a rare cancer that grows in the bones or soft tissues surrounding them. "I am deeply grateful to ASCO for its sustained commitment to supporting the next generation of cancer researchers," said Dr. Chen. "This award provides the freedom to pursue higher-risk science in Ewing sarcoma – a deadly malignancy where, despite three decades of knowing that the EWSR1-FLI1 fusion drives disease, the standard of care has remained essentially unchanged. With support from ASCO and our department, I will explore new strategies to bridge this gap between biological knowledge and clinical progress."
Dr. Vicioso Mora's research focuses on developing combination radio-immunotherapies for locally advanced malignancies. "This award will support efforts to overcome pancreatic cancer resistance to radiation by combining KRAS-targeting cell-penetrating antibodies, which specifically bind and deplete mutated KRAS proteins in cancer cells, with stereotactic body radiotherapy to effectively kill tumor cells," she said. "This novel combination aims to enhance immune system stimulation and address limitations of small-molecule KRAS inhibitors by targeting diverse KRAS alterations in resistant cells."