Lung Cancer Research Foundation Announces Recipients of LCRF | Boehringer Ingelheim Early Investigator Awards

Three Grants Awarded for Projects Focused on HER2-Driven Lung Cancer

NEW YORK, Dec. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF), in collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim, grants two-year $250,000 awards to three early career investigators for projects that address novel approaches for the treatment of HER2-mutated lung cancer.

The 2025 LCRF | Boehringer Ingelheim Early Investigator Award on Innovative Approaches Toward the Treatment of HER2-Driven Lung Cancer is awarded to projects that focus on the science behind HER2 mutations as oncogenic drivers of malignancy and/or the development of novel therapeutic approaches for patients with tumors harboring HER2 mutations.

"There is a critical need to define how HER2 alterations drive cancer progression and contribute to both response and resistance," said LCRF's Chief Scientific Officer, Antoinette Wozniak, MD. "We are hopeful that these projects will yield discoveries that directly improve care for patients with HER2-altered tumors."

"We're proud to support early career scientists follow the spark of an idea that can lead to tomorrow's breakthrough. Embracing the power of partnership with LCRF and celebrating a diversity of minds brings us closer to meaningful advances in medicines for patients - congratulations to all recipients of this award!" said Bjoern Rueter, U.S. Vice President, Clinical Development and Medical Affairs.

This is one of two funding mechanisms supported by Boehringer Ingelheim in collaboration with LCRF designed to address HER2 mutations in lung cancer. As with all grants selected, these projects underwent rigorous review by LCRF's Scientific Advisory Board.

The recipients of the 2025 LCRF | Boehringer Ingelheim Early Investigator Award on Innovative Approaches Toward the Treatment of HER2-Driven Lung Cancer are:

Pinar Özden Eser, PhD
Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Identifying actionable targets to improve response to therapy among patients with HER2-driven NSCLC

Elizabeth Brunk, PhD
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Linking Structural DNA Variation to Therapeutic Response and Resistance in HER2-Mutated NSCLC

Paul Stockhammer, MD, PhD
Yale University
Molecular determinants of tumor growth and therapeutic response in ERBB2-mutant lung cancer

In 2025, LCRF funded 19 projects totaling $4.45 million, more than any other funding year in its history, thanks to the generosity, commitment, and vision of its donors, fundraisers, and partners.

"Funding investigators early in their careers is often the catalyst to keeping scientists focused on advancing their best science," says Kathryn O'Donnell, PhD, LCRF Scientific Advisory Board chair. "With the current uncertainties of federal funding, including the elimination of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program's lung cancer program, funding from organizations like LCRF becomes even more important in maintaining momentum in lung cancer research."

To learn more about LCRF funded research and its grants program, visit LCRF.org/research.

About the Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF)
The Lung Cancer Research Foundation® (LCRF) is the leading nonprofit organization focused on funding innovative, high-reward research with the potential to extend survival and improve quality of life for people with lung cancer. LCRF's mission is to improve lung cancer outcomes by funding research for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure of lung cancer. To date, LCRF has funded 445 research grants, totaling nearly $53 million, the highest amount provided by a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding lung cancer research. For more information, visit lcrf.org.

Contact:
Sheila Sullivan, Sr. Director, Marketing & Communications
Lung Cancer Research Foundation
[email protected]

About Boehringer Ingelheim in Oncology
We have a clear aspiration – to transform the lives of people with cancer by delivering meaningful advances, with the ultimate goal of curing a range of cancers. Boehringer Ingelheim's generational commitment to driving scientific innovation is reflected by the company's robust pipeline of cancer cell-directed and immuno-oncology investigational therapies, as well as the smart combination of these approaches. Boehringer's ambition in oncology is to take a diligent and broad approach, creating a collaborative research network to tap into a diversity of minds, which is vital in addressing some of the most challenging, but potentially most impactful, areas of cancer research. Simply put, for Boehringer Ingelheim, cancer care is personal, today and for generations. Read more at Cancer | Boehringer Ingelheim US 

Contact:
Emily Bard, Associate Director, Public Relations
Boehringer Ingelheim US
[email protected]

SOURCE Lung Cancer Research Foundation