LUNGevity Invests in Lung Cancer Workforce Expansion Through Four Strategic Research Awards

Awards help to train and sustain a vibrant oncology workforce that brings progress for people diagnosed with lung cancer

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- LUNGevity Foundation, the nation's leading lung cancer-focused nonprofit, is proud to announce their support of four innovative research awards to broaden the lung cancer workforce and accelerate progress for all patients with lung cancer.

LUNGevity has invested more than $55 million in lung cancer research over the past two decades. With these 2025 research awards, LUNGevity continues their longstanding commitment to cultivating the scientific workforce and advancing high-impact lung cancer research.

"It is imperative that we build a vibrant lung cancer workforce to meet the growing needs of the lung cancer community," said Upal Basu Roy, PhD, MPH, Executive Director of LUNGevity Research. "These awards support research in strategic areas of need and they have the potential to transform lung cancer care."

The 2025 awardees represent early-career investigators working on projects that aim to develop exciting breakthroughs where they are needed most:

• Going beyond tobacco exposure to understand other lifestyle risk factors
• Improving access to lung cancer screening for high-risk populations
• Overcoming drug resistance in lung cancer
• Enhancing effectiveness of existing treatments

LUNGevity is proud to announce the following recipients of the 2025 Translational Research Program Awards.

Veterans Affairs Research Scholar Awards. This award program is designed to foster a new generation of researchers interested in having a direct impact on improving outcomes for veterans with lung cancer.

Enhancing Antitumor Immune Responses with a Dendritic Cell Vaccine in NSCLC
Michael Oh, MD
University of California, Los Angeles
$100,000 total award -- in partnership with an anonymous foundation

While immunotherapy has significantly improved outcomes for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), many patients still do not benefit from current immunotherapy treatments, often due to low immune cell activity in and around the tumor. Dr. Oh has developed a CCL21-DC vaccine that uses engineered dendritic cells to train the immune system to detect key protein mutations while also producing CCL21 protein to attract tumor-killing T cells to the tumor. He has already completed an early phase clinical trial that combines this vaccine with pembrolizumab to treat NSCLC. This allowed him to collect tumor biopsies and blood samples from patients before and after treatment. Using advanced sequencing techniques on these samples, Dr. Oh aims to understand how the vaccine affects tumor-targeting T cells and their interactions within tumors, which will help develop effective therapeutic vaccines and other immunotherapies for patients with lung cancer.

Co-Design and Pilot Testing a LCS Awareness Toolkit for Black Veterans
Lauren Kearney, MD
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
$100,000 total award

Black veterans face disproportionately higher rates of lung cancer diagnosis with poorer outcomes compared to other veterans. Despite lung cancer screening (LCS) being a vetted, lifesaving tool, many Black veterans remain unscreened due to low awareness, distrust of healthcare systems, and negative beliefs about lung cancer outcomes. This research aims to address these barriers by partnering with the National Association of Black Veterans (NABVETS) to co-design and test a community-based LCS awareness toolkit that can be distributed through trusted community organizations. The work represents the first step toward a larger randomized trial testing a culturally relevant intervention developed with Black veterans to improve LCS awareness and uptake in this underserved population.

ASTRO-LUNGevity Residents/Fellows in Radiation Oncology Seed Grant .  This award program is designed to develop the careers of researchers interested in radiation oncology-related basic, translational, or clinical research to benefit patients with lung cancer. 

mRNA Vaccines and Therapeutic Radiation for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Adam Grippin, MD, PhD
MD Anderson Cancer Center
$50,000 total award -- in partnership with the American Society for Radiation Oncology

Preliminary data shows that patients with NSCLC who receive mRNA vaccines with radiation and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have better survival rates. Dr. Grippin's research aims to optimize this combination approach to overcome drug resistance to ICIs through enhanced mRNA vaccine formulations. These findings are expected to be instrumental in laying the groundwork for clinical trials that integrate mRNA vaccines into standard lung cancer treatment plans.

Health Equity and Inclusiveness Research Fellow Award. This award program is designed to support researchers interested in conducting lung cancer research that bridges health disparities by engaging underserved or overlooked communities.

Targeting Overnutrition and Obesity-based Lung Cancer
Joyce Ogidigo, PhD
Columbia University
$100,000 total award

Obesity has been shown to increase the risk of certain types of cancer, including lung cancer. However, little is known about the mechanisms behind this connection or the possible approaches to intervene.  Dr. Ogidigo will investigate how obesity affects lung cancer development using a diet-induced obesity mouse model and studying many factors, including gene expression, metabolism, and epigenetic modifications. She will also study the use of metabolism-targeting drugs to slow tumor growth. By building our understanding of obesity-specific molecular mechanisms and therapeutic targets, she aims to lay the groundwork for more effective, personalized treatments for patients with lung cancer who are obese or have metabolic dysfunction.

Through these awards, LUNGevity continues to drive innovation and hope by empowering scientists to make discoveries that will bring us closer to a future where no one dies from lung cancer.

About American Society for Radiation Oncology 
ASTRO's mission is to advance the practice of radiation oncology by promoting excellence in patient care, providing opportunities for educational and professional development, promoting research, and representing radiation oncology in a rapidly evolving healthcare environment.

About LUNGevity Foundation

LUNGevity, the nation's leading lung cancer organization, is transforming what it means to be diagnosed and live with lung cancer. LUNGevity seeks to make an immediate impact on quality of life and survivorship for everyone touched by the disease—while promoting health equity by addressing disparities throughout the care continuum.

• Through research, we use an innovative and holistic approach to finding lung cancer earlier when it is most treatable; advance research into new treatments so people may live longer and better; and ensure a diverse, vital pipeline of investigators for the future of the lung cancer field.
• Through advocacy, we foster groundbreaking collaborations to ensure all people have access to screening, biomarker testing, and treatment breakthroughs.
• Through community, we educate, support, and connect people affected by lung cancer so that they can get the best healthcare and live longer and better lives.

Comprehensive resources include a medically vetted and patient-centric website, Patient Gateways for specific types of lung cancer, a toll-free HELPLine for personalized support, international survivor conferences, and tools to find a clinical trial. All these programs are designed to help us achieve our vision—a world where no one dies of lung cancer. LUNGevity Foundation is proud to be a four-star Charity Navigator organization.

Please visit www.LUNGevity.org to learn more. 

About Lung Cancer in the US

• About 1 in 18 Americans will be diagnosed with lung cancer in their lifetime.
• More than 226,000 people in the US will be diagnosed with lung cancer this year, with a new diagnosis every 2.3 minutes.
• It is estimated that close to 65% of all new lung cancer diagnoses are among people with no tobacco exposure or only past tobacco exposure.
• More lives are lost to lung cancer than to the next two deadliest cancers (colorectal and pancreatic) combined.
• Only 28% of all people diagnosed with lung cancer will survive 5 years or more, but if it's caught before it spreads, the chance of 5-year survival improves to 65%.

SOURCE LUNGevity Foundation