NCI Director’s Innovation Award Past Recipients
The NCI Director’s Innovation Award Program is designed to support development of highly innovative approaches and technology aimed at significant cancer-related problems. Novel proposals with the potential for high impact, the potential to generate new intellectual property or technology, or which are considered too high-risk or preliminary to pursue within the base budget allocation are encouraged. Proposals with an emphasis on health disparities research are also encouraged. The program offers one-time awards Career Development Awards that are targeted to Postdoctoral Fellows, Staff Scientists, and Staff Clinicians at all levels, with an upper limit of $10,000.
2024 Director¹s Innovation Award Recipients - Career Development
Frank Echtenkamp, Urologic Oncology Branch
Creation and characterization of an inducible, mitochondrial degron system
Jaewon Lee, Mouse Cancer Genetics Program
Mitigating on-target off-tumor toxicity using the “tumor-activatable” ADCs
Devon Mason, Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology
Engineering CRISPR for block-and-rescue control of mRNA function
Davie Milewski, Genetics Branch
Discovering small molecules which stimulate antigen presentation in cancer
Shaifaly Parmar, Chemical Biology Laboratory and Youn Yean Kim, Genetics Branch
Severing Fusion Oncogene Using Small Molecules
Julio Valencia, Cancer Innovation Laboratory
IFNAR blockade synergize with the antitumor effect of anti-PD1 antibodies
2023 Director¹s Innovation Award Recipients - Career Development
Christopher Bohrer, Laboratory of Receptor Biology and Gene Expression
General principles of enhancer-biology: building from scratch
Nicolas Cuburu, Laboratory of Cellular Oncology
Harnessing adaptive Natural Killer cells to treat solid tumors
Sarah Dremel, HIV & AIDS Malignancy Branch
Sequence determines function: Molecular mechanisms of herpesvirus circRNAs
Veer Keizer, Laboratory of Receptor Biology and Gene Expression
Magnetic manipulation of enhancer-promoter interaction
Sierra Marker, Chemical Biology Laboratory
Harnessing transporter upregulation to create selective probes for HNSCC
Sushant Patkar, Molecular Imaging Branch
Identifying imaging biomarkers of exceptional responses to cancer therapy
Philippe Youkharibache, Cancer Data Science Laboratory
Engineering next generation CAR with a natively dimeric architecture
2022 Director¹s Innovation Award Recipients - Career Development
Pradip Bajgain, Mouse Cancer Genetics Program
‘Self-driving’ CARs to target solid malignancies
Siddharth Sai Matikonda, Chemical Biology Laboratory
Chemical Strategy to Achieve Efficient Targeted Delivery of PI3K Inhibitors
Brajendra Tripathi, Laboratory of Cellular Oncology
Targeting mutant KRAS lung adenocarcinoma by reactivating tumor suppressor
Syed Usama, Chemical Biology Laboratory
Investigating PDL1 as Novel Target for Fluorescence Guided Surgery in TNBC
Wei Wu, Laboratory of Genome Integrity
Mechanism of cognitive dysfunction during chemotherapy
Acong Yang, RNA Biology Laboratory
Cell-specific miRNA target mapping by RNA editing & single cell sequencing
2021 Director¹s Innovation Award Recipients - Career Development
Qun Jiang, Thoracic and GI Malignancies Branch
Development of mesothelin-targeted CAR-NK cell therapy for solid tumors
Nan Li, Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Design of novel CAR T cells based on integration sites by genome editing
Zhihui Liu, Pediatric Oncology Branch
Hi-C-based identification of chromatin associated proteins and eRNAs
Robin Sebastian, Developmental Therapeutics Branch
How DNA double-strand breaks affect the dynamics of mammalian replication
Miranda Sowder, Pediatric Oncology Branch
Remodeling the tumor extracellular matrix using genetically engineered MSCs
Shweta Tiwary, Vaccine Branch
Roles of pro-resolving lipids on augmenting cancer vaccine efficacy
2020 Director¹s Innovation Award Recipients - Career Development
Daniel Arango, Laboratory of Receptor Biology and Gene Expression
Detection of mRNA Decay Intermediates using Nanopore Sequencing
Cristina Bergamaschi, Vaccine Branch
Development of circular mRNA expression vectors for cancer immunotherapy
Xavier Bofill De Ros, RNA Biology Laboratory
Functional mapping of miRNA maturation defects via single cell sequencing
H. Diego Folco, Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
High Throughput Screen for Small-Molecule Inhibitors of Gametogenesis
James Kirui, Retroviral Replication Laboratory
Using highly sensitive reporter virus vectors to study late stages of HIV-1
Kerrie Marie, Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics
Single-cell sequencing of melanoblasts to uncover metastasis mechanisms
Sounak Sahu, Mouse Cancer Genetics Program
A high-throughput screening platform to identify CRISPR-editing enhancers
Sheryse Taylor, Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis
Integrative & comparative analysis of the immune response to tobacco smoke
2019 Director's Innovation Award Recipients - Career Development
Jiangdong Chen, Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Mechanistic insight into an N-acetyltransferase regulating sRNA function
Christina Fitzsimmons, Laboratory of Cell Biology
Linking fumarate and gene expression in renal cell carcinoma
Berkley Gryder, Genetics Branch
Cruciform DNA Adds Critical Signal-Relay Decision Layer to Gene Control
Stephanie Harmon, Molecular Imaging Program
Automated identification of adverse features on digital pathology and MRI
Sri Krishna, Surgery Branch
Immune correlates of successful adoptive T-cell therapy
Jyoti Roy, Molecular Imaging Program
Preservation of salivary gland function after PSMA radionuclide therapies
Rushikesh Sable, Pediatric Oncology Branch
Precision targeting of M2-like tumor associated macrophages
Varun Sood, Laboratory of Receptor Biology and Gene Expression
Investigating the determinants of enhancer-promoter interactions
Yongjun Sui, Vaccine Branch
Epigenetic programming of myeloid cells and trained immunity in HIV vaccine
Yihan Wan, Laboratory of Receptor Biology and Gene Expression
Orchestrated single-cell transcription dynamics during cell fate decision
2018 Director's Innovation Award Recipients - Career Development
Tomer Cooks, Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis
Precision medicine tools to identify cell-specificity of tumor exosomes
Qiong Fu, Thoracic and Gastrointestinal Oncology Branch
Identifying novel function of platelets in NAFLD-promoted HCC development
Chorong Han, Lymphoid Malignancies Branch
Zebrafish as a model for erythroid disorders caused by THRA gene mutations
Bau-Lin Huang, Cancer and Developmental Biology Laboratory
Gene expression signatures of mouse embryo limb mesenchymal progenitors
Joe Matarlo, Molecular Targets Laboratory
Natural Product Modulators of miR-21: Implications in Cancer Stem Cells
Carla Neckles, Genetics Branch
Novel rG4 HNRNPH1-directed Aptamers as Splicing Modulators in Cancer
Eva Perez Guijarro, Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics
In vivo CRISPR/Cas9 screening for novel targets for melanoma immunotherapy
Leonid Serebryannyy, Laboratory of Receptor Biology and Gene Expression
Identify molecular pathways of micronuclei formation
David Sturgill, Laboratory of Receptor Biology and Gene Expression
Base resolution mapping of acetylated cytidine in mRNA
Leila Toulabi, Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis
Mechanistic Investigation of DRD1 EGFR as a Novel Signaling Axis in Lung Cancer
Scott Walsh, Chemical Biology Laboratory
Rebuilding T cells for Cancer Immunodeficiencies using the IL-7 Pathway
Li Xia, Chemical Biology Laboratory
Engineer anti-carbohydrate antibody using multivalent display platform
Acong Yang, Radiation Biology Branch
Identification of Target-Specific Small Molecule Inhibitors of miR-155
2017 Director's Innovation Award Recipients - Career Development
Fardokht Abulwerdi, Basic Research Laboratory
Triple helix-containing long noncoding RNA, MALAT1, as a therapeutic target
Xavier Bofill De Ros, Gene Regulation and Chromosome Biology Laboratory
Design of a single tool for DNA editing and RNA interference
David Calabrese, Chemical Biology Laboratory
Precise Control of MYC Transcription via Light Mediated Azobenzene Linkers
Andres Canela, Laboratory of Genome Integrity
Physiological role of DNA breaks at neuronal promoters
Jiandong Chen, Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Novel mechanism of sRNA regulation in bacteria
Austin Duffy, Thoracic and GI Oncology Branch
Precision Immunotherapy for gastric cancer
Ying Fu, Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Glypican-3 Specific Antibody Drug Conjugates for Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Daniel Green, Womens Malignancies Branch
Generation of Continuous 3-D Cultures of Primary Ovarian Cancer Cells
Maria Hernandez, Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis
Identification of viral-host signatures linked to early onset of HCC
Nan Li, Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Glypican2 as a New Therapeutic Target in Neuroblastoma
Helen Michael, Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics
Identification of genes involved in initiation and transformation of moles
Carter Mitchell, Molecular Targets Laboratory
Anti-Cancer Proteins: A Novel Paradigm to Fight the Ancient Battle
Colin Paul, Laboratory of Cell Biology
Intravital Characterization of Early Metastatic Colonization
Vivek Shukla, Thoracic and GI Oncology Branch
Identification of Novel Targets for Lung Cancer Therapy Using an iPSC Model
Dionysios Watson, Vaccine Branch
“Trojan macrophages” for tumor homing and local delivery of immunotherapy