Research funded by Project Cure CRC
Innovation is in progress.
Funding urgent science for today’s patients
The Alliance’s Project Cure CRC continues to make global investments based on expert recommendations and areas of urgent necessity, outlined in this request for proposals. Awardees are listed below.
Funded research
Raghu Kalluri, MD, PhD
Dr. Kalluri of MD Anderson Cancer Center aims to develop urgently needed therapeutic options for the 96% of colorectal cancer patients with microsatellite stable (MSS) disease.
H. Charles Manning, PhD
H. Charles Manning, PhD, a professor at MD Anderson Cancer Center, will lead a collaborative effort to discover the first theranostic pair for imaging and therapy for patients with CRC.
Peter Lee, MD
Dr. Peter Lee of City of Hope will pursue a novel combination immunotherapy to treat metastatic MSS colorectal cancer, which does not respond well to current treatments.
Kevin Van der Jeught, PhD
Kevin Van Der Jeught, PhD, of the University of Miami, seeks to improve intratumoral mRNA vaccination strategies by targeting immune checkpoints to enhance anti-tumor immune responses.
Ekaterina Dadachova, PhD
Ekaterina Dadachova, PhD, of The University of Saskatchewan will investigate combining targeted radiation with immunotherapies for a novel and synergistic approach to treat advanced colorectal cancer, improving clinical outcomes.
Yekaterina Y. Zaytseva, PhD
Yekaterina Y. Zaytseva, PhD, of the University of Kentucky, will investigate new drug combinations to kill CRC cells with a BRAF mutation. These cells currently have a low response rate to existing treatments.
Ashiq Masood, MD
Dr. Masood of Indiana University is studying ProAgio, a new protein that targets cells aiding cancer's survival. This approach could improve therapies for tough-to-treat tumors.
Caterina Suelzu, PhD
Dr. Suelzu of Anglia Ruskin University will investigate how fat tissue impacts the growth and spread of colorectal cancer, especially in people with obesity.
Julia Carnevale, MD
Dr. Carnevale of UCSF will use cutting-edge technology to target multiple genes at once, seeking to uncover weaknesses in cancer cells and boost the body’s immune response.
David Robbins, PhD
Dr. Robbins of Georgetown University aims to target and stop the circulating tumor cells responsible for forming metastatic tumors. Success could improve mCRC survival rates.
Angelique Whitehurst, PhD
Melissa Fishel, PhD
Wenhan Zhu, PhD
Hyunyoung Jeong, PharmD, PhD
Boyi Gan, PhD
Binfeng Lu, PhD
Nilo Azad, MD
Christopher Lengner, PhD
Khosrow Rezvani, PhD
Brandon Bordeau, PhD
Karin Pelka, PhD
Raul Mostoslavsky, MD, PhD
Lisa Mielke, PhD
Eric Christenson, MD
Heather O'Hagan, PhD
Aleksander Popel, PhD
Bert Vogelstein, MD
Dae Yong Lee, PhD
Kelvin Pond, PhD
By the numbers: Project Cure CRC
million in funding allocated
projects supported
million funding goal
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Project Cure CRC seeks research proposals from early-career investigators, senior investigators, teams, startup companies, and others. We prioritize collaboration toward curative science.
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More about the research fundTop resources
Project Cure CRC Continues to Fuel Urgently Needed Research Funding
The Alliance's Project Cure CRC announces $1.3 million in new research grants — bringing total funding to nearly $12 million — to drive breakthroughs in colorectal cancer care and address critical research gaps.
2025 ASCO update: Six big studies
The 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting featured several important studies that could change how colorectal cancer is treated, including a pivotal study for BRAF V600E patients.