Hope Funds

10/31/2026

Hope Funds Announces Hobden Named Fellowship

Newport, RI -- October 26, 2026 -- Hope Funds for Cancer Research, dedicated to advancing research into the most difficult-to-treat cancers, is pleased to announce a named Hope Funds Postdoctoral Fellowship for the class of 2026.

The fellowship of Jingkun Zeng, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Nobel Laureate Jennifer Doudna at the Innovative Genomics Institute at UC Berkeley, has been named by Adrian and Jane Hobden, of Seattle, WA.

"Hope Funds is deeply grateful to the Hobdens for supporting this postdoctoral fellowship," said Prof. Bryan R.G. Williams, Chairman of the Board of Trustees. "Postdoctoral studies, research and mentorship are important steps beyond the doctoral degrees our Hope Funds Fellows have achieved, and help augment the potential for excellence in research.”

Named gifts allow Hope Funds Fellows to be provided with approximately $180,000 over the course of the award to fund their research, and an additional $20,000 to fund their programming over four years.

Jingkun Zeng, Ph.D.

Dr. Zeng is a postdoctoral researcher in Jennifer Doudna's laboratory at the Innovative Genomics Institute at UC Berkeley, where he has worked since May 2024. He completed his Ph.D. at the Francis Crick Institute and University College London in John Diffley's Laboratory, studying cancer genome instability and whole-genome duplication, and holds an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from Imperial College London. His current research centers on developing programmable technologies for the selective elimination of cancer cells harboring traditionally "undruggable" mutations. Drawing on his dual training in cancer biology and biotechnology, his work bridges fundamental mechanisms of cell death with programmable therapeutic tools. Dr. Zeng is deeply committed to translating basic science into new strategies for treating cancer. His project introduces a new way of killing cancer cells. Instead of trying to block cancer growth with drugs, he and colleagues are designing a system that can recognize unique signals inside cancer cells and trigger self-destruction. If successful, this strategy could open the door to a new class of precision cancer treatments. Adrian and Jane Hobden Hope Funds for Cancer Research Fellowship

Adrian and Jane Hobden

Dr. Hobden has had a long and distinguished career in the global pharmaceutical industry. He earned his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Biochemistry from Cambridge University and a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Leicester University, both in the United Kingdom. After a postdoctoral fellowship with the Medical Research Council in the UK, he joined Glaxo as a research scientist. Dr. Hobden was their first molecular biologist recruit worldwide and went on to run their Genetics Department and several other departments, including CNS Pharmacology. He moved to the United States in 1996 and was responsible for Glaxo’s collaborations with biotechnology companies. In 1998, he joined Myriad Genetics in Salt Lake City as president of Myriad Pharmaceuticals, which was later spun out as a public company called Myrexis, with Dr. Hobden as CEO. Retired in 2011, Dr. Hobden serves on the Board of Directors of Zocere, CereSpir, and Hope Fund for Cancer Research, where he has been a Trustee since 2013. He and his wife Jane have been strong supporters of Hope Funds for 15 years, and frequent attendees at the annual Science Meeting and Awards Dinners. On a personal level, Jane Hobden is a breast cancer survivor, and Dr. Hobden's cousin received the experimental CRISPR drug nex-z (NTLA=2001), from Intellia Therapeutics building on Dr. Doudna's work, for the genetic disease ATTR (transthyretin amyloidosis) and is now disease free, for which they are very grateful. (The Hobdens, photographed here by Skarratt, at the Hope Funds 2018 Annual Dinner at The Elms in Newport.)

10/14/2026

Newport, RI -- Hope Funds for Cancer Research, dedicated to advancing research into the most difficult-to-treat cancers, is pleased to announce a named Hope Funds Postdoctoral Fellowship for the class of 2026.

Dr. Chloe Barrington-Ham's fellowship has been named by longtime Hope Funds supporters Debra Brede and Kendrick Brede, D.M.D. of Newport. "Hope Funds is deeply grateful to Debra and Ken Brede for their generosity," said Prof. Bryan R.G. Williams, Chairman of the Board of Trustees. "This level of support for our exceptional Fellows enhances the potential for their important work to be recognized."

Named gifts allow Hope Funds Fellows to be provided with approximately $180,000 over the course of the award to fund their research, and an additional $20,000 to fund their programming over four years.

About the Named Fellow
Chloe Barrington-Ham, Ph.D. is a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Alicia Darnell at Duke University. After graduating from the University of North Carolina at Asheville in 2014, she returned to her hometown to work as a Research Technician at Duke. She then completed her Ph.D. at the University of Colorado Anschutz in the lab of Dr. Olivia Rissland in 2024, where she studied how synonymous codon usage, which alters translation elongation rates, impacts gene expression in mammalian cells. Now back at Duke, Chloe is building on her longstanding interest in post-transcriptional gene regulation. Her current research focuses on understanding how arginine deprivation disrupts protein synthesis and impacts cellular health. Specifically, she is investigating how arginine starvation leads to premature translation termination on transcripts containing difficult-to-decode arginine codons, as well as the cellular consequences of ribosome collisions and the accumulation of aberrant nascent peptides. Since certain cancers, including small-cell lung cancer, frequently lose the ability to synthesize their own arginine, understanding how cells respond to arginine deprivation may reveal new therapeutic vulnerabilities. Hope Funds for Cancer Research-Debra and Kendrick Brede, D.M.D. Fellowship

09/18/2026

In Memoriam: Harold Freeman, MD (1933-2026)

Hope Funds for Cancer Research notes with sadness the passing of former Award of Excellence recipient and longtime friend Harold P. Freeman on August 11 in Atlanta. He was 93.

Dr. Freeman was the chief architect of the American Cancer Society’s initiative on cancer in the poor and a leading authority on the interrelationships between race, poverty and cancer. He was past Chairman of the United States President’s Cancer Panel, appointed to this position for four three-year terms, by President Bush in 1991 and by President Clinton in 1994, 1997 and 2000.

At the time of his Hope Funds honor in 2010, Dr. Freeman was the President and Founder of the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention in New York City. He was Senior Advisor to the Director of the National Cancer Institute and a Professor of Clinical Surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

He was also the pioneer of Patient Navigation, the purpose of which is to eliminate barriers to timely cancer care for poor and uninsured patients. President George W. Bush signed the Patient Navigation and Chronic Disease Prevention Act in 2005 based on this model.

Dr. Freeman was born in Washington, D.C. and graduated from the Catholic University of America. He graduated from Howard University Medical School, Washington, D.C. and completed his internship and residency in General Surgery at Howard University Hospital where he received the Daniel Hale Williams Award for Outstanding Achievements as Chief Resident. Subsequently he was Senior Resident in Cancer Surgery for three years at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

Dr. Freeman was a Diplomat of the American Board of Surgery and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He served as National President of the American Cancer Society, 1988-1989 and was recipient of its Medal of Honor Award. Dr. Freeman received many honors over the course of his long career, including the Mary Lasker Award for Public Service in 2000, a Special Recognition Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology in 2003, and The Cura Personalis Award from Georgetown University Medical Center in 2017.

Our deepest sympathy is extended to his wife Artholian and his, family, friends and colleagues.

07/23/2026

For Immediate Release
Media Contact:
John A. Wells
[email protected]

Hope Funds Announces 2026 Research Fellows

Newport, RI - July 22, 2026 -- Hope Funds for Cancer Research, dedicated to advancing research into the most difficult-to-treat cancers, has announced the selection of recipients of this year's Hope Funds Postdoctoral Fellowships.

Applications for the fellowships came from the most prestigious research institutions and were reviewed by a global scientific study section comprised of key opinion-leader scientists working in oncology.

From a highly impressive group of applications, Hope Funds selected six 2026 Fellows:

Chloe Barrington-Ham, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Alicia Darnell at Duke University;

Laura Blasco Chamarro, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in Pediatric Neuro-Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute;

Tao Dai, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Ralph DeBerardinis at the Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern Medical Center;

Jaejin Kim, Ph.D., a postdoctoral associate in the laboratory of Dr. Elaine Fuchs at The Rockefeller University;

David McQuarrie, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Samie R. Jaffrey at Weill Cornell Medicine; and

Jingkun Zeng, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher in Jennifer Doudna's laboratory at the Innovative Genomics Institute at UC Berkeley.

"These young researchers are making significant contributions as they devise new approaches to understanding the most difficult to treat cancers," said Prof. Bryan R.G. Williams, Chair, Hope Funds Board of Trustees. "We at Hope Funds are privileged to have the opportunity to fund their important work, which reflects our commitment to promoting scientific innovation."

Each Fellow will receive approximately $180,000 over three years to fund their research, and additional funding is being used for the Fellows' programs over four years.

06/07/2026

The Hope Funds is proud to have also honored Dr. James Alison with the Hope Funds Award of Excellence in Basic Research at 2017 Gala in Newport, Rhode Island. Here is a link to his acceptance speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfSdkJztzXI

James Allison and Tasuku Honjo pioneered a new form of cancer treatment - immunotherapy - which has transformed the way patients can be treated.

“Meeting the people who have benefitted from our research is the real prize for me,” said James Allison. Added Tasuku Honjo, “When I meet patients who tell me: ‘You saved my life,’ it is an unforgettable moment.”

The duo received the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of immunotherapy, which uses the body's own immune system to target cancer.

Read more about their research and the incredible impact it has had, in revolutionising cancer care and giving survivors “the gift of life”: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2018/article/

05/07/2026

Dr. Jennifer Doudna honored at 2026 Hope Funds Fellows Dinner

NEW YORK, NY - May 7, 2026 -- Nobel Laureate Jennifer Doudna, Ph.D. was honored with the Hope Funds for Cancer Research Award of Excellence on May 4,2026 at a black tie event held at a private club in New York City.

The presentation took place during a formal dinner recognizing Hope Funds Fellows and Scientists, and was attended by supporters, alumni and grantees of the organization, which is dedicated to advancing innovative research for the most difficult-to-treat cancers.

Speakers at the event included Hope Funds Trustee Richard Young, Ph.D. of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at MIT; Parks Family Hope Funds Fellow Alexander Peterson, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow at Scripps Research Institute; and Dr. Doudna, who was presented the Hope Funds Award of Excellence for Basic Science by Don W. Cleveland, Ph.D., Hope Funds Trustee and Chair, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of California, San Diego.

Dr. Doudna was to have been presented with the Award of Excellence in 2020, but that event was canceled due to the onset of the COVID pandemic. The Award honors those who have made outstanding contributions to basic, clinical, and medical research in cancer or have conducted prominent advocacy and philanthropy on behalf of cancer research.

Dr. Doudna received her B.A. from Pomona College in Claremont, CA, and her Ph.D. from Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. She was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University and University of Colorado, Boulder.

Dr. Doudna was featured in the Hope Funds 2023 documentary short, "How to Win a Nobel Prize," directed by Gary Jobson and produced by Andrew Robertson.

Hope Funds for Cancer Research was formed in 2006 to establish a funding vehicle that would take a rational scientific, medical, and investment approach to making grants for the most innovative and promising research efforts to address the most difficult-to-treat cancers, including pancreatic, lung, liver, sarcomas, esophageal, brain, gastric, renal and ovarian cancers, as well as rare leukemias, lymphomas and MDS. These cancers are insidiously aggressive illnesses that kill most of their victims within months, even with aggressive chemotherapy. The Trustees of the Hope Funds for Cancer Research believe that funding young, innovative researchers will lead to breakthroughs in these areas and increase life expectancy for those with these types of cancers. The Hope Funds for Cancer Research is a 509 (a)(1) charity under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service's code.

Hope Funds for Cancer Research is an independent and unaffiliated non-profit organization.

Photography by Mia McDonald, see additional photos at:
https://miamcdonaldphotography.pixieset.com/hopefundsforcancerresearch2026fellowshonoreedinner

03/09/2026

Hope Funds Alumnus' research is published in "Nature" Scientific Journal

Newport, RI - March 9, 2026 - A research team led by a former Hope Funds for Cancer Research Fellow has found that new drugs designed to block the action of a protein called lipocalin 2 (LCN2) slowed cancer growth in mice by enabling the immune system to target tumor cells.

The findings, by Thales Y. Papagiannakopoulos, Ph.D. and his team at NYU Langone Health, were published on February 18 in the journal Nature: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10143-0

“Stressed cancer cells have learned to call for help through LCN2, which shields them from the immune system,” said Dr. Papagiannakopoulos, co-corresponding study author, in a news release from NYU Langone.

Dr. Papagiannakopoulos, a 2012 Hope Funds for Cancer Research Fellow, is Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

"Funding outstanding postdoctoral researchers such as Dr. Papagiannakopoulos is the most impactful way of furthering such important research," said Prof. Bryan R.G. Williams, Chair, Hope Funds Board of Trustees. "Hope Funds is greatly pleased to learn of the publication of these significant findings by Dr. Papagiannakopoulos and his colleagues."

About Hope Funds for Cancer Research:
Hope Funds for Cancer Research was formed in 2006 to establish a funding vehicle that would take a rational scientific, medical, and investment approach to making grants for the most innovative and promising research efforts to address the most difficult-to-treat cancers, including pancreatic, lung, liver, sarcomas, esophageal, brain, gastric, renal and ovarian cancers, as well as rare leukemias, lymphomas and MDS. These cancers are insidiously aggressive illnesses that kill most of their victims within months, even with aggressive chemotherapy. The Trustees of the Hope Funds for Cancer Research believe that funding young, innovative researchers will lead to breakthroughs in these areas and increase life expectancy for those with these types of cancers. The Hope Funds for Cancer Research is a 509 (a)(1) charity under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service's code.

For additional information about the organization, please visit www.Hope-Funds.org or call (401) 847-3286.

Hope Funds for Cancer Research is an independent and unaffiliated non-profit organization.

01/16/2026

In Memoriam: Richard O. Hynes (1944-2026)

Hope Funds for Cancer Research notes with sadness the passing of Richard O. Hynes Ph.D., distinguished molecular biologist and recipient of our Award of Excellence for Basic Science in 2025. Dr. Hynes passed away at home with his family by his side on January 6 from complications of cancer. He was 81.

A British biologist, until his recent retirement, Dr. Hynes was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, and the Daniel K. Ludwig Professor for Cancer Research at the MIT Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Well known as a co-discoverer of both the ECM proteins, fibronectins and integrin receptors, his research focused on cell adhesion and the interactions between cells and the extracellular matrix in order to understand molecular mechanisms of cancer metastasis.

Dr. Hynes studied the mechanisms underlying the spread of tumor cells throughout the body, known as metastasis. He was particularly interested in the role of the extracellular matrix (ECM) — a fibrillar meshwork of proteins that surrounds both normal and tumor cells, which plays many important roles in tumor progression. He also investigated changes in the metastatic cells themselves and in the contributions of normal cells, both in terms of metastasis and other bodily functions such as embryonic development and vascular biology.

Dr. Hynes grew up in Liverpool, UK and earned his B.A. in biochemistry in 1966 from the University of Cambridge. He received his Ph.D. in biology from the MIT in 1971 and worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund from 1971 to 1974. Dr. Hynes became a faculty member in the biology department at MIT in 1975, was promoted to full professor in 1983 and became the Daniel K. Ludwig Professor for Cancer Research and affiliated with the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research in 1999. He was affiliated with the Koch Institute for Integrative Research at MIT and Associate Member of the Broad Institute.

A beloved mentor to a vast network of mentees, in his later career Dr. Hynes devoted himself to advocacy and public policy, including co-authoring the National Academy’s Guidelines for Stem Cell Research and Human Genome Editing and service on the Board of Governors of the Wellcome Trust.

Dr. Hynes is survived by his wife Fleur, sons Hugh and Colin, daughters-in-law Rachel and Amy, grandchildren Polly, Owen, Maeve, and Roxanne, and siblings Elisabeth, Andrew and Julian.

A celebration of his life is being planned for the spring. Our deepest sympathy is extended to his family, friends and colleagues.

(The photo of Dr. Hynes at Hope Funds Gala Awards Dinner on April 7, 2025, was provided by Julie Skarratt Photography)

01/01/2026

The Hope Funds for Cancer Research wishes you

a Celebratory New Years Eve and a Happy and Healthy 2026!

(Please visit us at www.Hope-Fund.org to learn more.)

09/16/2025

In Memoriam: David Baltimore (1938-2025)

Hope Funds for Cancer Research notes with sorrow the passing of Dr. David Baltimore, Nobel Prize-winning molecular biologist and recipient of our Award of Excellence in 2017.

Dr. Baltimore was a Professor of Biology at the California Institute of Technology, where he served as president from 1997 to 2006. He also served as the director of the Joint Center for Translational Medicine, which joins Caltech and UCLA in a program to translate basic science discoveries into clinical realities.

He served as president of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) from 1997 to 2006, and was President Emeritus and Robert Andrews Millikan Professor of Biology at Caltech. Before moving to Caltech, he served as president of Rockefeller University from 1990 to 1991, and prior to being at Rockefeller, he was the American Cancer Society Professor of Microbiology and a Professor of Biology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA.

In 1975, Dr. Baltimore was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along with Renato Dulbecco and Howard Martin Temin “for their discoveries concerning the interaction between tumor viruses and the genetic material of the cell.” He was well known for his work in discovering that viruses with genomes consisting of RNA can also be inserted into the DNA of a host cell through an enzyme called reverse transcriptase. This discovery led to the modification of the rule that genetic information could only be transferred in one direction. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including the U.S. National Medal of Science in 1999.

David Baltimore was featured in the Hope Funds documentary short film, "How to Win a Nobel Prize," Click Here to view: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8GdIatDZ58

Our deepest sympathy is extended to his family, friends and colleagues.