Since 1946 the not-for-profit Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has focused on finding young researchers who are exploring out of the box approaches to treating various forms of cancer.
The organization was founded by newspaper columnist and radio news commentator Walter Winchell in New York City in memory of his colleague and friend Damon Runyon, a newspaperman and author who died from cancer. After Runyon's passing Winchell went on the air and asked his audience for contributions to cancer research.
Over the decades the foundation has provided about $375 million dollars in grants to more than 3,750 research fellows, 12 of which have won Nobel Prizes for their work.
We’re joined by Dr. Yung Lie, President and CEO of the foundation. She’s the first person in that role who was also a research fellow earlier in her career. She was in southwest Florida for a presentation called “Breakthroughs in Cancer Research” at the Imagine Solutions Conference in Naples.
