Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) recently announced a $5 million grant from Bristol Myers Squibb to fund research and education efforts aimed at achieving health-care equity for underserved patients with lung cancer, including Black individuals and those living in rural communities. The disease remains the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, with particularly high mortality in rural communities and among Black men.
The research efforts funded by the 3-year grant will consist of supplemental grants to current Stand Up To Cancer research teams. The additional grants will focus on identifying new and innovative diagnostic and treatment methods for patients with lung cancer who are in need. They will be designed to jumpstart pilot projects at the intersection of lung cancers, health disparities, and rural health care, for instance, by increasing clinical trial enrollment among historically underrepresented groups.
In early 2021, a Stand Up To Cancer Innovation Summit will launch the project, bringing together lung cancer experts with researchers specializing in health equity and access. The competitive grant application and selection process for proposed projects will be overseen by Stand Up To Cancer’s Scientific Advisory Committee.
Phillip A. Sharp, PhD
“Stand Up To Cancer’s portfolio already includes 17 team science projects in lung cancer, and 24 lung cancer clinical trials have been funded to date,” said Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, PhD, Chair of the SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee, and Institute Professor, David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “With this comprehensive lung cancer network and the dedication to diversifying cancer clinical trials, Stand Up To Cancer will leverage the Bristol Myers Squibb grant to reach lung cancer patients who have historically been marginalized by our health-care system.”
