Your 2026 annual funding report
Accelerating rare cancer research at MSK
Every dollar raised by Cycle for Survival is put to work within six months, fueling rare cancer research at MSK so tomorrow’s cures are in reach today.
- Specific rare cancers
- Precision oncology and immunotherapy
- Laboratory science and new technologies
- Data science and AI
- Equinox Innovation Initiative
Specific rare cancers: $13.1 million
Cycle for Survival funding makes it possible for MSK investigators, world-leading experts in rare cancers, to research new and better ways to treat people with these complex diseases. This work is improving care for people with rare cancers today while advancing the breakthroughs of tomorrow.
Brain cancers: $5.1 million
Building on recent advances in tumor profiling, targeted therapies, and immunotherapy approaches for high-grade gliomas, this funding is helping researchers identify new pathways for treatment and bring promising discoveries closer to patients.
Pediatric cancers: $3.4 million
All pediatric cancers are rare cancers, and they are significantly underfunded. At MSK Kids, MSK’s pediatric program, discoveries are transforming treatment and improving survival for children with cancer around the world.
Team-directed funds: $2 million
Cycle for Survival teams direct funding to a wide range of rare cancer research at MSK. These dollars support everything from molecular oncology and next-generation immunotherapies to precision treatments for sarcoma and pioneering therapies for head and neck, gastrointestinal, gynecologic, and blood cancers.
See the full list of MSK researchers who are team-directed funding recipients.
Gastrointestinal cancers: $1.3 million
MSK researchers are developing innovative strategies to better understand, detect, and treat rare gastrointestinal cancers, including pancreatic, stomach, and bile duct cancers. By supporting bold research and emerging treatment approaches, the Cycle for Survival community is helping accelerate progress toward more personalized and effective care for people facing these complex diseases.
Sarcomas: $1.2 million
MSK scientists are deepening our understanding of nearly 100 sarcoma subtypes and advancing precision medicine approaches designed to match patients with the treatments most likely to help them. This funding supports efforts to identify new therapeutic targets and develop more effective treatments for people facing these rare cancers.
Precision oncology and immunotherapy: $10 million
MSK teams are transforming discoveries in the lab into innovative ways to treat people with rare cancers, from precision therapies to cancer vaccines that help the immune system find and fight cancer. With your support, we are using leading-edge technologies to accelerate research, bringing new treatments through clinical trials and FDA approvals and offering more hope for new cures than ever before.
The Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program: $5 million
The Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program (HOPP) at MSK is an incubator for new cancer therapies, bringing together physicians and scientists working at the forefront of translational cancer research. HOPP investigators have one foot in the lab and one foot in the clinic, bridging the gap between scientific discoveries and the people with rare cancers who can benefit from them.
Immuno-oncology: $2.5 million
Immuno-oncology is one of the most transformational breakthroughs in modern medicine, and many of the greatest advances were driven by MSK with support from the Cycle for Survival community. By harnessing a person’s own immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells, immunotherapy has fundamentally changed how many rare cancers are treated. Today, MSK researchers are building on that progress to develop next-generation immune-based therapies and expand the reach of breakthrough approaches that are delivering extraordinary results for some people with rare cancers.
Investigator-initiated trials: $1.5 million
Often, the most creative, innovative clinical trials are initiated by MSK doctors and researchers with a bold idea for a new cure or treatment for people with rare cancers. This fund will support curiosity-driven science and the belief that some of the best ideas are still unproven.
TX Bridge: $1 million
The TX Bridge fund will pair an entrepreneurial MSK researcher with a mentor who is a world leader in cancer innovation. Together, they will design the next drug or technology to advance diagnosis and treatment for people with rare cancers.
Laboratory science and new technologies: $8 million
Thanks to your support, Cycle for Survival is funding research that reveals how rare cancers begin, evolve, spread, and develop resistance to treatment. By uncovering the biological and genetic drivers of disease, MSK scientists are identifying new therapeutic targets and advancing more precise treatments for people facing rare cancers.
Sloan Kettering Institute: $6 million
Researchers at the Sloan Kettering Institute (SKI), MSK’s research arm, rely on funding from Cycle for Survival to understand rare cancers at the molecular level. Your support helps power the Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Center for Molecular Oncology (CMO) and SKI’s Cancer Biology and Genetics, Molecular Biology, and Molecular Pharmacology programs, and fuels innovations including genomic tools like MSK-IMPACT®, studies on DNA repair and tumor formation, and targeted therapies that precisely attack cancer cells while reducing side effects.
Innovative diagnostics: $2 million
The CMO brings together laboratory, computational, and clinical researchers to create and implement leading-edge genomic technologies.
Funding the technology of tomorrow, today
With support from the Cycle for Survival community, MSK scientists helped pioneer precision oncology by tailoring treatment to the molecular drivers of each person’s cancer and developing groundbreaking technologies including MSK-IMPACT® and MSK-ACCESS®. MSK-IMPACT, originally funded by this community, became the first FDA-authorized tumor profiling test of its kind. Today, researchers are building on that foundation to develop more advanced diagnostic and predictive tools that could help more patients benefit from precision medicine.
Next-generation sequencing
Today, the center’s Innovative Diagnostics Initiative is advancing MSK-TARGET, a next-generation RNA test that offers even deeper insights into each person’s cancer. Approved by New York State for clinical validation, the test is being refined with RNA sequencing from thousands of patients — a step that could make it a future standard of care.
With support from Cycle for Survival, researchers at MSK and collaborators also developed SCORPIO, an AI model that predicts which people with cancer are most likely to benefit from treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors, a type of immunotherapy. The model uses routine, low-cost blood tests and standard clinical data, making this technology more accessible to people who need it.
Data science and AI: $3.3 million
Every study funded by Cycle for Survival has a data component. This year, the community is helping build next-generation computational infrastructure and advanced technologies that will enable MSK researchers to turn growing amounts of cancer data into new insights, diagnostic tools, and treatment strategies faster than ever. These investments help researchers uncover patterns that can lead to new treatments, quicker diagnoses, and more personalized care for people facing rare cancers.
Why data science?
Data science is the thread connecting all of today’s most innovative cancer research. It is especially integral to rare cancer research: The fact that there are fewer patients with each disease type makes data science even more essential to identifying biological patterns across different cancers to find new treatments and cures. AI allows us to find these patterns faster than ever.
Leading the field
MSK has long been ahead of the curve in data science and the use of AI to accelerate cancer research and discovery. With support from Cycle for Survival, we’ve built one of the world’s richest collections of genomic, imaging, and clinical data, taken from more than 100,000 patients, including many with rare cancers. This unique resource helped MSK pioneer precision oncology. These data are now powering the next generation of molecular diagnostics, computational biology, and AI-driven cancer research.
Breakthroughs still ahead
Today, only one-third of people with cancer benefit from precision medicine. To change that, MSK scientists must identify the genetic drivers of each cancer and match them with effective treatments. This requires advanced diagnostics like MSK-IMPACT®, MSK-ACCESS®, MSK-TARGET, and SCORPIO; years of rigorous research to develop safe therapies; and world-class data science to connect it all.
With your support, MSK data scientists are building the tools and infrastructure needed to expand precision medicine and bring more effective treatments to people with rare cancers. Together, we’re working toward a future where more people benefit from therapies designed specifically for the biology of their disease.
Equinox Innovation Initiative: $3.6 million
Named in honor of Cycle for Survival’s founding partner, Equinox, these grants are awarded to MSK physicians and scientists through a competitive internal application process. These coveted funds enable recipients to pursue bold, leading-edge original research with speed and agility.
2026 Recipients
Elizabeth Coffee, MD
First-in-Human Hyperpolarized Dehydroascorbate to Predict Treatment Response in Glioblastoma
Samuel Cytryn, MD
Intratumoral CD40 Agonism to Prime Systemic Antitumor Immunity in Gastroesophageal Adenocarcinoma
James Fagin, MD
cGAS-STING Governs Response to MAPK Inhibitors in Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer
Prasad Jallepalli, MD, PhD
Exploiting R-Loop Dysregulation and Synthetic Lethality in STAG2-Deficient Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Heather Landau, MD
Characterization of the Genomic Profile and Its Clinical Impact in Light Chain (AL) Amyloidosis in the Era of Anti-CD38 and Anti-BCMA Immunotherapies
Luc Morris, MD, MSc
Dissecting Immunometabolic Consequences and Vulnerabilities of FAT1 Loss in Oral Cancer
Jovana Pavisic, MD
Targeting Chemotherapy-Resistant Tumor Cell States in High-Risk Rhabdomyosarcoma Through Single-Cell Regulatory Network Analysis
Ed Reznik, PhD
A Computational Engine for Adverse Event Prediction Across the Rare Cancer Spectrum
Britta Weigelt, PhD
Beyond Mismatch Repair: Predictive Biomarkers for Immunotherapy Response in Endometrial Cancer
Specific rare cancers
Specific rare cancers: $13.1 million
Cycle for Survival funding makes it possible for MSK investigators, world-leading experts in rare cancers, to research new and better ways to treat people with these complex diseases. This work is improving care for people with rare cancers today while advancing the breakthroughs of tomorrow.
Brain cancers: $5.1 million
Building on recent advances in tumor profiling, targeted therapies, and immunotherapy approaches for high-grade gliomas, this funding is helping researchers identify new pathways for treatment and bring promising discoveries closer to patients.
Pediatric cancers: $3.4 million
All pediatric cancers are rare cancers, and they are significantly underfunded. At MSK Kids, MSK’s pediatric program, discoveries are transforming treatment and improving survival for children with cancer around the world.
Team-directed funds: $2 million
Cycle for Survival teams direct funding to a wide range of rare cancer research at MSK. These dollars support everything from molecular oncology and next-generation immunotherapies to precision treatments for sarcoma and pioneering therapies for head and neck, gastrointestinal, gynecologic, and blood cancers.
See the full list of MSK researchers who are team-directed funding recipients.
Gastrointestinal cancers: $1.3 million
MSK researchers are developing innovative strategies to better understand, detect, and treat rare gastrointestinal cancers, including pancreatic, stomach, and bile duct cancers. By supporting bold research and emerging treatment approaches, the Cycle for Survival community is helping accelerate progress toward more personalized and effective care for people facing these complex diseases.
Sarcomas: $1.2 million
MSK scientists are deepening our understanding of nearly 100 sarcoma subtypes and advancing precision medicine approaches designed to match patients with the treatments most likely to help them. This funding supports efforts to identify new therapeutic targets and develop more effective treatments for people facing these rare cancers.
Precision oncology and immunotherapy
Precision oncology and immunotherapy: $10 million
MSK teams are transforming discoveries in the lab into innovative ways to treat people with rare cancers, from precision therapies to cancer vaccines that help the immune system find and fight cancer. With your support, we are using leading-edge technologies to accelerate research, bringing new treatments through clinical trials and FDA approvals and offering more hope for new cures than ever before.
The Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program: $5 million
The Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program (HOPP) at MSK is an incubator for new cancer therapies, bringing together physicians and scientists working at the forefront of translational cancer research. HOPP investigators have one foot in the lab and one foot in the clinic, bridging the gap between scientific discoveries and the people with rare cancers who can benefit from them.
Immuno-oncology: $2.5 million
Immuno-oncology is one of the most transformational breakthroughs in modern medicine, and many of the greatest advances were driven by MSK with support from the Cycle for Survival community. By harnessing a person’s own immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells, immunotherapy has fundamentally changed how many rare cancers are treated. Today, MSK researchers are building on that progress to develop next-generation immune-based therapies and expand the reach of breakthrough approaches that are delivering extraordinary results for some people with rare cancers.
Investigator-initiated trials: $1.5 million
Often, the most creative, innovative clinical trials are initiated by MSK doctors and researchers with a bold idea for a new cure or treatment for people with rare cancers. This fund will support curiosity-driven science and the belief that some of the best ideas are still unproven.
TX Bridge: $1 million
The TX Bridge fund will pair an entrepreneurial MSK researcher with a mentor who is a world leader in cancer innovation. Together, they will design the next drug or technology to advance diagnosis and treatment for people with rare cancers.
Laboratory science and new technologies
Laboratory science and new technologies: $8 million
Thanks to your support, Cycle for Survival is funding research that reveals how rare cancers begin, evolve, spread, and develop resistance to treatment. By uncovering the biological and genetic drivers of disease, MSK scientists are identifying new therapeutic targets and advancing more precise treatments for people facing rare cancers.
Sloan Kettering Institute: $6 million
Researchers at the Sloan Kettering Institute (SKI), MSK’s research arm, rely on funding from Cycle for Survival to understand rare cancers at the molecular level. Your support helps power the Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Center for Molecular Oncology (CMO) and SKI’s Cancer Biology and Genetics, Molecular Biology, and Molecular Pharmacology programs, and fuels innovations including genomic tools like MSK-IMPACT®, studies on DNA repair and tumor formation, and targeted therapies that precisely attack cancer cells while reducing side effects.
Innovative diagnostics: $2 million
The CMO brings together laboratory, computational, and clinical researchers to create and implement leading-edge genomic technologies.
Funding the technology of tomorrow, today
With support from the Cycle for Survival community, MSK scientists helped pioneer precision oncology by tailoring treatment to the molecular drivers of each person’s cancer and developing groundbreaking technologies including MSK-IMPACT® and MSK-ACCESS®. MSK-IMPACT, originally funded by this community, became the first FDA-authorized tumor profiling test of its kind. Today, researchers are building on that foundation to develop more advanced diagnostic and predictive tools that could help more patients benefit from precision medicine.
Next-generation sequencing
Today, the center’s Innovative Diagnostics Initiative is advancing MSK-TARGET, a next-generation RNA test that offers even deeper insights into each person’s cancer. Approved by New York State for clinical validation, the test is being refined with RNA sequencing from thousands of patients — a step that could make it a future standard of care.
With support from Cycle for Survival, researchers at MSK and collaborators also developed SCORPIO, an AI model that predicts which people with cancer are most likely to benefit from treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors, a type of immunotherapy. The model uses routine, low-cost blood tests and standard clinical data, making this technology more accessible to people who need it.
Data science and AI
Data science and AI: $3.3 million
Every study funded by Cycle for Survival has a data component. This year, the community is helping build next-generation computational infrastructure and advanced technologies that will enable MSK researchers to turn growing amounts of cancer data into new insights, diagnostic tools, and treatment strategies faster than ever. These investments help researchers uncover patterns that can lead to new treatments, quicker diagnoses, and more personalized care for people facing rare cancers.
Why data science?
Data science is the thread connecting all of today’s most innovative cancer research. It is especially integral to rare cancer research: The fact that there are fewer patients with each disease type makes data science even more essential to identifying biological patterns across different cancers to find new treatments and cures. AI allows us to find these patterns faster than ever.
Leading the field
MSK has long been ahead of the curve in data science and the use of AI to accelerate cancer research and discovery. With support from Cycle for Survival, we’ve built one of the world’s richest collections of genomic, imaging, and clinical data, taken from more than 100,000 patients, including many with rare cancers. This unique resource helped MSK pioneer precision oncology. These data are now powering the next generation of molecular diagnostics, computational biology, and AI-driven cancer research.
Breakthroughs still ahead
Today, only one-third of people with cancer benefit from precision medicine. To change that, MSK scientists must identify the genetic drivers of each cancer and match them with effective treatments. This requires advanced diagnostics like MSK-IMPACT®, MSK-ACCESS®, MSK-TARGET, and SCORPIO; years of rigorous research to develop safe therapies; and world-class data science to connect it all.
With your support, MSK data scientists are building the tools and infrastructure needed to expand precision medicine and bring more effective treatments to people with rare cancers. Together, we’re working toward a future where more people benefit from therapies designed specifically for the biology of their disease.
Equinox Innovation Initiative
Equinox Innovation Initiative: $3.6 million
Named in honor of Cycle for Survival’s founding partner, Equinox, these grants are awarded to MSK physicians and scientists through a competitive internal application process. These coveted funds enable recipients to pursue bold, leading-edge original research with speed and agility.
2026 Recipients
Elizabeth Coffee, MD
First-in-Human Hyperpolarized Dehydroascorbate to Predict Treatment Response in Glioblastoma
Samuel Cytryn, MD
Intratumoral CD40 Agonism to Prime Systemic Antitumor Immunity in Gastroesophageal Adenocarcinoma
James Fagin, MD
cGAS-STING Governs Response to MAPK Inhibitors in Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer
Prasad Jallepalli, MD, PhD
Exploiting R-Loop Dysregulation and Synthetic Lethality in STAG2-Deficient Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Heather Landau, MD
Characterization of the Genomic Profile and Its Clinical Impact in Light Chain (AL) Amyloidosis in the Era of Anti-CD38 and Anti-BCMA Immunotherapies
Luc Morris, MD, MSc
Dissecting Immunometabolic Consequences and Vulnerabilities of FAT1 Loss in Oral Cancer
Jovana Pavisic, MD
Targeting Chemotherapy-Resistant Tumor Cell States in High-Risk Rhabdomyosarcoma Through Single-Cell Regulatory Network Analysis
Ed Reznik, PhD
A Computational Engine for Adverse Event Prediction Across the Rare Cancer Spectrum
Britta Weigelt, PhD
Beyond Mismatch Repair: Predictive Biomarkers for Immunotherapy Response in Endometrial Cancer
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2026 Annual Funding Graphic
A legacy of achievement
See past annual funding reports and the impact you’ve made in recent years.