Masonic Cancer Center announces fall 2025 internal grant awardees
The Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota has announced the awarding of $330,000 in pilot grants through its Fall 2025 Internal Grant Program. This program is designed to promote innovation, spark new research collaborations, and support novel scientific concepts aimed at addressing the most challenging questions in cancer research. These pilot projects are intended to generate preliminary data that will position investigators for future nationally peer‑reviewed grant funding.
Support for this program is made possible through a variety of funding sources, including Minnesota Masonic Charities and the Muggee Family. Please join us in thanking our generous partners and congratulating this year’s award recipients!
Cancer Research Translational Initiative (CRTI) Exceptional Translational Research Awards
LAIR1 Targeting CAR Treg for Myeloid Malignancies
Cameron McDonald-Hyman, MD, PhD, Department of Medicine, Medical School
Bruce Blazar, MD, Department of Pediatrics, Medical School
Exploiting Intratumoral Heterogeneity and Single-Cell Drug Prediction Models to Achieve Precision Oncology in Prostate Cancer
R. Stephanie Huang, PhD, Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy
Emmanuel Antonarakis, MD, Department of Medicine, Medical School
Muggee Research Award for Pediatric Cancer
Developing novel cellular immunotherapies for NF1-associated MPNST
Kyle Williams, PhD, Department of Pediatrics, Medical School
Joseph Skeate, PhD, Department of Pediatrics, Medical School
David Largaespada, PhD, Department of Pediatrics, Medical School
Pre-R01 Brainstorm Awards
Epigenetic Regulation of B Cell Leukemia
Michael Farrar, PhD, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Medical School
Sean Tracy, MD, PhD, Department of Medicine, Medical School
NALCN-Mediated Bioelectric and Structural Signaling in Primary Cilia Regulation and Metastasis of ER⁺ Breast Cancer
Eric Rahrmann, PhD, The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota
Sergio Gradilone, PhD, The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota
Kaylee Schwertfeger, PhD, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Medical School
Scott O'Grady, PhD, Department of Animal Science, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences
Shared Resource Utilization Awards
Generation of human HLA-DP4 knock-in mice
Michael Farrar, PhD, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Medical School
Impact of filters and filter accessories on cigarette smoke emissions
Irina Stepanov, PhD, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health
Structural variation as a cause of hepatoblastoma
Logan Spector, PhD, Department of Pediatrics, Medical School