The Pershing Square Foundation marks nationwide expansion, supporting emerging leaders in cancer research across the country
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance, a program of The Pershing Square Foundation, today announced the 13 winners of the 2026 Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Prize, marking a transformative expansion of the program from a regional initiative into a national platform supporting the next generation of cancer researchers. This year, the Alliance doubled the number of Prize recipients after broadening eligibility beyond the New York metropolitan area to institutions across the United States.
Over the past thirteen years, the Alliance has awarded $58 million to 90 scientists at 24 institutions. The 2026 Prize represents $9 million in new funding with $750,000 grants distributed to each awardee. These grants are designed to empower investigators early in their independent careers, enabling them to pursue their most bold and high-impact projects at a critical stage when traditional funding is lacking. In addition to financial support, the Alliance provides Prize winners with opportunities to present their work to scientific and business audiences, encouraging collaboration and helping to bridge the gap between academia and industry.
“We are thrilled to expand the Prize this year to partner with the incredible scientists who have received this year’s Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Prize,” said Bill Ackman, Co-Trustee of The Pershing Square Foundation and CEO of Pershing Square. “The Prize asks scientists to pursue bold and unconventional ideas that have the potential to transform the field of research and treatment of cancer, and we are inspired by the work of this year’s cohort. We look forward to the discoveries their research will bring.”
The winners of the 2026 Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Prize are:
- Aparna Bhaduri, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles: To better model glioblastoma, Dr. Bhaduri has developed human organoid systems that preserve tumor complexity and immune interactions. Using these platforms, she will identify the cell populations that drive growth and resistance and test new targeted and immune-based therapies to eliminate them.
- Fei Chen, PhD, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard: Dr. Chen has developed a new technology, TimeVault, that enables cells to record their molecular history before and after cancer treatment. He will use this approach to uncover the early gene programs that allow rare tumor cells to survive therapy and to identify new targets to prevent relapse.
- Santiago Correa, PhD, Columbia University: Dr. Correa is developing injectable biomaterials that recreate lymph node-like environments to support CAR-T cell survival and function after infusion. His team will use these engineered niches to enhance CAR-T cell persistence and explore generating these therapies directly in the body.
- Fleur Ferguson, PhD, University of California, San Diego: Dr. Ferguson is creating a new class of drugs that selectively eliminate the hyperactivated, cancer-driving forms of proteins while leaving their healthy counterparts untouched. Her lab's "activity-dependent" degraders aim to unlock a large set of cancer targets that current therapies cannot safely drug because of on-target toxicity in normal tissues.
- Ryan Flynn, MD, PhD, Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard University: Dr. Flynn and his team are investigating RNA molecules displayed on the surface of cancer cells that help control how immune cells recognize and respond to tumors. His research will define how these structures influence immune recognition and develop new tools to selectively target cancer-associated RNAs.
- Livnat Jerby, PhD, Stanford University: Dr. Jerby is engineering immune cells with redesigned sensing receptors to better navigate to tumors and get activated only in response to tumor-specific signals. Her work will rewire these systems for targeted delivery of therapeutic cells and molecules.
- Caleb Lareau, PhD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center: Dr. Lareau is developing engineered protein “sponges” that may absorb and neutralize chemotherapy drugs outside of tumors to reduce harmful side effects. Using generative AI to design these proteins, his team aims to enable higher and more effective dosing of chemotherapy while minimizing toxicity for patients.
- Robbie Majzner, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: The Majzner lab is developing next-generation CAR T cell therapies designed to more precisely distinguish cancer cells from healthy tissue. By requiring multiple tumor-specific signals before activating, these approaches aim to safely target solid tumors like glioblastoma while reducing damage to normal cells and preventing tumor escape.
- Natasha Pavlova, PhD, University of Utah: Dr. Pavlova is investigating how nutrient deprivation in tumors rewires protein production, causing cells to generate altered protein variants from glutamine-rich sequences. Her work will determine how these variants influence tumor growth and reveal new vulnerabilities that could be targeted for therapy.
- Mia Petljak, PhD, New York University Grossman School of Medicine: Dr. Petljak is investigating whether new substances introduced into our daily environments through modern living that can enter our tissues, such as compounds found in (micro)plastics, leave lasting marks in our DNA. Her project defines the DNA fingerprints of these substances experimentally and searches for them in human cancers and accessible tissues to uncover unrecognized environmental risks and their role in cancer.
- Marcus Ruscetti, PhD, UMass Chan Medical School: Dr. Ruscetti investigates how senescent cells in the liver create an immune-suppressive environment that enables pancreatic cancer metastasis. His project will test whether eliminating these cells using targeted nanoparticle therapies can block liver metastasis and improve responses to immunotherapy.
- Benjamin Sabari, PhD, University of Texas Southwestern: Dr. Sabari studies how cancer-causing fusion proteins hijack gene regulation by forming abnormal condensates that drive pro-tumorigenic gene expression. His work aims to define the mechanisms behind this process and uncover ways to disrupt these structures, opening a path to treat cancers long considered undruggable.
- Jessica Stark, PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Dr. Stark is studying how sugars on the surface of cancer cells influence how the immune system recognizes and responds to tumors. Her work will define how these glycans enable immune evasion and develop new therapies that target them.
“As the Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Prize expands nationwide, this year’s recipients reflect the extraordinary depth of early-career cancer research across the United States,” said Olivia Tournay Flatto, PhD, President of The Pershing Square Foundation and Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance. “We are proud to support these 13 exceptional scientists and are deeply grateful to our Scientific Advisory Board for their guidance in identifying investigators whose work has the potential to make a lasting impact on patients’ lives.”
“The work to find new treatments and cures for cancer continues to be an urgent global health priority so we are heartened by the research approaches of this year’s Prize winners,” said Evan Sohn, Vice President of the Sohn Conference Foundation. “We are confident that with the passion, creativity, and insights we’ve seen from this group of scientists, they will make discoveries that will have a lasting impact for the patients for whom our Foundation fights.”
As a part of the selection process, the Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance relied on and benefited from the guidance of highly accomplished advisory and scientific review boards.
Prize Advisory Board members include:
- Jeanne B. Ackman, MD, Radiologist, Massachusetts General Hospital; Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School
- Chi Van Dang, MD, PhD, CEO & Scientific Director, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research; Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Cancer Medicine, Johns Hopkins University
- Mikael Dolsten, MD, PhD, Former Chief Scientific Officer and President, Worldwide Research, Development, and Medical, Pfizer, Inc.
- Benjamin Ebert, MD, PhD, President and CEO, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Richard and Susan Smith Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
- Allan Goodman, PhD, President Emeritus, The Institute of International Education
- Pablo Legorreta, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Royalty Pharma
- Richard P. Lifton, MD, PhD, President, The Rockefeller University
- Craig Mello, PhD, Blais Professor in Molecular Medicine, RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School; 2006 Nobel Laureate
- Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Oncology, Columbia University Medical Center; Author, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer and The Gene: An Intimate History
- James E. Rothman, PhD, Sterling Professor of Cell Biology and Professor of Chemistry, Yale University; 2013 Nobel Laureate
- Bruce Stillman, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
- Craig Thompson, MD, Former President and Chief Executive Officer, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- George D. Yancopoulos, MD, PhD, President and Chief Scientific Officer, Regeneron
Additional details about the Prize Winners can be found at: http://psscra.org/.
About the Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance
The Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance was formed in 2013 by The Pershing Square Foundation, which has since committed more than $58 million to 90 scientists in partnership with The Sohn Conference Foundation. The Alliance is dedicated to playing a catalytic role in accelerating cures for cancer by supporting innovative cancer research and by facilitating collaborations between academia and industry. Annually, the Alliance awards The Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Prize, which provides early-career, greater New York area-based scientists the freedom to take risks and pursue their boldest research at a stage when traditional funding is lacking. For more information, visit http://psscra.org/.
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