Lurie Associate Board Awardee Wins NIH Grant for Cancer Research

The first-ever recipient of the Innovative Research Award from the Associate Board of Lurie Cancer Center, Marcelo Bonini, PhD, who serves as a professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, has taken his cancer research to new heights since receiving his award in 2022.

Thanks to the $115,000 grant, Dr. Bonini obtained preliminary data that he used to win two R01 grants from the National Institutes of Health. Together, the federal grants total nearly $5 million across five years. His research has also led to a new patent for a novel anti-metastatic medication that his laboratory is developing for breast, lung, and pancreatic cancer.

“The Innovative Research Award propelled our research toward making real strides against cancer,” Dr. Bonini said. “Thanks to this award, we have developed new technology, built new collaborations, and obtained federal funding that we will leverage toward delivering first-in-class epigenetics therapies for cancer patients in the near future.”

The Associate Board of Lurie Cancer Center was established in 2021 to give young professionals a platform for advancing cancer research, education, patient care, and community benefit through fundraising and advocacy. The annual Innovative Research Award is intended to boost early stage oncology research at Northwestern.

For more information about supporting the Associate Board of Lurie Cancer Center, please contact Nicole Langert at nicole.langert@northwestern.edu or 312-503-1656.