Yosemite and ACS Award Over $6 Million in Research Grants

The American Cancer Society (ACS) is excited to announce the second year of its partnership with Yosemite, a venture capital firm dedicated to making cancer non-lethal. Together, ACS and Yosemite are jointly awarding more than $6 million in research grants to leading academic scientists developing next-generation cancer therapies. This year’s awards support groundbreaking work in two transformative areas of oncology: cancer vaccines and cancer-targeted toxins. Funded projects span institutions across the United States and reflect a diverse portfolio of innovative approaches.

“Scientific breakthroughs depend on early, sustained investment in great ideas,” said Reed Jobs, Founder and Managing Partner at Yosemite. “Through our partnership with the American Cancer Society, we’re proud to back exceptional scientists at pivotal moments, helping accelerate discoveries that have the potential to fundamentally change how cancer is treated.”

The funded research supports innovative approaches across to priority research areas:

• Cancer vaccines, with projects aimed at broadening and strengthening immune recognition of tumors
  
  
• Cancer-targeted toxins, with grantees advancing precision delivery of potent therapies, including antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and radioligand therapies (RLTs), to selectively target cancer cells.

“The American Cancer Society is thrilled to continue our partnership with Yosemite in funding critical research at the cutting edge of cancer vaccines and targeted toxin delivery,” said Dr. William Dahut, Chief Scientific Officer at the American Cancer Society. “Advancements in these areas show enormous promise in improving patient outcomes and we’re dedicated to supporting exemplary ideas and researchers.” 

The 2025 grant recipients represent a multidisciplinary group of researchers whose work is poised to fuel the next wave of novel cancer therapeutics. ACS and Yosemite share a commitment to accelerating discoveries leading to more effective, less toxic treatments for cancer patients.

Cancer Vaccine Innovations Awardees

Steven Elledge

Harvard Medical School
Developing better cancer vaccines and the discovery of dark proteome epitopes in cancer cells

William Freed-Pastor, MD, PhD

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Catalyzing cryptic antigen-directed vaccines for pancreatic cancer

William Kaelin, MD

Harvard Medical School
Endogenous Retroviruses as Emerging Targets for Cancer Vaccines

Mark Lee, MD, PhD

Yale University
Validation of non-canonical tumor antigens as natural targets of intra-tumoral immunity

Alexander Marson, MD, PhD

UCSF
Comprehensive Atlas of Cancer Antigen Immunogenicity for Rational Vaccine Design

Alexander Stegh, PhD

Washington University, Saint Louis
Engineering glycolipid-based Spherical Nucleic Acids as a cancer vaccine platform

Eric Thompson, MD

Duke University
Unraveling NK cell-mediated immunogenicity of a peptide vaccine targeting CMV antigens in high-grade glioma

Catherine Wu, MD

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Direct identification and prioritization of shared noncanonical tumor-specific antigens to generate effective off-the-shelf cancer vaccines

Kai Wucherpfennig, MD, PhD

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Strategy to Enhance Tumor Infiltration by Vaccine-induced T cells

Cancer-Targeted Toxins Awardees

Carolyn Bertozzi , PhD

Stanford University
A Lysosomally-Targeted Antibody-Drug Conjugate for the Treatment of Renal Cell Carcinoma

Jennifer Doudna, PhD

UC Berkeley
Using Cas12a2 for targeted tumor elimination

Michael Elowitz, PhD

Caltech
Engineered Protein Circuits for Cancer Therapy

Possu Huang, PhD

Stanford University
Novel immunotherapy targeting KRAS mutants

Michael Kharas, PhD

Memorial Sloan Kettering
Multitargeting of cancer and T regs using Novel Degrader Antibody Conjugates

Funda Meric-Bernstam, MD

MD Anderson Cancer Center
Investigating mechanisms of trastuzumab resistance in pan-cancer PDXs

William Sellers, MD

Broad Institute
Surfaceome Target Discovery for Next-Generation Therapies in Biliary Tract Cancers

Jamie Spangler, PhD

Johns Hopkins University
Engineering multispecific downregulating antibodies to empower immunotherapeutic antibody-drug conjugates

James Wells, PhD

UCSF
Hijacking Extracellular Targeted Protein Degradation for Antibody-Drug Conjugate Payload Delivery

Xin Zhou, PhD

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Potentiating antibody-drug conjugate activity by controlled co-engagement with internalizing receptor

About Yosemite

Yosemite partners with leading researchers and visionary entrepreneurs working to make cancer non-lethal within our lifetime.

Through its affiliated donor-advised fund and investment platform, Yosemite supports innovation across the oncology ecosystem —from early academic research to later-stage companies — advancing new therapies and technologies that improve patient outcomes. Leveraging its deep scientific network, Yosemite builds and finances companies translating breakthrough discoveries into better therapies and patient experiences to improve the health and lives of cancer patients. For more information, please visit the official Yosemite site.

About The American Cancer Society

For 110 years, the American Cancer Society (ACS) has sought innovative solutions to help prevent and treat cancer and ease the tremendous burden for patients and their families. The integrated three pillar approach sets ACS apart as we combat cancer through research, patient support, and advocacy. Ending cancer as we know it will require innovation across the cancer continuum from developing the next generation of diverse scientists who will make the discoveries of tomorrow, to funding research aimed at understanding the mechanisms of cancer development and accelerating scientific discovery. Further innovation requires investing in promising companies and ventures bringing the discoveries of those scientists to patients around the country and advocating for novel solutions to support patients in their cancer journey.