Los Angeles, July 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Every year on August 1, World Lung Cancer Day serves as an urgent call to raise global awareness for those affected by the disease and to accelerate the search for a cure. With that in mind, Lung Cancer Foundation of America (LCFA) and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) are celebrating the day by awarding $200,000 to two of the field’s most promising young scientists. This investment addresses a critical reality in oncology: too often, brilliant research ideas stall not because they lack vision, but because they lack resources. By providing this funding, LCFA and IASLC are ensuring these researchers have the momentum they need to turn today’s innovative ideas into tomorrow’s life-saving breakthroughs.
The two funded projects take aim at two of the toughest questions in the fight against the disease: how to catch lung cancer earlier, and how to stop it from outsmarting the very treatments designed to beat it. Both are essential to the same goal, helping patients live longer, better lives.
The Early Career Researcher (ECR) grant program gives emerging scientists the fuel they need to secure a major independent research award, which can be a launching pad for a career. These researchers aren’t just studying the future of lung cancer science; they’re building it.
This year’s recipients, selected for the originality of their proposals and their potential to change patient outcomes, are Dr. Jared Mayers of Fred Hutch Cancer Center and Dr. Jaime L. Schneider of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
The timing could not be more urgent. Competition for research dollars grows fiercer every year, even as lung cancer claims a life in the United States every 4.2 minutes. When bold, early career investigators are handed real, independent funding, their most innovative ideas don’t stall on a shelf. They move forward, and they change what’s possible in oncology.
“Supporting early-career investigators is not just a strategic priority. It is a necessity for the future of oncology,” said Kim Norris, co-founder and president of LCFA. “By investing in these researchers, we are accelerating the pace of discovery and ensuring that promising ideas in metabolic tracking and drug resistance can move from the laboratory to the clinic, where they are needed most.”
Meet the Award Recipients
Dr. Jared Mayers, Fred Hutch Cancer Center: Hunting the hidden influencers inside the lung. Dr. Mayers is investigating how the naturally occurring bacteria living in our lungs may quietly shape the development of lung cancer. Because these bacteria exist in such tiny amounts, they’ve long been nearly impossible to study. So Dr. Mayers is building the tools to see them by developing highly sensitive new techniques to capture and analyze how these microbes behave inside lung tissue. By mapping how they contribute to cancer, his team hopes to uncover entirely new ways to stop the disease before it ever starts.
Dr. Mayers says his inspiration is simple: “We don’t get new drugs, we don’t get new therapies, we don’t get longer lives, better quality lives, more time with family unless we invest in the upfront groundwork.”
Dr. Jaime L. Schneider, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: Cutting off cancer’s escape route. Dr. Schneider is decoding how lung cancer cells learn to survive and keep growing even after treatment. Her focus: how these cells manage their energy and where that system has a weak link worth exploiting. Her goal is to design new, more effective therapies that keep cancer from adapting, offering better and longer-lasting options for patients whose disease has grown resistant to standard chemotherapy and targeted treatments.
“I was simply blown away by the tremendous arsenal of new drugs that had just come out that were really changing patient lives,” said Dr. Schneider, describing what drew her to thoracic oncology.
LCFA and IASLC invite the community to go behind the science with all of the LCFA/IASLC ECR grant recipients. Visit these researchers’ profiles and video insights into their lab work at LCFA’s Meet the Researcher.
The Multiplier Effect: Small Grants, Outsized Impact
LCFA’s Early Career Research Grant Program is known for a remarkable “multiplier effect” currently at 13X return on investment. By providing the first spark for transformative science, the program has awarded 25 grants totaling $4.6 million, funding that has since grown into more than $50 million in additional grants from other organizations building on LCFA-supported research. That track record means Dr. Mayers and Dr. Schneider aren’t just receiving funding, they’re gaining the foundation to secure the major, long-term support their life-saving work deserves.
This $400,000 investment underscores LCFA and IASLC’s ongoing commitment to accelerating the pace of discovery for patients everywhere.
About Lung Cancer Foundation of America (LCFA)
LCFA’s mission is to dramatically improve lung cancer patients’ survival through funding transformative science, advocacy, and education. For more information, visit lcfamerica.org.
About the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC)
The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) is the only global organization dedicated solely to the study of lung cancer and other thoracic malignancies. Founded in 1974, IASLC unites a worldwide community of researchers, healthcare professionals, patients, caregivers, advocates, and industry partners to advance the prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship of thoracic cancers through research, education, collaboration, and advocacy. For more information, visit iaslc.org.
- Dr. Jared Mayers, Fred Hutch Cancer Center
- Dr. Jaime L. Schneider, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute