Juan Vasquez, MD, and Vidya Puthenpura, MD — both pediatric cancer researchers at Yale Cancer Center and Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn. — were awarded $300,000 and $200,000, respectively, for research.
Dr. Vasquez, an associate professor of pediatric hematology and oncology, received a $300,000 Scholar Hope Grant to study how to enhance effects of immunotherapy to sensitize tumors to treatment.
Dr. Puthenpura, a clinical fellow, received a $200,000 Young Investigator Grant for her study on how socioeconomic and psychological challenges affect chemotherapy response.
The grants were part of a $15 million donation from Hyuandai.
"Dr. Vasquez is really changing how we treat cancer by using cancer’s own metabolism to enhance the effect of immunotherapy," Lakshmanan Krishnamurti, MD, Yale's chief of pediatric hematology and oncology, said in an Oct. 17 press release from the university. "And what Dr. Puthenpura is doing is important and topical at this point because she is looking at how disparities affect cancer treatment. I can’t think of two better people to receive these awards."