It is our pleasure to submit our 2026 Mid-Year Progress Report for the grant generously awarded by the Fifth District AHEPA Cancer Research Foundation. On behalf of my research team, I extend our sincere gratitude for your continued and steadfast support. I am pleased to share the progress we have achieved for our project, Meaningful Connections 2025–2026: Screening for an Anti-Stroma Potential Drug as a Means to Intercept Pancreatic Cancer Development.
Our team has made significant progress in the first half of the 2025–2026 funding period, including completing key research aims, generating early in vivo results, publishing findings linked to a clinical trial, and advancing new small molecule and peptide drug development programs. With your continued support, we are now moving forward with screening AI-designed candidates and advancing preclinical studies aimed at identifying a first-in-class therapy to help prevent pancreatic cancer in high-risk individuals.
Since September 2025, support from the Fifth District AHEPA Cancer Research Foundation has been acknowledged in five manuscripts (published, in press, or under review) and five invited national and international presentations. These efforts directly support our primary goal: developing a drug that can normalize the tumor microenvironment—the surrounding “neighborhood” of cells and tissues around a tumor—and restore its natural ability to suppress cancer growth.
CLICK TO READ THE FULL REPORT >> AHEPA Mid-Year Progress Report 2026 Cukierman Fox Chase Cancer Center