Francesca Ferraro receives Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award for her acute myeloid leukemia work
Francesca Ferraro, MD, PhD, a WashU Medicine researcher and medical oncologist at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine, has been named a 2026 Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award. The grant, given by the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, supports early-career physician-scientists conducting patient-oriented research.
Ferraro, working with mentor John F. DiPersio, MD, PhD, the Virginia E. and Sam J. Golman Professor at WashU Medicine and a fellow research member at Siteman Cancer Center, is studying acute myeloid leukemia (AML). An aggressive blood cancer, AML is often initially responsive to treatment, but many patients relapse because some cancer cells persist after therapy. Her work aims to better understand the mechanisms that allow AML to suppress immune responses and to identify strategies that could help the immune system and chemotherapy work together more effectively. While directly relevant to AML, the work may ultimately inform treatment approaches for other blood cancers as well.
Ferraro is one of six new Damon Runyon Clinical Investigators announced Sept. 8. Each awardee receives $600,000 over three years, along with support to help reduce medical school debt. The program’s goal is to increase the number of physicians capable of moving seamlessly between the laboratory and the patient’s bedside in search of breakthrough treatments.
Last month, she received an Award for Research Careers in Hematology (ARCH) from the American Society of Hematology (ASH). The merit-based grant provides $150,000 in funding and may be used over one to three years.