Learn about the 2020 KCA grant recipients

The 2021 KCA grants open for applications on March 1st, but before they do, we’re looking back at the 2020 grant recipients. These innovative researchers are committed to advancing science and improving the way we treat and care for people with kidney cancer.

Dr. William Kim is a physician-scientist and professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and Dr. Haifeng Yang is a molecular biologist and assistant professor at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

In their first official research collaboration, Dr. Kim and Dr. Yang received a 2020 Advanced Discovery Award for their work on Investigating the anti-tumor efficacy of a STING agonist on PBRM1-deficient ccRCC tumors.

Read our Q&A with Dr. Kim and Dr. Yang.

Dr. Heather Christofk and Dr. Brian Shuch from the University of California, Los Angeles, are also collaborating for the first time. Dr. Christofk and Dr. Shuch received a 2020 Advanced Discovery Award for their research, examining how the amino acid asparagine may be important in renal cell cancer growth.

Read our Q&A with Dr. Christofk and Dr. Shuch.

Dr. Frank Mason is a cell biologist and research assistant professor at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Dr. Mason received a 2020 Young Investigator Award for his investigation to understand the therapeutic vulnerability of protein-coding gene mutations in renal cell cancer research.

Read our Q&A with Dr. Mason

Dr. Ritesh Kotecha is a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Dr. Kotecha received a 2020 Young Investigator Award for his research on examining new renal cell cancer biomarkers and the importance of patient advocates.

Read our Q&A with Dr. Kotecha.

Dr. Chiara Di Malta is a postdoctoral fellow at the Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine in Pozzuoli, Italy. Dr. Di Malta received a 2020 Young Investigator Award for her research on the potential of transcription factor inhibition to treat inherited renal cell cancer.

Read our Q&A with Dr. Di Malta

Dr. Brandon Manley is a urologic oncologist at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. He received a 2020 Young Investigator Award for his work in examining how EGFR, an effective drug target in various cancers, could be useful in renal cell cancer research.

Read our Q&A with Dr. Manley