Summer 2025
By Mike Quinn
Photography by Pan-Mass Challenge
Josh Bekenstein and his wife, Anita, know that Dana-Farber’s people are its driving force—from trailblazing faculty who transform cancer medicine, to committed supporters who equip these brilliant innovators to do their best work.
Grounded in this core belief, the Bekensteins recently made a generous gift to the Institute to establish the Meredith and Billy Starr Investigatorship. Their gift honors Billy Starr, founder and chairman of the Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC), and his wife, Meredith Beaton Starr, PMC director of stewardship. Cigall Kadoch, PhD, a world-renowned biochemist and expert in the understanding of gene regulation, was selected as the inaugural incumbent of the Starr Investigatorship.
For the Starrs, the new investigatorship provides meaningful tribute to their decades-long efforts to bring cures closer by the mile through the PMC—the beloved Massachusetts-based bike-athon and Dana-Farber’s largest single contributor. The PMC raises 66% of the Jimmy Fund’s annual revenue and has raised more than $1 billion for Dana-Farber since 1980. “It’s an immense honor to have an investigatorship named in recognition of my life’s ambition to help one day eradicate cancer,” said Billy. “Meredith and I look forward to witnessing the impact Dr. Kadoch will undoubtedly make on the future of innovation and progress in cancer research and treatment.”
In a challenging funding climate, endowed roles like the Starr Investigatorship are essential for bolstering brilliant research at the Institute and supporting visionary scientists like Kadoch at a crucial point in their careers. Internationally recognized for her work, Kadoch is improving understanding of the biological drivers of disease progression and translating these insights into novel therapeutics. Her laboratory studies large molecular “machines” in the nuclei of our cells that govern DNA architecture and are mutated in over 20% of all cancers. Kadoch’s work has paved the way for first-in-class therapeutic agents applicable to a wide range of adult and pediatric cancers, which are in early stage clinical development. With the resources from the Starr Investigatorship, Kadoch will build on these efforts and pursue even greater advances.
“It is a privilege for Anita and me to celebrate Billy and Meredith Starr, and to support Cigall as she unlocks the next wave of breakthroughs in cancer science and care.”
Josh Bekenstein
Josh Bekenstein, a 33-year PMC rider, member of its board of directors, and chairman of Dana-Farber’s Board of Trustees, underscored the importance of the Starrs’ philanthropic leadership and Kadoch’s pioneering work. “Billy and Meredith have had an amazing career leading the PMC and have done so much for Dana-Farber,” Bekenstein said. “It is a privilege for Anita and me to celebrate them and support Cigall as she unlocks the next wave of breakthroughs in cancer science and care.”