Summer 2026
By Lisa Gregory
Since it was established in 2006, the DeGregorio Family Foundation (DFF) has been a pioneer in funding innovative research in the fight against gastroesophageal cancer. It is the only public foundation that supports these two areas of cancer research, which is critical as gastric and esophageal adenocarcinomas are often chemo-resistant, difficult to treat, and metastasize easily.
In partnership with the Torrey Coast Foundation, DFF awarded two new grants that total $1.25 million to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in 2024 and 2025. This generous funding reflects the foundation’s equal commitment to research as well as support for novel therapies. Last year also marked the 15th anniversary of when the foundation’s support began for Dana-Farber. In that time, their cumulative gift total reached nearly $3 million.
With these new awards, two research teams of physician-scientists are tackling these highly lethal cancers and exploring new, targeted treatments. Co-principal investigators, Eric Smith, MD, PhD, and Andrew Aguirre, MD, PhD, both of Dana-Farber, and Samuel Klempner, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital, were awarded a $750,000 Michael F. Price Memorial Grant.
This award was for clinical translation of a novel dual-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy for advanced gastroesophageal cancer. CAR T cell therapy reprograms apatient’s own immune cells to seek and destroy cancer and has been successful in transforming some forms of blood cancer. The project adapts next-generation CAR T technology, and the research team describes its work as highly translational, moving novel cellular therapy from the lab into first-in-human testing. This therapeutic approach is a promising substitute for traditional chemotherapy and could improve clinical outcomes for patients.
We are honored to support these exciting next steps in advancing research to dramatically improve treatment for gastroesophageal cancer patients.
Lynn DeGregorio, DeGregorio Family Foundation
Eric Fischer, PhD, the Joseph Deitch Family Chair at Dana-Farber, was awarded a total of $500,000 to discover and validate new protein degradation targets in gastroesophageal cancer. Targeted protein degradation reprograms the body’s waste disposal mechanisms using small molecules called “degraders” to remove disease-causing proteins. Fischer and his team will use a unique mass spectrometry-based discovery platform to identify and map targets specific to esophagogastric adenocarcinoma. This work will also assess the therapeutic potential of targeting these proteins via chemically induced degradation.
As the incidence of gastric and esophageal cancers continues to rise, DFF’s contribution comes at a vital moment. Lynn DeGregorio, President and Founder of the DeGregorio Family Foundation said, “We are honored to support these exciting next steps in advancing research to dramatically improve treatment for gastroesophageal cancer patients.”