Dr. Parth Desai of Fox Chase Cancer Center and Dr. Rajat Thawani of the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University have each been awarded $50,000 to advance their research through the 2026 Binaytara Lung Cancer Research Awards.
The winners were announced Oct. 10 at the close of the 2026 Seattle Lung Cancer Conference, a two-day meeting that brought together lung cancer clinicians and researchers from leading cancer centers across the country. The conference was co-chaired by Dr. Siddhartha Devarakonda of Providence/Swedish Cancer Institute and Dr. Deng Lei of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, and organized by Binaytara, a global oncology nonprofit that hosts about 60 continuing medical education conferences annually in the United States.
A blood test to predict who will benefit from a new lung cancer immunotherapy
Desai pitched “Tracking and Targeting Tumor-State Plasticity During DLL3 T-Cell Engager Therapy in Small Cell Lung Cancer.”
Small cell lung cancer is one of the most aggressive forms of lung cancer, and while a promising new type of immunotherapy can help some patients whose cancer has returned, only about one in three benefit, and doctors currently have no reliable way to know in advance who will. Desai’s project aims to develop a simple blood test that reads signals released by tumors throughout the body, which could help doctors predict who will respond to treatment, catch early signs that the cancer is becoming resistant and spare patients repeated invasive biopsies.
“I am honored to receive the Binaytara Lung Cancer Research Award and grateful for Binaytara’s support,” Desai said. “I loved the shark-tank style of research presentation and the constructive dynamic feedback from the “sharks of oncology” and made some great new and hopefully long-lasting connections. As a physician-scientist, my research is driven by the challenges my patients face every day. This funding will support our efforts to bring precision-guided care to patients with small cell lung cancer — a disease for which tailoring treatment to each tumor’s unique biology remains a largely unrealized opportunity. I am also grateful to my mentors and colleagues at Fox Chase Cancer Center, whose collaboration makes this work possible.”
“Congratulations, Parth, on this award,” said Desai’s mentor, Hossein Borghaei, DO, MS. “Thank you to Binaytara for this award and for recognizing the importance of support for projects like this.”
Meanwhile, Thawani pitched “Clonal Hematopoiesis Genotype as a Selection Biomarker for Combination Immunotherapy in Lung Cancer.”
Empowering future leaders in cancer care
Both awardees will present the progress and impact of their research at next year’s Seattle Lung Cancer Conference.
“Lung cancer is still the leading cause of cancer death, and progress depends on giving talented investigators the resources to test bold ideas,” said Dr. Binay Shah, president and co-founder of Binaytara and conference director. “Dr. Desai and Dr. Thawani brought forward research concepts with real potential to change how we care for patients. Providing these research awards is about empowering future leaders in cancer care. These awards can have significant impact over time.”
The awards were decided through the Impact Pitch, a featured session in which early-career investigators present their research for live peer review on stage. Three senior cancer researchers served as the judges, whom Binaytara gives the moniker Catalyst. The three Catalysts were: Dr. Aadel Chaudhuri of Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota; Dr. Sylvia Lee of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center; and Dr. Alexander Spira of Virginia Cancer Specialists Research Institute. Conference co-chair Dr. Siddhartha Devarakonda moderated the session.
The Impact Pitch is designed to surface emerging ideas in lung cancer research and give early-career investigators direct feedback from experienced experts. The other three finalists were Dr. Zhaohui Arter, from the University of California, Irvine; Chendi Li, PhD from Massachusetts General Hospital; and Dr. Olivia Fankuchen, from Weill Cornell Medicine. ••
