FY 2024-25
Annual Impact Report
Unprecedented Times Call for Unprecedented Action
“In moments of disruption, leadership matters. The pace of discovery is accelerating, but the systems that sustain it are strained. Patients with cancer cannot wait for stability to return — they need solutions now. Today, our role as convener and catalyst has never been more essential.”
Alicia Zhou, PhD, CEO,
Cancer Research Institute
People × Biology × Data:
Turning Investment into Innovation
At the Cancer Research Institute (CRI), impact is about more than numbers. Every grant, fellowship, and clinical trial represents lives touched, families strengthened, and futures reshaped.
People:
Fostering collaboration across the cancer ecosystem, from bench to bedside.
Biology:
Deepening understanding of the immune system to drive breakthroughs.
Data:
Leveraging clinical and lab datasets to accelerate discovery and bring treatments to patients faster.
Since 1953, CRI has invested
Over $570M into immunotherapy research
$33M
New funding in 2025
68
New grants & fellowships
41 Institutions
15 US states
5 Countries
CRI creates an ecosystem where groundbreaking science thrives.
Programs that Empower Innovation
STARs Program
CRI Lloyd J. Old STARs: Funding Tomorrow’s Leaders
$46M since 2019
The STAR Program—Scientists TAking Risks—fuels mid-career scientists pushing the boundaries of cancer immunotherapy research. These grants support outstanding researchers based on overall promise, not a single project.
Postdoctoral Fellows
Empowering Tomorrow’s Innovators
CRI provides early-career scientists with mentored support at the frontier of cancer immunology. In the face of NIH funding uncertainty, CRI acted fast — investing $2.5 million to support an additional ten fellowships, keeping critical cancer immunology research moving forward.
Irvington Fellows
$182M since 1970
Prestigious training opportunities in immunology and cancer immunology, supporting outstanding young researchers at leading institutions to launch independent careers at the forefront of discovery.
Zhixin Jing, PhD
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH
Maps bone marrow niches to expose weaknesses that can power next-generation multiple myeloma vaccines and therapies.
Immuno-Informatics Fellows
$4.9M since 2023
Supports outstanding early-career scientists worldwide who seek dual expertise in immunology and data science, fostering a new generation of researchers fluent in both biology and computation.
Samira Ghazali, PhD
Harvard Medical School
Maps molecular switches in Tregs that could allow tumors to be targeted without disrupting immune balance elsewhere.
CLIP & Translational Research
Integrating the Lab and the Clinic
$32.8M since 2012
The CRI Clinical and Laboratory Integration Program (CLIP) supports innovative investigations at the intersection of laboratory discovery and clinical application in cancer immunology.
Funding:
$300K over 2 years
Focus:
Translational studies, biomarker discovery, treatment optimization
Partners:
Chordoma Foundation, Kidney Cancer Association
Technology Impact Awards
Bridging the Gap Between Technology and the Clinic
$9.2M since 2017
Supporting visionary, high-risk/high-reward ideas that could lay the groundwork for a new generation of tools, platforms, and systems capable of overcoming the most critical barriers in cancer immunotherapy.
Funding:
Seed funding up to $600K over 2–4 years
Focus:
Technology, innovation, high-risk ideas
Clinical Innovator Awards
Pioneering Investigator-Initiated Immunotherapy Clinical Trials
$7.6M since 2023
The CRI Clinical Innovator supports clinician-scientists at the forefront of immunotherapy to advance clinical research that not only tests new therapies, but also deepens our understanding of the role of the immune system in cancer.
$8.5M+ invested across nine global trials*
*Since the inception of the Clinical Innovator program
Data & Bioinformatics
Harnessing Data for Precision Outcomes
CRI empowers scientists to decode the immune system with precision:
Cancer Immunotherapy Insights + Impact Report
A comprehensive, data-driven analysis of FDA immunotherapy approvals, clinical utilization trends, and the future of precision immuno-oncology, tracing the evolution of the field from 2011 through 2024.
CRI Bioinformatics Bootcamp
An immersive, hands-on training program that equips the next generation of cancer researchers with skills and tools to analyze complex biological data, ensuring they’re ready to tackle the field’s biggest challenges with confidence and rigor.
Patient Resources
Patient Resources
with Purpose
CRI’s research has extended survival by tens of millions healthy years worldwide, what scientists call “life-years.”
Since the first immunotherapy approvals, CRI’s work has touched an estimated 250 million lives globally.
Patient Guide to Cancer Immunotherapy
Designed to meet patients and caregivers where they are, this guide brings clarity to an often complex and overwhelming experience. From the basics of how immunotherapy works to practical guidance on navigating treatment decisions, it translates cutting-edge science into plain language, helping people feel confident, informed, and supported at every step.
Patient Roundtable
Three stage IV survivors among the very first patients ever enrolled in cancer immunotherapy trials share their stories in their own words. Together, their voices formed a chorus—powerful, diverse, and deeply human—showing what’s possible when science, medicine, and courage converge.
FY2025 Financial Overview
Transparent, Efficient, Impactful
CRI ensures donor funds drive breakthroughs:
Trusted for 70 Years
The Cancer Research Institute is a top-rated nonprofit organization that upholds the very highest standards of fiscal responsibility, integrity, and transparency. You can rest assured that your charitable contribution will be used to make maximum impact in cancer immunotherapy research, ultimately saving lives and advancing medical breakthroughs.
