Our Seed Grant Program has fostered an environment where research can bloom. As we mark 20 years since our first cohort of grantees, it is inspiring to reflect on the impact of our early support and see all that is being accomplished.

As we celebrate two decades of discovery, innovation, and hope through our Seed Grant Program, we recognize the urgent need to ensure that research moves beyond the first step and into clinical practice. Anna Gukovskaya, PhD, embodies this mission. Her career stands as a powerful example of how early support from the Seed Grant Program can fuel breakthroughs that shape the future of pancreatic cancer research.

In 2005, Dr. Gukovskaya received one of the very first Hirshberg Foundation Seed Grants which was pivotal for research in her laboratory. Subsequently, the preliminary data and hypotheses developed by Dr. Gukovskaya and her colleagues led to the first-ever NIH Program (P01) Grant focused on the pathogenic mechanisms of pancreatitis. The grant, awarded to UCLA in 2014, with Dr. Gukovskaya as primary investigator (PI), secured more than $8 million in NIH funding to 5 institutions across the US to elucidate the pathogenic mechanisms that initiate and drive pancreatitis, a major risk factor for pancreatic cancer.

Her laboratory at UCLA and the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System (VAGLAHS) became the central hub for this project, which produced nearly 50 publications. Her work identified how injured pancreatic acinar cells trigger the inflammatory response that defines pancreatitis, and that the dysfunction of organelles within acinar cells initiates and drives pancreatitis. This groundbreaking work continues to shape the field by illuminating how organelle damage and impaired autophagy contribute to pancreatic tumorigenesis and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

In 2025, she was named recipient of the George E. Palade Prize, the highest honor from the International Association of Pancreatology (IAP). Named after Nobel Laureate George E. Palade, who transformed understanding of protein trafficking in the pancreatic acinar cells, the Palade Prize honors scientists whose work has significantly advanced the field of pancreatic biology and disease. Dr. Gukovskaya was recognized for her pioneering research on the molecular and cellular mechanisms of pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer.

Dr. Gukovskaya, a leading scientist at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, serves as Professor-in-Residence in the Department of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. She is also Director of the Pancreatic Research Group at UCLA/VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System and a VA Medical Research Career Scientist. Since 2003, she has been a professor at UCLA, where her research has been continuously supported by the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Over her career, Dr. Gukovskaya has published more than 160 scientific papers and reviews, has advised seven PhD students, and mentored more than 80 MD and PhD postdoctoral scholars, trainees and students from around the world.

Looking ahead, Dr. Gukovskaya remains confident that basic science combined with clinical research, particularly clinical trials, will produce new therapies for pancreatic cancer. She emphasized that this “progress depends on a national commitment to protecting and strengthening the future of scientific research.”

Her trajectory reflects what is possible when bold ideas receive early support. The Hirshberg Seed Grant Program has launched many careers like hers, yet today the challenge has shifted. Initial funding alone cannot sustain the momentum required to bring laboratory insights to the clinic. That is why the Foundation has introduced Beyond the Seed: from Bench to Breakthroughs, an initiative designed to expand support and bridge the critical gap between discovery and patient care.

By investing at a higher level, we can ensure that researchers like Dr. Gukovskaya continue to advance their work and deliver the breakthroughs patients urgently need. The past twenty years have proven the power of a Seed Grant to spark innovation. The next twenty demand that we go further, so that every promising idea has the chance to become a lifesaving treatment.

Our momentum is fueled by the community that stands with us and by those we are honored to support. Together we can turn hope into progress and inspire others with our persistence and determination to find a cure. This season, new vaccine research offers a glimpse of what’s possible, our 20th Seed Grant milestone highlights two decades of impact, and deeper insight into how funding cuts ripple beyond the lab. From groundbreaking discoveries to grassroots fundraisers, our community is driving momentum on every front, because progress can’t wait.

Together, we are more than a foundation, we are a movement of patients, families, researchers, and advocates determined to change the future of pancreatic cancer. Thank you for standing beside us, for refusing to give up, and for ensuring that tomorrow holds more hope than today.

The nationwide freeze on federal cancer research funding is a pivotal moment, with the future of countless discoveries hanging in the balance, for patients and for the scientists working on their behalf. In early August, the National Science Foundation froze 300 of UCLA’s research grants and the National Institutes of Health suspended 500 grants in an unprecedented move.

UCLA is the Hirshberg Foundation’s main research hub, home to the Agi Hirshberg Center for Pancreatic Diseases, three laboratories, and our annual Symposium for Patients and Caregivers. The impact is immediate and deeply personal for our community. Earlier in the year, the Department of Defense Funding for pancreatic cancer research was slashed by 57%, from $1.5 billion to $650 million, having a ripple effect on established researchers and new budding scientists alike.

So, what has changed since the initial cuts in April? This new reality has sparked renewed determination. The Hirshberg Foundation’s Seed Grant Program received more than 178 applications this year, a record number that reflects both the urgency of the crisis and the resolve of scientists determined to keep discoveries alive. As Dr. O. Joe Hines, Chair and Executive Medical Director of the Department of Surgery and Surgeon-in-Chief of the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, reminds us: “Hundreds of projects at UCLA are frozen. This is not just numbers on a page; it represents careers disrupted, trials delayed, and patients waiting longer for answers.”

Cancer research is a long and complex journey. Developing a single new therapy often requires 10 to 20 years of rigorous, collaborative work across many disciplines. Progress builds slowly, step by step, through clinical trials and peer-reviewed studies. Yet with federal research dollars down 31% in the past year, not only are new projects stalling, but ongoing studies that were already showing promise are being cut short. When this happens, the result is what many experts are calling “incalculable losses” – discoveries that may never see the light of day and potential breakthroughs left unfinished.

The challenges extend beyond the bench. Cuts to indirect, or facilities and administrative, costs strip institutions of the resources that keep research running, from laboratory equipment and data systems to compliance oversight and staff who protect patient safety. UCLA’s unique infrastructure cannot simply be replaced. When funding is slashed, the loss reverberates differently in every center, threatening the stability of ecosystems that take decades to create. No two cancer centers are the same. As Dr. Hines emphasizes, “We cannot allow a funding gap to silence innovation. Patients and families battling pancreatic cancer deserve more than unfinished experiments; they deserve breakthroughs.”

While federal proposals for fiscal year 2026 include an $18 billion reduction to NIH’s budget, a $1.6 billion cut to the National Cancer Institute, hope remains stronger than hardship. Thanks to our donors, the Hirshberg Foundation has already funded more than 135 projects through our Seed Grant Program, fueling advances in early detection, immunotherapy, and precision medicine. Your support is already making a difference, and every gift helps ensure researchers can keep pursuing discoveries that bring us closer to a cure.

Our new initiative, Beyond the Seed: Bridge to Breakthroughs, exists for moments exactly like this. When federal funding falters, philanthropy ensures that researchers remain at work, clinical trials continue, and patients are not left waiting. As Lisa Manheim, Executive Director of the Hirshberg Foundation, affirms: “Despite federal cuts, the spirit of discovery continues. With philanthropic support, we can ensure that promising science doesn’t end in the lab but finds its way to the clinic.”

Progress in pancreatic cancer research has never been easy, but it has always been worth it. Every breakthrough has been made possible because someone believed in the science and chose to act. Together, we will Never Give Up, and with your partnership, we can ensure that promising ideas move beyond the lab and into the hands of patients and families who need them most.

Since 1998, the Hirshberg Foundation has partnered with CancerCare to help families navigate the financial and emotional challenges that follow a pancreatic cancer diagnosis. With your generosity, we provide bi-annual grants that fund one-time financial assistance for low-income patients, alongside CancerCare’s free counseling, education, and case management. We are pleased to share our mid-year results and announce that our grant has been renewed for the second half of 2025, so more patients can stay on track with care.

Why Financial Assistance Makes All the Difference

A pancreatic cancer diagnosis often brings unexpected costs that strain family budgets. Even with insurance, expenses for transportation, co-pays, home care, childcare, and nutrition support add up quickly. These mounting expenses can force families into difficult trade-offs, choosing between basic needs or staying on track with treatment. Through our partnership with CancerCare, we step in with practical help so patients can focus on treatment, well-being, and time with loved ones.

The National Cancer Institute reports that average medical costs for cancer patients exceed $43,000 in the first year after diagnosis and can climb to more than $109,000 in the final year of life. For families already coping with the physical and emotional toll of pancreatic cancer, these numbers are staggering.

That’s why every grant matters. For a patient, this support can mean reliable transportation to chemotherapy, support for in-home care or prescriptions. Thanks to our community, this partnership offers not only financial aid but also dignity and hope when it’s needed most.

Stories of Strength: Real Patients, Real Impact

Behind every grant is a story of resilience, determination, and hope. With your support, CancerCare and the Hirshberg Foundation are helping patients focus on healing while easing the financial strain of pancreatic cancer.

Names have been changed to protect confidentiality.

Mid-2025 Program Impact

From January 19 to July 31, 2025, CancerCare awarded 65 grants, averaging just over $200 per grant. Support helped cover transportation, treatment co-pays, home care, imaging, and other essential needs. Patients served came from 30 states and Washington, D.C., with the largest groups in New York, Texas, New Jersey, and North Carolina. Most patients were 41–64 or 65+, and services were available in multiple languages, including English (86%) and Spanish (11%).

The Hirshberg Foundation CancerCare Grant

Thanks to our donor community, the Foundation has renewed funding with CancerCare for the remainder of 2025. This program offers limited financial assistance for transportation, pain medication, childcare, home care, and other urgent needs for eligible low-income patients. CancerCare also provides free support groups, workshops, co-payment assistance, case management, and counseling in English and Spanish.

If you or someone you love needs assistance, please contact CancerCare to learn about eligibility and available services. If you would like to make this lifeline possible for more families, please consider a gift to the Hirshberg Foundation today.

Pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, with a five-year survival rate of 13%. Survival remains low in part because most patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage, when treatment options are limited. For patients with early, localized tumors, surgery, often combined with chemotherapy, offers the only potential cure. Yet more than 80% of these patients experience recurrence, highlighting the urgent need for new strategies.

Over the last decade, immunotherapies have revolutionized the treatment of cancers such as melanoma and lung cancer. These therapies harness the body’s own immune system to detect and destroy tumor cells. Unfortunately, pancreatic cancer has been largely resistant to this approach.

A recent, early-stage clinical trial, AMPLIFY-201, has shown promising results in reducing relapse by treating patients with a cancer vaccine after surgery. The phase I clinical trial was co-led by Dr. Zev Wainberg, a gastrointestinal medical oncologist at the UCLA Agi Hirshberg Center for Pancreatic Diseases. Dr. Wainberg has also presented on advances in chemotherapy at the Agi Hirshberg Symposium on Pancreatic Cancer.

The study enrolled patients with pancreatic cancer or colorectal cancer (CRC) who had undergone surgery but still showed minimal residual disease (MRD). MRD is when no tumors are visible on scans but tumor cells or elevated biomarkers such as CA19-9 are detectable in the blood. Patients in the trial received the ELI-002 2P vaccine, which contains small peptides designed to train the immune system’s T cells to identify and destroy the remaining tumor cells to prevent relapse.

Unlike many cancer vaccines that are personalized for each patient after the tumor has been biopsied and sequenced, ELI-002 2P is an “off-the-shelf” treatment. The vaccine used peptides to activate T cells to identify mutant versions of a protein called KRAS. Mutated KRAS is a driver mutation for 50% of all colorectal cancers and more than 90% of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDACs) tumors. The vaccine specifically targets two specific KRAS mutations, G12D and G12R, which have been found in a high percentage of tumors. This shared vulnerability allows one standardized vaccine to be used across many patients.

The vaccine’s design is also novel. Each peptide is linked to a lipophilic tail that binds albumin, a protein in the blood. The albumin allows the peptides to “hitchhike” directly to lymph nodes, where T cells are activated. The peptides, along with an adjuvant, get taken up by dendritic cells, which present the peptides and prime T cells for attack. Once activated, these T cells circulate through the body, ready to recognize and eliminate cancer cells harboring KRAS mutations.

In the AMPLIFY-201 trial, 25 patients with pancreatic or colorectal cancer received six vaccine doses over eight weeks, followed by a rest period, then four booster doses. The vaccine was well tolerated: nearly half of patients reported only mild side effects such as fatigue, injection-site soreness, or muscle pain. Importantly, no patients experienced serious immune-related toxicities such as Cytokine Release Syndrome (CRS). CRS is an acute systemic inflammatory response characterized by fever and multiple organ dysfunction.

The immune responses were striking. After more than 19 months of follow-up, 68% of patients developed KRAS-specific T cell responses linked to reductions in circulating tumor DNA. Of these patients, 11 have shown no evidence of new tumor growth on imaging, and six achieved complete clearance of tumor biomarkers. Even more promising, many patients had T cells that recognized additional tumor proteins beyond the KRAS mutations targeted by the vaccine, a phenomenon called epitope spreading, that further broadens their immune defense against cancer cells.

While larger studies are needed, these early results suggest that cancer vaccines, both “off-the-shelf” and personalized, may finally offer a way to reduce relapse rates for pancreatic cancer patients after surgery. For a disease long resistant to immunotherapy, AMPLIFY-201 represents a hopeful advance and an important step toward more durable outcomes.

Kroger’s Community Rewards Program ensures that your next trip to the grocery store will make a greater impact, fuel progress, and provide hope for patients and families facing pancreatic cancer. We invite you to join us as we never give up in finding a cure for pancreatic cancer by turning your grocery run into a powerful act of generosity.

There are countless ways to support pancreatic cancer research, and some of those opportunities have the power to transform the simplest everyday tasks into actual donations. Grocery shopping is one of the easiest ways to give back, and every dollar makes a difference in our fight for better treatment options, earlier detection, and longer lives.

Whether you’re new to Kroger’s Community Rewards program or signed up in the past, today is the day to select the Hirshberg Foundation as your charity of choice and make a gift that keeps giving. All you have to do is take the first step. Here’s how to get started: