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HBF in the News

Emerging Scientists Awarded Grants to Fund Critical Pancreatic and Pediatric Brain Cancer Research

HBF is honoring five of the nation’s most innovative early-career cancer researchers with the HBF Inspiration Award. Since the Foundation’s inception in 2019, 25 grantees have received critical funding to advance their research. This year’s awards focused on two of the most challenging cancers to treat: pancreatic and pediatric brain cancer.

HBF Pancreatic Cancer Researchers Discuss Their Award Winning Publications

Watch presentations of award winning research from top early career investigators. 

Presentations given July 8, 2025 on breakthrough discoveries from:

Dr. Anuprya Singal (MSK); Dr.Jackie Zimmerman (Johns Hopkins); Dr. Will Hwang (Harvard/MGH).

Jackie Zimmerman, M.D., Ph.D., Publishes Research Focusing on Pancreatic Cancer

A 2020 HBF Inspiration Award winner, Dr. Zimmerman's research on interactions between cancer-associated fibroblasts and tumor cells was published online in Cancer Research.

2021 Winner, Xian Wang Ph.D., Publishes Research Focusing on Pediatric Bran Cancer

Wang's research on "Mechanical nanosurgery of chemoresistant glioblastoma using magnetically controlled carbon nanotubes" was published online in Science Advances 

2020 winner, William Hwang, M.D., Ph.D., Publishes Research focusing on Pancreatic Cancer

William Hwang's work on Pancreatic cancer spatial transcriptomics was featured on the cover of Nature Genetics magazine. 

Jason R. Pitarresi, Ph.D. Publishes Research focusing on Pancreatic Cancer

2020 Inspiration Award Winner, Jason Pitarresi, recently published his research showcasing how PTHrP drives pancreatic cancer growth and metastasis and reveals a new therapeutic vulnerability.

HBF Grants Awarded To Pancreatic Cancer 

This month, the HBF awarded four of the nation's most innovative young cancer investigators the 2022 Hopper—Belmont Inspiration Award. The award was extremely competitive, receiving applications from across the USA and Europe 

Global Genes Interview with John Hopper

HBF Chairman and President of the Fibrolamellar Cancer Foundation, John Hopper, sits down with Global Genes to discuss the future of the rare cancer that's targeting young adults.

Hopper-Belmont Foundation Chair accepts Rare Cancer Coalition Award - National Organization of Rare Disorders (NORD)

HBF Chairman John Hopper is also the founding co-chair of NORD's Rare Cancer Coalition (RCC)  an international organization representing rare cancer foundations across the globe.  NORD recently recognized the tremendous impact RCC has made in moving forward research, awareness and patient advocacy for rare cancers in their annual leadership gala  bestowing the coveted Abbey. S Meyers award.   Read more about the Rare Cancer Coalition

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