Overview: A Landmark Multi-Organization Partnership
A powerful coalition of cancer research organizations has joined forces to tackle one of medicine’s most overlooked connections — the relationship between aging and cancer. The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research and the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation (SWCRF) have jointly announced $2.5 million in new research funding to advance science at the intersection of aging biology and cancer development.
Together, they will fund five collaborative research grants. These grants will be administered through the newly established Samuel Waxman Institute for Aging & Cancer (Waxman Institute), which was formed in 2025 following the announcement of a planned merger between SWCRF and The Mark Foundation.
Furthermore, the initiative draws in two additional partners. The American Cancer Society (ACS) provided early backing and helped shape the 2025 Request for Proposals (RFP). The Cancer Research Institute (CRI) is co-funding one of the five projects, specifically focused on preventing age-related immune dysfunction and tumor growth.
Why Aging Is the Biggest Cancer Risk Factor
The Numbers Tell a Clear Story
Cancer is, above all else, a disease of aging. Nearly 60% of all cancers occur in people aged 65 and older. Moreover, more than 70% of cancer-related deaths fall within this same age group. As global life expectancy continues to rise, cancer rates are projected to climb sharply alongside it.
According to current estimates, global cancer cases could double by 2050 — driven largely by aging populations worldwide. This trajectory makes investment in aging-focused cancer research not just timely, but urgent.
A Gap in Research Models
Despite this well-established link, most cancer research models and clinical trials have historically focused on younger patients. Consequently, science has left major gaps in our understanding of how aging biology drives cancer risk, progression, recurrence, and treatment response. Older patients often receive treatments developed without their biology in mind — a critical oversight that the Waxman Institute aims to correct.
The Samuel Waxman Institute for Aging & Cancer
The Waxman Institute was specifically established to bridge this research gap. It brings together world-class investigators under a focused, collaborative model. The goal is straightforward yet ambitious: reshape how cancer is prevented and treated by putting aging biology at the center of the scientific conversation.
Samuel Waxman, MD, founder of SWCRF and director of the Waxman Institute, explains the mission clearly: “Understanding aging processes is essential to conquering cancer. By funding scientists who are rethinking cancer through the lens of aging, we are working toward healthier, longer lives with less cancer risk as we age.”
Ryan Schoenfeld, PhD, CEO of The Mark Foundation, echoes this vision. “The Waxman Institute was created to help close this gap,” he said. “By bringing together world-class investigators and supporting them through a highly focused, collaborative model, we aim to reshape how cancer is prevented and treated.”
The Five Funded Research Projects
Each of the five projects was selected through a rigorous, peer-reviewed RFP process launched in 2025. Each multidisciplinary team will receive $500,000 over three years, starting in January 2026. The funded projects cover a broad range of biological mechanisms linking aging to cancer.
1. Blood Cancers and TNFα Signaling
Reducing Aging-Associated Blood Cancers by Understanding How TNFα Signaling Shapes Hematopoietic Stem Cells
- Jennifer Trowbridge, PhD — The Jackson Laboratory
- Peter Van Galen, PhD — Brigham and Women’s Hospital
2. Senescence and Tumor Growth
Senescence-Associated Metabolism in Age-Related Tumorigenesis
- Corina Amor Vegas, MD, PhD — Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
- Joshua Rabinowitz, PhD — Princeton University
3. Immune Dysfunction and Cancer (CRI Co-Funded)
Targeting LINE-1 to Prevent Age-Dependent Immune Dysfunction in Cancer
- Miriam Merad, MD, PhD — Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Nicholas Vabret, PhD — Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Vera Gorbunova, PhD — University of Rochester
4. Aging-Driven Lung Cancer
Aging-Associated Inflammation in Lung Cancer Evolution
- Tuomas Tammela, MD, PhD — Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Alexander Tsankov, PhD — Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
5. Colorectal Cancer and the Gut
Impact of Aging on the Intestinal Stem Cell Niche and Colorectal Cancer
- Omer Yilmaz, MD, PhD — Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Andrew Chan, MD, MPH — Massachusetts General Hospital
For full details on each award,
What Experts Are Saying
The scientific leadership behind this initiative brings together decades of cancer research experience. Their unified message is that aging is not a background variable in cancer — it is a central driver that deserves dedicated scientific attention.
Dr. Waxman’s perspective draws on nearly 50 years of cancer research through SWCRF, an organization that has awarded more than $120 million to over 200 researchers worldwide since 1976. Meanwhile, The Mark Foundation has deployed over $300 million in grants to investigators at more than 120 academic institutions across 18 countries since 2017.
This level of institutional weight behind the Waxman Institute signals that the scientific community is ready to treat aging-related cancer mechanisms as a research priority — not an afterthought.
A Broader Commitment to the Future
The $2.5 million in initial awards is just the beginning. These five projects form part of a broader $15 million, three-year commitment by the Waxman Institute and The Mark Foundation. Additionally, the Waxman Institute plans to release a new RFP focused on aging and cancer in spring 2026, offering further opportunities for researchers to join this growing initiative.
As cancer cases rise globally alongside aging populations, this multi-organization model — combining expertise from The Mark Foundation, SWCRF, ACS, and CRI — offers a blueprint for how collaborative, cross-institutional science can tackle medicine’s most complex challenges.
