Lopker Family Foundation Grants

Lopker Family Foundation Grants is sponsored by Lopker Family Foundation. Dedicated to bridging the 'Valley of Death' in cancer research by providing critical funding to move promising laboratory discoveries through the transition to first-in-human clinical trials.

Accelerating Cures through Translational Medicine The Lopker Family Foundation is dedicated to bridging the “Valley of Death” in cancer research. We provide the critical funding required to move promising laboratory discoveries through the rigorous transition to first-in-human clinical trials. Our core philosophy is simple: Maximize the capital working in the lab to bring cancer cures to market as quickly as possible.

Most breakthrough therapies stall because academic grants often stop at discovery, while venture capital waits for human data. We fund the critical “Middle Mile”: Safety & Efficacy: Toxicity and efficacy studies. Regulatory Milestones: Pre-IND and IND (Investigational New Drug) applications.

Clinical Readiness: Moving from a lab setting to first-in-human trials, novel combinations of investigational or approved drugs, or studies of breakthrough diagnostics to guide therapy. We partner with public universities in cancer research that are NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers. We prioritize institutions that lead in innovation despite having smaller unrestricted endowments than their private counterparts.

Combined, our foundation and assocated donor-advised fund manages $100M in assets and deploy $5M annually in grants , all while maintaining a lean, high-impact operational model. Grant Size: Typically $200,000 - $300,000 per project. Scientist-Led: All projects are vetted by a board of volunteer scientists ensuring technical merit and clinical viability.

Administrative Cap: To maximize the capital working in the lab, we cap administrative/indirect costs allowed from our donations at 5% , up to a maximum of $20,000 . This cap represents the total allowable amount for overhead; the department will not be expected to cover any additional difference to meet a university set rate.

Selected Funding Portfolio The following projects represent selected current commitments to high-potential therapies currently moving through the translational pipeline or active clinical trials. Institution Focus Key Project / Trial Fred Hutch Pancreas Phase 1b Trial: Investigating CDK7 inhibitors in aggressive basal-subtype pancreatic cancer.

Fred Hutch Leukemia Combination Therapy: Venetoclax + CLAG-M trial for relapsed/refractory AML. Fred Hutch Prostate PSMA Upregulation: Using epigenetic modifiers to make “low-PSMA” tumors vulnerable to radioligand therapy. UCLA (JCCC) Ovarian CATALINA-2 Trial: Targeting the CLDN6 (Claudin 6) protein in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.

UCLA (JCCC) Breast&Lung Next-Gen Antibody-Drug Conjugates and CDK inhibitors to bypass treatment resistance. U. Washington Prostate Selective Glycolysis Inhibitors Research: Molecular drivers of advanced prostate cancer.

U. Maryland Thoracic Surgical Innovation: Laboratory validation for lung/esophageal cancer surgical outcomes.