MSK’s Druckenmiller Presidential Innovation Fund

Translational Research: Where Discovery Meets Care 

At Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), researchers and clinicians work side by side to turn scientific discoveries into real hope for people with cancer. Powered by new technologies and our increasing knowledge about how cancer develops and spreads, translational research serves as the bridge between the lab and the clinic. Driving much of this progress is the Fiona and Stanley Druckenmiller Presidential Innovation Fund, an initiative established in 2021 through a transformative $100 million gift from the Fiona and Stanley Druckenmiller Foundation. 

Fueling Bold Ideas Across MSK

The fund provides essential support for collaborations across MSK that spark new ideas and studies in translational research. Insights captured from these ventures are leading to discoveries that define new standards of care. Projects that receive funding are selected based on their potential for transformative impact by MSK’s President and CEO Selwyn M. Vickers, MD, FACS, Douglas A. Warner III Chair, in consultation with MSK’s Chief Physician Executive Jeffrey Drebin, MD, PhD, Scott M. and Lisa G. Stuart Chair; Chief Scientific Officer Ross Levine, MD, Edward P. Evans Endowed Chair for MDS; and Director of the Sloan Kettering Institute Joan Massagué, PhD, Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Chair. The flexibility of the fund gives MSK leadership the opportunity to rapidly advance novel ideas, studies, and collaborations as they arise. 

“MSK’s partnership with the Druckenmillers is shortening the time between scientific discovery and clinical application,” says Dr. Vickers. “Their generosity and vision make it possible for us to pursue highly ambitious projects that shed new light on our understanding of cancer and set the stage for potentially life-changing progress in care.” 

From Early-Stage Ideas to Clinical Breakthroughs

Flexible support for early-stage work is a proven catalyst for innovation, and in the past five years, the Druckenmiller Presidential Innovation Fund has played a key role in getting projects off the ground. Among them is a potentially groundbreaking advancement in genetic testing: a diagnostic tool called MSK-TARGET. Developed and validated by MSK scientists, MSK-TARGET measures RNA, providing deeper insights into a person’s cancer than DNA sequencing. It can also detect changes in a patient’s immune system related to the disease. Collecting this additional information will not only help doctors tailor a person’s cancer treatment based on genetics and other molecular features of their disease but also enable the development of new targeted drugs. Recently approved by New York State for clinical validation, MSK-TARGET is being refined with RNA sequencing data from thousands of patients — a step that could make it a future standard of care. 

A Legacy of Leadership in Funding Cancer Research

The Druckenmillers’ generosity ensures that top experts working in translational cancer research have the resources they need to make significant discoveries. They have long championed MSK’s approach to cancer research and care. Mr. Druckenmiller has served on MSK’s Board of Trustees since 1997 and is currently Co-Chair of “The MSK Campaign: Leading Science. Changing Lives.” In 2015, the couple made a gift to establish the Fiona and Stanley Druckenmiller Center for Lung Cancer Research, bringing together physician-scientists and surgeons at MSK to pursue high-impact projects that are revealing new ways to diagnose, understand, and treat lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States and worldwide. 

Investing in What’s Next

“I firmly believe that getting resources into the hands of talented doctors and scientists is key to accelerating discoveries that can save lives,” says Mr. Druckenmiller. “To me, supporting MSK means investing in a future where every person with cancer has access to the best treatments.” 

As science advances, the Fiona and Stanley Druckenmiller Presidential Innovation Fund will continue to respond quickly to evolving research needs in real time, supporting the most creative projects in translational cancer medicine that might otherwise go unfunded.