• CANCER SUCKS

    and so does the way it’s researched.

  • Current research is project-based—not cure-focused. Results are fragmented with some studies too small to have any significance. Projects have a limited scope, operating in specialty silos without integrating data or the experts needed to understand the body as a system.

    Additionally, current funding models incentivize fragmented research and duplication of efforts.

  • Our goal is to CONNECT the community, changing the current way research is done by pioneering a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach with our partners. Using big data analytics, we will learn more from each patient until EVERY patient can find their cure.

    • Find more cures for more people—using a data-driven approach to accurately identify which treatment will work for each patient.

    • Understand the body when cancer occurs—identify escape mechanisms, new biomarkers or pathways

    • Be translational as fast as possible—impact treatment decisions TODAY – not in 10 years!

The Chike Springer Foundation is dedicated to improving the way we research cancer.

“As a foundation, we are dedicated to funding lymphoma research that focuses on underserved populations and addresses issues of health equity.”

— LYNDSAY SPRINGER, FOUNDER AND CEO

Our current funding efforts include:

An interdisciplinary task force of diverse researchers and specialists taking a comprehensive, systems-based approach to look at the whole body when cancer occurs.  We want to understand what happens in the body before, during, and after treatment, so we can identify what’s working and what’s not for each patient. We will create a big and deep dataset that is free for further analysis and research use.

Research Task Force

In partnership with the Lymphoma Research Foundation (LRF), we fund new and innovative research projects aligned with our vision and mission. Through the LRF’s Scientific Advisory Board, we evaluate approved research projects to fund in Chike’s honor.

Innovative Investigators

Our Funded Projects

Active Military and Veteran Initiative

Cancer rates in Active Duty Military and Veterans are significantly higher than the normal population. We work with Veteran groups to improve their treatment options & outcomes by understanding environmental & lifestyle factors specific to the military that increase the likelihood of cancer.

We are partnering with the Lymphoma Research Foundation to co-sponsor initiatives to enhance support resources at VA hospitals and Military Treatment Facilities and fund cancer research to understand how lymphoma in the Military and Veteran populations compares to the general population.

Our $30K INVESTMENT led to almost $1M in funding!

In 2021, we partnered with the Lymphoma Research Foundation to sponsor Luis Malpica, MD, in the 2021-2022 Lymphoma Scientific Research Mentoring Program (LSRMP). The LSRMP is a first-of-its-kind two-year program that provides hematology & oncology fellows & junior faculty a unique experience to learn how to build a successful lymphoma research career. Dr. Malpica's LRF research project will evaluate the clinical, epidemiologic, host genetics, and treatment factors that may influence patients’ outcomes in Latin America. Since being named the Chike Springer Legacy Scholar in 2021, Dr. Malpica has been connected to other Lymphoma experts and has secured close to $1 million in grant and research funding for his continued work. He recently presented at the American Society of Hematology (ASH), the world’s largest professional society serving clinicians and scientists.

CHIKE SPRINGER LEGACY SCHOLAR

Dr. Luis Malpica Castillo is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Lymphoma/Myeloma at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.  He received his medical training at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Lima, Peru and completed residency at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, FL.  Dr.  Malpica’s research will be the first in its kind to focus primarily on prevalent subtypes of non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in Latin America and outcome disparities for people of color.  His research will address questions of disparity in therapy responses and outcomes by evaluating the clinical, epidemiologic, host genetics, and treatment factors that may have an influence on patient outcomes. Results from this study will provide a wealth of information to outcomes and survivorship and serve as a framework for evidence-based clinical trial design.   

Our current focus is on the following research topics:

  • Experimental Cellular and Molecular Therapies/Treatments

    Understanding the effects of new and emerging therapies in the treatment of lymphoma.

  • Cellular and Molecular Biology - Genomics, Biomarkers and Genetics

    Understanding the mechanics of lymphoma within the body.

  • Epidemiology – Research in Minorities and Medically-underserved Populations

    Understanding the effects of lymphoma in a specific patient population.