SFA announces David Shultz, MD PhD, of University Health Network in Toronto, Canada, as the recipient of the 2026 Allison McKey Last Mile Research Award.

We are thankful and humbled that our sarcoma community has been able to raise enough money to honor and remember Allison through this research grant to Dr. David Shultz.”

— Allison’s parents, Pat and John McKey

BETHESDA, MD, UNITED STATES, October 14, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Sarcoma Foundation of America (SFA) is pleased to announce David Shultz, MD PhD, Clinical Investigator and Staff Radiation Oncologist at University Health Network in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, as the recipient of the 2026 Allison McKey Last Mile Research Award.

The Last Mile Research Award is designed to help promising sarcoma research projects move closer to successful funding from major national research agencies.

Dr. Shultz will receive $150,000 for one year to support his research project, “Mechanisms of hypoxia-induced metastasis in soft-tissue sarcomas.”

Metastatic disease is the leading cause of death for patients with high-risk localized soft-tissue sarcoma. Dr. Shultz’s research will investigate how low oxygen levels, known as hypoxia, within tumors may contribute to the development of lung metastases in undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma and myxofibrosarcoma. His team will study human tumor samples and circulating tumor cells, along with laboratory models, to identify the cells and molecular pathways that may drive metastasis and uncover potential biomarkers and treatment targets.

The award honors Allison McKey, who passed away from metastatic osteosarcoma at 34. Her family established Allison’s Beer Mile to celebrate her life and raise funds for sarcoma research.

Through the Allison McKey Last Mile Research Award, SFA and Allison’s family are helping support research that could deepen our understanding of sarcoma metastasis and move promising discoveries closer to patients.

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About the Sarcoma Foundation of America
The Sarcoma Foundation of America (SFA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization, is an advocate for increased research to find new and better therapies with which to treat patients with sarcoma. The organization raises money to privately fund grants for sarcoma researchers and conducts education and advocacy efforts on behalf of sarcoma patients. For more information, please visit www.curesarcoma.org.

About Sarcoma
Sarcoma is a rare cancer in adults (1% of all adult cancers) but more common in children (15-20% of childhood cancers). At any one time, 236,000 patients and their families are impacted by sarcoma. Every year, more than 18,000 new cases are diagnosed, and more than 7,600 people die from the disease.

David Koetke
Sarcoma Foundation of America
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