The Happy Lungs Project is collaborating with leading cancer research institutions through the RET Research Network to share expertise, cell lines, tumor samples, and data — helping researchers move faster against RET-positive cancers.
How will the RET Research Network accelerate research? Video presented by Dr. David Carbone, The Ohio State University and member of The Happy Lungs Project Scientific Advisory Board
Sharing expertise. Sharing resources. Moving faster together.
Lung cancer is the major cause of cancer death for both men and women. RET fusions are seen in only a small but important fraction of lung cancers, and these tumors are currently understudied. Available targeted therapies are potent, but they do not cure the disease — they only control it for a period of time. Better therapies are needed in working toward a cure.
This especially applies to conditions like RET fusion-positive tumors that are rare. The RET Research Network has been established to accelerate progress against this disease, with The Happy Lungs Project convening and stewarding the effort.
Why Collaboration Matters
Traditional research funding often supports individual projects with specific goals, timelines, and deliverables. While these investments produce important discoveries, opportunities to coordinate efforts, share resources, and build upon one another’s work aren’t always fully realized.
In the RET Research Network, participating teams contribute their expertise, findings, and scientific resources to a shared foundation that can support discoveries well beyond any single project or institution.
How the RET Research Network Speeds Up Research
Connecting research teams. Bringing together leading research institutions to combine expertise, coordinate scientific priorities, and pursue shared goals.
Building shared research resources. Developing and sharing valuable scientific assets — including research data, biospecimens, laboratory models, and scientific knowledge — that researchers can leverage to accelerate discoveries.
Catalyzing future investment. Using collective research findings and insights to build a stronger case for pharmaceutical companies, research funders, and strategic partners to invest in RET-positive lung cancer research and therapeutic development.
Each team also brings its own scientific focus. At The Ohio State University, Dr. Carbone’s laboratory is specifically focused on two approaches:
A Network Built to Grow
The three founding institutions — Gustave Roussy, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and The Ohio State University — establish the foundation for the RET Research Network’s first phase, with plans to expand the network through future phases of research investment.
Built to extend beyond individual grants and institutions, the network also creates opportunities for a broader community of scientists to exchange expertise, contribute insights, and shape future research collaborations. Dr. Carbone is hopeful that the network can be maintained and expanded through traditional grant funding as well as philanthropy.
Explore the RET Research Network
What This Means for Patients
For people living with RET-positive cancer, the need for progress is urgent. While targeted therapies have transformed treatment for many patients, resistance remains a significant challenge, and too many patients face uncertainty about what comes next when their treatments stop working. Every unanswered scientific question represents an opportunity to discover something that could change a patient’s future.
Because for patients and families, research isn’t just about what we discover. It’s about what those discoveries make possible: more options, more time, and more hope.
Make a donation to support The Happy Lungs Project as we accelerate research, close critical gaps in care, and bring together the people and resources needed to improve and save the lives of those living with RET-positive cancers.
Donate TodayQuestions or need more information? Contact us at info@happylungsproject.org
