Binaytara Invests $50K in Cancer Research Awards with the Impact Pitch: Shark-Tank Style Competition

Binaytara awarded $50,000 in cancer research funding to two early-career investigators through its inaugural Impact Pitch competition at the 2026 Summit on Cancer Health Disparities in Bellevue, Washington. The Shark Tank-style event spotlighted disparities-focused research proposals and introduced a more transparent, engaging approach to supporting innovation in implementation science and cancer health equity.

Key Takeaways

• Binaytara awarded $50,000 in total research funding at SCHD 2026.
• Two early-career investigators each received $25,000.
• The new Impact Pitch used a live, Shark Tank-style format.
• The event emphasized implementation science and cancer health disparities.

Binaytara Launches a New Competition-Based Research Award Format

Binaytara, a leading global oncology nonprofit, extended $50,000 in research funding to early-career investigators, debuting a competition-based research award format at the 2026 Summit on Cancer Health Disparities in Bellevue, Washington. Dubbed the Binaytara Implementation Science Research Award, the funding was disseminated as two $25,000 prizes on March 28th.

The Awards were conferred on the winners of the Impact Pitch, an entertainment-forward, Shark Tank-style research pitching event open to early-career researchers and oncologists with disparities-focused project proposals.

Winners were determined by the competition’s Catalysts, a five-person review panel of prominent oncologists representing elite cancer centers: OHSU Knight Cancer Institute’s Shivaani Kummar, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center’s Shailender Bhatia and Jerald Radich, Jefferson Medical College’s Christine Laine, and Tufts Medical Center’s Don Dizon.

Five Leading Oncologists Served as Impact Pitch Catalysts

In the Shark Tank style, the Catalysts offered the presenters their feedback live onstage—a spectator-oriented format and significant departure from the traditional closed-door, audience-optional approach to research. “Where science meets showtime,” Dr. Fengting Yan, Impact Pitch co-moderator, lightheartedly introduced the session.

The winning proposals included Dr. Benjamin Li’s “Creating and Understanding Real-World Use of Point-of-Care Decision Support in Radiation Oncology” and Dr. Akshee Batra’s “Implementing Patient Education Videos to Improve Understanding of Systemic Cancer Therapy.” Both Li and Batra were awarded the maximum funding of $25,000.

“These are young investigators,” Dr. David Aboulafia, Summit on Cancer Health Disparities co-chair, said of the Impact Pitch participants. “They need support. That’s what we’re about: identifying young people who have big ideas and helping them get that extra push to move. In this field, especially—implementation science and health disparities.”

How the Summit on Cancer Health Disparities Advances Cancer Health Equity

The Summit on Cancer Health Disparities is Binaytara’s flagship conference, occurring annually in the spring. With sessions on LGBTQ-friendly cancer screening and global oncology, it brings together cancer health equity stakeholders to discuss access divides and the solutions to bridge them. The Impact Pitch is a buzzy new addition to the lineup.

“As I meet with a number of colleagues in hematology and oncology, I constantly hear about issues of lack of funding for research,” Dr. Binay Shah, Binaytara president and co-founder, said. “More so in the last year. I thought, how about we provide research funding to some of these colleagues? But I wanted it to be more transparent. I wanted it to be more fun. [The Impact Pitch] allows physicians to think more like an entrepreneur.”

Frequently Asked Questions About the Binaytara Impact Pitch and Research Awards

1. What is the Binaytara Impact Pitch competition?

The Impact Pitch is a Shark Tank-style research competition introduced by Binaytara at the 2026 Summit on Cancer Health Disparities. It allows early-career investigators to present disparities-focused research proposals in a live, interactive format.

2. How much funding was awarded through the Impact Pitch?

A total of $50,000 in research funding was awarded, distributed as two $25,000 prizes to winning early-career investigators.

3. Who were the winners of the 2026 Impact Pitch competition?

The winners were Dr. Benjamin Li and Dr. Akshee Batra, recognized for their innovative proposals focused on improving cancer care delivery and patient education.

4. What types of research projects were supported?

The competition focused on implementation science and cancer health disparities, supporting projects aimed at improving real-world cancer care delivery and patient understanding of treatment.

5. Who evaluated the Impact Pitch presentations?

A panel of five leading oncologists, called the Catalysts, evaluated the presentations. They represented major cancer centers including OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Jefferson Medical College, and Tufts Medical Center.

6. Why did Binaytara create the Impact Pitch format?

Binaytara designed the Impact Pitch to make research funding more transparent, engaging, and accessible while encouraging early-career investigators to think entrepreneurially about their ideas.

7. What is the Summit on Cancer Health Disparities?

The Summit on Cancer Health Disparities is Binaytara’s flagship annual conference that brings together global experts to address inequities in cancer care and develop solutions to improve access and outcomes.

8. Who is eligible to participate in the Impact Pitch?

The competition is open to early-career researchers and oncologists with proposals focused on cancer health disparities and implementation science.

About Binaytara

Binaytara was founded in 2007 by Dr. Binay Shah and Tara Shah. Now operating out of Bellevue, Washington with a satellite office in Janakpur, Nepal, the nonprofit oversees programs to minimize cancer health disparities in the United States, Nigeria, and Nepal.