Research We Fund

Common genetic variation explains a large share of childhood leukemia in children of European ancestry and may explain the differing incidence in children of other ancestries. The Childhood Cancer and Leukemia International Consortium seeks to better understand the genomic architecture of childhood leukemia risk using its collective genomic datasets comprising >20,000 diverse children with leukemia. The results will inform risk prediction for and possibly prevention of childhood leukemia.

Dr. Olszewski’s trial will examine mosunetuzumab as a first-line treatment for follicular and marginal zone lymphomas—slow-growing types of B-cell lymphoma which remain incurable using current therapies. Mosunetuzumab is a “bispecific antibody” that can trigger an immune attack of patients’ own cancer-killing T-cells against the lymphoma. Dr. Olszewski team will look for characteristics that predict complete responses when this novel immunotherapy is applied as first-line treatment.

The goal of our work is to use a “bench to bedside and back” approach to develop new treatments for patients with relapsed/refractory AML. Through genetic analysis of patients who relapse or do not respond to standard and investigational treatments, we discover potential resistance mechanisms. In the lab, we test novel drugs and identify new drug targets that may address these resistance mechanisms when used in combination with other therapies. The overall goal of our research program is to improve treatment options and survival of patients with refractory AML.

Young Black patients diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) have significantly shorter survival compared to White patients. To comprehensively assess genetic, genomic and biologic contributors to the race-associated survival disparity, we propose a complementary approach that addresses major knowledge gaps in our current understanding of AML biology in Black patients, including the overdue characterization of the Black AML genome and subsequent delineation of biologic response to treatment.