Research we fund

We propose to the hypothesis that patients with LCH who fail initial chemotherapy will respond to a targeted strategy of blocking MAPK signaling through MEK inhibition.  This trial is a Phase 2 study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of cobimetinib in patients with refractory LCH.  Exploratory aims will evaluate response of lesions with specific mutations, ability of peripheral blood mononuclear cells to determine disease burden, and development of somatic mutations in patients who relapse.

Project Term: October 1, 2021 - September 30, 2023

LILRB1 is a human immune inhibitory receptor expressed on a variety of immune cells. Based on preliminary data, we hypothesize that blocking LILRB1 signaling in immune effector cells of myeloma patients will lead to increased anti-cancer activities of immune cells. We will identify subsets of myeloma patients with higher LILRB1 expression on immune cells, and determine whether anti-LILRB1 antagonizing antibodies can improve the function of immune cells for multiple myeloma treatment.

Project Term: July 1, 2021 - June 30, 2024

My group studies variation in clinical outcomes of patients with aggressive lymphomas and tries to capture the underlying basis for this variation. We then integrate insights from our studies into molecular prediction tools that inform the probable outcomes of individual patients when treated with therapeutic regimens that are currently available. We hope to build precise risk models that have high predictive value for clinical outcomes of patients with lymphoma. Our goal is to use these models to inform therapeutic trials of novel strategies to improve the outcomes of blood cancer patients.

Project Term: July 1, 2019 - June 30, 2024

B cell malignancies comprise a large number of different types of lymphomas and leukemia, which collectively represent the sixth leading cause of cancer death in the US. These cancer cells are potential targets of the host immune system’s CD4+ T cells, however, the latter normally lack the ability to kill such cancer cells. In this project, we develop a novel approach to rapidly produce CD4+ T cells capable of killing B cell cancers, and advance this approach towards clinical trials.

Project Term: July 1, 2019 - June 30, 2022

In this proposal, we have combined clinical and research expertise in HCL across Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medical College, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University to develop newer targeted therapeutics for every stage and subtype of hairy cell leukemia. Capitalizing on this combined expertise, our proposal stands to significantly advance treatment strategies for hairy cell leukemia through the following aims: to test BRAF inhibition for initial treatment of classical hairy cell leukemia, test new oral inhibitors of the MAP kinase signaling pathway known as ERK inhibitors in both classical and variant hairy cell leukemia, evaluate totally new treatments that degrade BRAF, and develop T-cell immunotherapies for the first time in hairy cell leukemia.

Project Term: October 1, 2021 - September 30, 2025