Research we fund

Inhibition of a tumor-triggered immune exhaustion pathway, termed PD-1 blockade, enables immune effector cells to attack cancers. In classic Hodgkin Lymphoma (cHL), PD-1 blockade is now a standard treatment for relapsed disease and a component of experimental frontline therapy. We have identified a major population of monocyte/macrophages in patients with cHL that inhibit tumor cell killing and limit the efficacy of PD-1 blockade. Our goal is to fully characterize these tumor-specific monocytes/macrophages and target their immunosuppressive and tumorigenic program for therapeutic benefit in patients with cHL and other lymphoid malignancies.

Project Term: June 30, 2023 - June 30, 2026

Innovations in gene engineering have made it possible to reprogram immune cells to attack specific targets on cancer cells, allowing the first adoptive cellular immunotherapies, known as CAR T cells, to be approved by the FDA for the treatment B lymphoblastic leukemia. A similar approach is currently under development for AML, but in contrast to B-ALL, there is no leukemia-specific target which would be amenable to targeting by immune cells without incurring severe adverse effects. Here, we aim to modify normal bone marrow stem cells used for allogeneic transplantation to make them resistant to CAR-T cells, thus enabling targeting proteins essential for tumor survival without the risk of severe toxicity on the healthy tissue counterpart.

Project Term: July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2026

We identified the adenine nucleotide regulator AK2 as a selective dependency in multiple myeloma (MM) that is more essential for survival of MM cells overexpressing the histone methyltransferase NSD2. Here, we propose a series of experiments to understand the role of AK2 in MM cell fitness and response to existing therapies and elucidate the molecular basis of the increased dependence on AK2 driven by NSD2 overexpression. This study will elucidate the effects of AK2 inhibition in MM and will credential the enzyme as a therapeutic target.

Project Term: July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2025

The impact of biological heterogeneity on treatment outcomes is evidenced by a large proportion of lymphoma patients who experience relapsed/refractory disease. To address this knowledge gap, we sequenced primary lymphoma samples and found recurrent mutations in the non-canonical NF-kB pathway (NC NF-kB) and uncovered the NIK kinase as a targetable candidate. Our next steps focus on using advanced genetic modelling approaches to provide preclinical rationale for targeting NC NF-kB in lymphomas.

Project Term: July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2025

Niclosamide is an FDA approved anti-parasitic drug that is well tolerated and acts synergistically with chemotherapy to kill AML cells. We will conduct a Phase I clinical trial with niclosamide in combination with cytarabine for children with relapsed/refractory pediatric AML. ShRNA/CRISPR screens demonstrated that Bcl-2 is upregulated in niclosamide resistant cells. We will study the effects of the Bcl-2 inhibitor venetoclax in combination with niclosamide in pediatric AML.

Project Term: June 30, 2022 - June 30, 2025

Few treatment options are available for T cell leukemias and lymphomas, collectively called T cell cancers that affect ~100,000 patients worldwide each year. The current proposal will generate new antibodies attached to drugs and toxins that kill the T cell cancers. Importantly, the antibodies will preserve enough healthy T cells to maintain a functioning immune system. These modified antibodies may improve patient outcome and limit side effects associated with traditional chemotherapies.

Project Term: July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2025

The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway is activated in high-risk leukemia and is a hallmark of resistance to therapies. This project uses patient-derived xenograft models of relapsed pediatric ALL and AML with activated RAS/MAPK to test whether clinically relevant MAPK mutations activate the VAV3/RAC pathway and if pharmacological inhibition of that pathway by a small molecule we developed synergizes with a MAPK-inhibitor to provide a new treatment strategy for RAS-driven leukemia.

Project Term: July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2025

The B-cell kinase SYK and its T-cell homolog ZAP70 have almost identical functions but are strictly segregated to B- and T-cells. We recently discovered that B-cell malignancies frequently coexpress ZAP70 and that only SYK but not ZAP70 can trigger negative B-cell selection and cell death. Here we test the hypothesis that ZAP70 enables malignant B-cell transformation, test pharmacological SYK-hyperactivation and validate ZAP70 as biomarker of patients who benefit from this approach.

Project Term: July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2025

T-cell ALL is an aggressive blood cancer with poor overall survival, high relapse rates, and significant treatment-related side effects. Using primary T-ALL patient samples, this project will study the importance of JAK/STAT signaling and the gene BIRC5 in the pathology of T-ALL driven by DNMT3A mutations using genetic and pharmacological tools. The goal of this proposal is to develop precision medicine approaches for DNMT3A-mutant adult T-ALL patients, a group with poor clinical outcomes

Project Term: July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2025

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a blood cancer characterized by poor clinical outcomes. We developed an antibody that inhibits AML in models by triggering anti-leukemia immunity. Now we developed a new version of this antibody with higher affinity to the leukocyte receptors that mediate anti-leukemia immunity. We will establish the ability of this optimized antibody to elicit greater inhibition of AML. The studies will generate important information about how to induce anti-leukemia immunity.

Project Term: July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2025

Clonally expanded T cells carrying somatic mutations circulate in the premalignant phase of Adult T cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL). We will develop capture-sequencing of recurrent ATL-driver mutations for use as a diagnostic tool for the detection/characterization of ATL-like clones in individuals with high risk of ATL, and, in an aligned clinical study, we will test whether a novel monoclonal antibody (targeting C-C chemokine receptor 4) can eradicate these high-risk cells.

Project Term: July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2025

Advances in multiple myeloma (MM) therapy have improved survival, but serial cycles of response and relapse still lead to treatment-refractory and fatal disease in nearly all patients. To specifically target mechanisms of MM relapse, we propose to develop an immunotherapy targeting Sox2, a stem-cell transcription factor implicated in clonogenic MM growth that enables relapse.

Project Term: July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2025