Who We Fund

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Dr. Falchi graduated Cum Laude from the University of Perugia, Italy. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center, residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and Hematology/Oncology fellowship at Columbia University Medical Center. He is currently an Assistant Attending in the Lymphoma and Cellular Therapy Services at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Dr. Falchi’s research focuses on the use of immunotherapy to treat B-cell NHL. He leads multiple such trials nationally and internationally. He authored or co-authored over 75 articles published in peer-reviewed journals, numerous abstracts, and several book chapters. 

Dr. Falchi is Co-Editor-In-Chief of Oncoimmunology, Editorial Board Member for Blood Advances, and recurrent peer-reviewer for high-profile journals. He is recipient of several awards, including a Lymphoma Research Foundation Career Development Award. He is an active member of several scientific societies, including the American Society of Hematology.

Program Name(s)

Career Development Program

Project Title

Leveraging multispecific antibodies to reshape the treatment landscape of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Dr. John Crispino is Chief of the Division of Experimental Hematology at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. He received his PhD from MIT for research on the mechanisms of RNA splicing performed in the laboratory of Dr. Phillip Sharp and then performed post-doctoral hematology research at Harvard Medical School with Dr. Stuart Orkin. Dr. Crispino and members of his laboratory have made many important contributions to improve our understanding of the mechanisms of normal and aberrant blood development. Currently, his research is focused on the role of GATA1 in blood cell development, mechanisms of leukemogenesis in children with Down syndrome and the characterization of genetic changes that drive malignant progression of MDS and MPN. He has authored over 170 manuscripts, with recent papers in Cancer Discovery, Journal of Clinical Investigation, and Blood. Dr. Crispino is a recent Associate Editor of Blood, on the editorial boards of Leukemia and Blood Cancer Journal and past chair of an NIH study section.

Program Name(s)

Special Grants

Specialized Center of Research Program

Project Title

Aberrant Megakaryopoiesis in the MPNs

Understanding Leukemia in Children with Down Syndrome to Develop Better Therapies

Columbia University Medical Center

Jennifer Amengual, MD is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Columbia University in the Division of Hematology and Oncology. As a physician-scientist, her research goals are to directly translate observations and concepts developed in the laboratory to rational targeted therapies for patients with lymphoma. Dr. Amengual has led many investigator-initiated trials based on data generated in her laboratory through the NCI Cooperative Group Networks, SWOG and ETCTN. Columbia University is a tertiary care center that performs a high number of organ transplants and has an enrichment of PTLD patients. This has generated great interest in how to improve screening and treatment for these patients. Dr. Amengual has spearheaded a PTLD working group that encompasses transplant, infectious disease, lymphoma and cellular therapy specialists from both the adult and pediatric groups. This has led to the development of several studies providing the foundation for the proposed clinical trial.

Program Name(s)

Academic Clinical Trials Program (ACT)

Project Title

Defining ctDNA monitoring and immune modulation in a novel, risk stratified clinical trial for PTLD

University of Cambridge

George Vassiliou is Professor of Hematological Medicine, Director of the Blood Cancer United/Blood Cancer UK Specialist Center of Research (SCOR) in Myeloid Cancer Prevention and Co-lead of the Hematological Malignancies Virtual Institute at the University of Cambridge. He is also an Honorary Consultant Hematologist at Cambridge University Hospitals, where he founded and leads Europe’s first clonal hematopoiesis clinic. 

He studies the pre-clinical evolution, molecular pathogenesis and treatment of myeloid cancers. Highlights of his work include the co-discovery of the shared precursor of myeloid cancers, clonal hematopoiesis (CH), the description of its lifelong natural history and the first demonstration that individuals at risk of these cancers can be identified years in advance, opening the prospect of their prevention. He also developed the first genomic diagnostic tools for myeloid cancers, discovered mechanisms of how they develop and identified hundreds of potential treatment targets using the first genome-wide CRISPR genetic screen in any human cancer. His work has led to development of new treatments, including METTL3 inhibitors that are now in clinical trials against acute myeloid leukemia.

In recognition of his work, he was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and awarded the European Haematology Association Research Excellence Award in 2026.

Program Name(s)

Specialized Center of Research Program

Project Title

Development of a clinical program for myeloid cancer prevention

Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

The molecular mechanisms of cell proliferation and the field of Ubiquitin Proteasome System (UPS) have always been our main area of interest and fascination. We have the expertise, training and motivation necessary to study several different aspects of this incredibly broad field. Specifically, the training in mechanistic science, including molecular biology, biochemistry, cell/animal biology, has laid the groundwork to understand how ubiquitin ligases complexes monitor the molecular mechanisms in normal and malignant hematopoiesis. Our work has identified and studied multiple key factors regulating cellular pathways, such as DNA-damage checkpoints, cell cycle, circadian clock, Toll-like-Receptor and NF-κB activation, as documented in ours publications. In addition, we have successfully collaborated with several scientists, and contributed to peer-reviewed publications from each of these projects.

Program Name(s)

Career Development Program

Project Title

Relevance of ubiquitin dependent proteolysis in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Emory University

Dr. Jonathon Cohen is an associate professor of hematology/oncology at Emory University and co-directs the lymphoma program at Winship Cancer Institute. He has developed and implemented studies conducted at sites throughout the US and frequently collaborates with colleagues throughout Georgia to offer trials to patients with lymphoma. He is a member of the ECOG-ACRIN Lymphoma Core Committee, Co-Chair of the Hoosier Cancer Research Network Lymphoma Committee, and Co-Chair of the Lymphoma Disease Focus Group of the NCI-funded Experimental Therapeutics Clinical Trials Network Consortium. He also leads national studies evaluating real-world outcomes in lymphoma. He has an active clinical practice providing consultative services for patients throughout Georgia. He has routinely engaged with oncologists throughout the region to promote quality lymphoma care through in-person and virtual educational talks, and through moderation of protocol sessions to develop treatment guidelines.

Program Name(s)

IMPACT

Project Title

Making an IMPACT on hematology care in Georgia: The Georgia Blood Cancer Trials Network (BCTN)

Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

Jalpa Doshi, PhD, is a Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and Director of Value Based Insurance Design Initiatives at the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics. Her research program aims to advance our understanding of how pharmaceuticals can be better accessed and utilized in the health care system to improve health outcomes while balancing costs. She has been a national leader in applying powerful health economics, outcomes research, and policy methods to address issues related to pharmaceutical access, costs, outcomes, and value. Her research has received widespread attention from the media including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal and has directly influenced policies of public and private insurers. For example, she was the first to produce rigorous empirical research advocating for the closure of the “donut hole” (executed under the Affordable Care Act) and institution of an annual out-of-pocket maximum with “smoothing” (executed under the Inflation Reduction Act) under Medicare Part D. Her work documenting negative consequences of cost sharing among veterans was cited in arguments that kept the VA from increasing drug copayments. Her research on the burden of prior authorization policies for novel cholesterol-lowering agents was used to work with national insurers to appropriately reduce their policy restrictions. In recognition of her work, she has received numerous awards and honors from national and international organizations.

Program Name(s)

Equity in Access

Project Title

Impact of Insurance Type and Cost Sharing on Equity in Access to Oral Anticancer Medications for Blood Cancers

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Hayden Bell is a research fellow in Dr. Andrew Lane’s lab at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and a research fellow at Harvard Medical School. He is focusing on the application of novel research techniques to discover cures for blood cancers. In his PhD research, he identified novel drug combinations for the treatment of high-risk and relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). He also developed a cutting-edge pipeline allowing large-scale drug screening of primary leukemias using machine learning which is helping other researchers in the battle against leukemias. Now, Hayden is applying his leukemia biology expertise to other high-risk blood cancers including acute myeloid leukemia (AML). He is specifically focused upon sex-biased drivers and dependencies in myeloid disease, and how these might afford new opportunities for novel treatments.

Program Name(s)

Career Development Program

Project Title

How does loss of chromosome Y perturb blood cell biology and create therapeutic vulnerabilities in acute myeloid leukemia?

Stanford University

I am a physician-scientist and an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (BMT&CT). Clinically, I care for patients with high-risk lymphoma and other blood cancers. I am the principal investigator of clinical trials investigating novel chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies for the treatment of relapsed and refractory leukemia and lymphoma. These trials, in part, provide the critical and precious patient samples that are the subject of my laboratory-based research efforts. My research group is dedicated to understanding the clinical outcomes of our patients who receive these immunotherapies with the goal of improving clinical response while minimizing toxicity.

Program Name(s)

Academic Clinical Trials Program (ACT)

Project Title

Autologous CD22 CAR T cell Therapy for the Treatment of non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Columbia University Medical Center

Viviana obtained her BS in Biological Sciences and her master degree in Genetics and Molecular Biology at Sapienza, University of Rome before moving to Paris, France, to join Dr Di Nunzio laboratory at Institut Pasteur, for her PhD studies. Viviana applied fluorescence microscopy techniques to track HIV-1 in the host nucleus and investigate about the viral interplay with factors in the nucleus of the infected cells during early steps of replication. Guided by her interest in epigenetics, Viviana joined the Viny Lab in 2023 for her postdoctoral training where she aims to identify gene regulation mechanisms linked to blood cell development and disease. Viviana’s goal is to contribute to innovative blood research for more effective personalized treatments and positively impact the academic environment. She also hopes to inspire younger generation to get involved in science and be able to mentor students in their career path in cancer research.

Program Name(s)

Career Development Program

Project Title

Impaired dynamic nucleosome remodeling as a leukemogenic mechanism and therapeutic target in AML

University of Manchester

Sam Butterworth joined the University of Manchester as a Senior Lecturer in Medicinal Chemistry in November 2016. Prior to this he worked at the University of Birmingham from 2013 and at AstraZeneca from 2005-2013. During this time he has been accountable for chemistry strategy and delivery for all phases of drug discovery projects from target review and hit generation, through to lead optimisation and pre-clinical development. His work at AstraZeneca led to the development of a targeted anti-cancer agent osimertinib that was approved by the FDA in November 2015, and along with his colleagues Sam has been recognised for this work through the 2017 RSC Malcolm Campbell Award and the 2018 ACS Heroes of Chemistry award. Since returning to academia he has established national and international collaborations focussing on translation research, predominantly in Oncology, and has been awarded >£8M translational funding as PI.

Program Name(s)

CMML Initiative

Project Title

Development of peptide-drug conjugates for the treatment of Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukaemia (CMML)

Washington University in St. Louis

John F. DiPersio MD, PhD is the Golman Professor of Medicine and Director of The Center for Gene and Cellular Immunotherapy at the Washington University School of Medicine. His research has focused on targeting key elements of the hematopoietic niche for optimal stem cell mobilization and chemosensitization, mitigating GvHD in T cell replete transplants, understanding the genomic alterations in AML, and developing and testing in the clinic novel therapeutics and immuno-therapeutics, including cellular therapies, for the treatment of AML, ALL, T/B-NHL and multiple myeloma. Dr. DiPersio was instrumental in the development and FDA approval of Plerixafor, Motixafortide, and Ruxolitinib. He is the recipient of multiple awards and was past president of the ASTCT and member of the NCI Board of Scientific Counselors. He has authored or co-authored more than 490 publications, is a co-founder of two companies (WUGEN and Magenta) and holds multiple patents.

Program Name(s)

Translational Research Program

Project Title

KT1, a novel NK trispecific antibody for the treatment of AML and MDS