Who We Fund

The Ohio State University

I am an Associate Professor in the Departments of Internal Medicine and Biomedical Informatics at The Ohio State University. My laboratory investigates epigenomic, genetic and other molecular features of a broad range of hematological malignancies, with a focus on B cell lymphoma and acute myeloid leukemia. I explores high-throughput epigenetic and molecular profiling data and combines these analyses with functional evaluation of key genes and molecular pathways. My laboratory is interested in the developmental origins of epigenetic programs in lymphoid and myeloid malignancies and aims to uncover the ontogeny of disease development. Current research focuses on investigating genes that function in establishing aberrant global epigenetic states and landscapes. Beyond fundamental tumor biology, I aims to develop novel molecular diagnostics for clinical stratification and prediction of treatment response, as well as the identification of novel therapeutic targets.

Program Name(s)

Hairy Cell Leukemia Research Initiative

Project Title

Harnessing the epigenome to advance the classification and understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying hairy cell leukemia variant patients

Yale University

I received my BS in biochemistry from Gonzaga University and my PhD in Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology under the guidance of Dr. Melissa Jurica at UC Santa Cruz. In the Jurica lab, I studied RNA splicing, the fundamental process of removing non-coding pieces of RNA from regions which code proteins. My dissertation focused on the characterization of an RNA helicase and its role in early spliceosome assembly. Early spliceosomal proteins are commonly mutated in human diseases such as blood cancers, but until recently, scientists did not have the tools to allow for dissection of the mechanisms involved. I chose to pursue my postdoctoral training in a blood cancer lab to dive deep into the role of splicing factor mutations in myelodysplastic syndromes and leukemia. I seek to apply my expertise in RNA processing biochemistry to blood cancers with the goal to contribute to better understanding and novel therapeutic approaches.

Program Name(s)

Career Development Program

Project Title

Revisiting splicing factor mutations in MDS/AML – delving deep and wide

Weill Cornell Medicine

John P. Leonard, MD, is the Richard T. Silver Distinguished Professor of Hematology and Medical Oncology and Senior Associate Dean for Innovation and Initiatives at Weill Cornell Medicine. He is Executive Vice Chairman of the Weill Department of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York-Presbyterian Hospital.  Dr. Leonard’s research has been published in numerous medical journals, and he has served as a member of the editorial boards of Blood and the Journal of Clinical Oncology, leading international journals in these fields. He is Chair of the Lymphoma Committee of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, a multicenter cooperative group and key component of the National Cancer Institute’s National Clinical Trials Network. Dr. Leonard’s primary research interest is in the development of novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of lymphoma and related hematologic malignancies, and he has lectured at major international meetings on these topics. He also has studied prognostic, imaging and survivorship issues for lymphoma patients.

Program Name(s)

IMPACT

Project Title

BRIDGE (Blood cancer Research Initiative Developing Greater Engagement) with community patients

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Xiaodi Wu, MD, PhD, is an Instructor of Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). Having completed his fellowship training in medical oncology at MSKCC, he is working to establish a career as a physician–scientist who treats patients with leukemia or other blood cancers while, in the laboratory, studying how blood cancers develop out of previously healthy bone marrow due to mutations in a class of proteins called transcription factors. The goal of his work is to identify specific molecular pathways that can be targeted in order to help patients with these conditions.

Program Name(s)

Career Development Program

Project Title

CEBPA mutations in the pathogenesis of leukemia

Washington University in St. Louis

Dr. Walter is the Edward P. Evans Endowed Professor of Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Scientific Director of the Center for MDS in the Siteman Cancer Center. His laboratory at Washington University focuses on the discovery of mutations within the genomes of hematopoietic cells from patients with myeloid precursor conditions and MDS and the clonal evolution that occurs during disease progression. The lab continues to study the contribution of spliceosome gene mutations for MDS initiation and progression using primary patient samples and pre-clinical models with the goal of translating findings into the clinic to improve the lives of patients with blood cancers.

Program Name(s)

Specialized Center of Research Program

Project Title

Exploiting Vulnerabilities in RNA Splicing to Treat Hematologic Malignancies

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Dr. Nze is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the department of Lymphoma and Myeloma at the University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Nze's clinical interests are in malignant hematology and oncology with a focus on Lymphoma. He is broadly interested in healthcare delivery system design, value-based healthcare research, and the health policy contexts that shape care delivery. He has been a longtime advocate for equity in health care delivery and the elements that lead to differential access and outcomes in care for vulnerable populations. He aims to combine excellence in delivering clinical oncologic care to cancer patients and investigate how we can optimally structure our healthcare system to ensure equitable cancer care for all.  

Program Name(s)

IMPACT

Project Title

Research Infrastructure to Promote Enrollment of Underserved Patients on Clinical Trials

University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus

Dr. Collins is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Hematology at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, where she leads a translational research program studying the mechanisms of preleukemic transformation in myeloid malignancies. Following her undergraduate studies at Williams College, Dr. Collins received her MD/PhD from the University of Michigan, where she worked with Dr. Jay Hess studying the role of collaborator proteins in HOXA9-mediated leukemic transformation. She then completed residency and fellowship training in Hematology/Oncology at Stanford, where she completed her postdoctoral research training in Dr. Ravi Majeti’s lab. Her current research focuses on understanding how combinations of genetic mutations alter hematopoietic stem cell function and drive progression from preleukemic states to aggressive myeloid malignancies, such as AML and CMML. Using engineered human stem cell models and primary patient samples, her work aims to identify mechanisms of leukemic transformation and therapeutic vulnerabilities that can be targeted early in disease evolution.

Program Name(s)

Career Development Program

Project Title

Investigating the role of preleukemia duration and clonal burden in progression to AML

TAP Partner

Dren Bio is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapeutic antibodies for the treatment of cancer, autoimmune and other serious diseases. Dren Bio’s pipeline encompasses two distinct programs, the first focusing on the engineering of antibodies with enhanced antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (“ADCC”) capabilities and the second revolving around its proprietary Targeted Myeloid Engager and Phagocytosis Platform.

Program Name(s)

Therapy Acceleration Program

Project Title

A phase 1/2 study of DR-01, an anti-CD94 monoclonal antibody, in patients with large granular lymphocytic leukemia or cytotoxic lymphomas

A phase 1 study of DR-0201, a bispecific myeloid engager, in patients with B-NHL

Moffitt Cancer Center

Eric Padron, MD is an Associate Member and Scientific Director of the Department of Hematology at Moffitt Cancer Center (MCC). He completed a hematology oncology fellowship and was recruited to MCC in 2013. Dr. Padron’s research focus has centered on studying clonal hematopoiesis (CH) and chronic myeloid neoplasms across the translational research spectrum. Importantly, he has published seminal work establishing key biologic features, novel treatments, and clinical trials in CMML. Further, Dr. Padron is an R37 MERIT awardee from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for his work in chronic myelomonocytic leukemia and has published more than 175 peer reviewed articles describing advances in myeloid malignancies and hematologic conditions, including CH. Dr. Padron is among the few physician-scientists with experience both in leading multi-institution trials and a successful NCI funded laboratory making him uniquely suited to lead this proposal.

Program Name(s)

CMML Initiative

Project Title

Advancing the therapeutic landscape for Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia (CMML)

Boston Children's Hospital

Vijay G. Sankaran, MD, PhD is the Jan Ellen Paradise, MD Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, an Attending Physician in the Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, and an Associate Member of the Broad Institute. Dr. Sankaran's lab seeks to understand the influence of human genetic variation on blood and immune cell production in health and disease. Their work has resulted in a number of therapies for blood diseases, including work that led to the development of Casgevy for sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia. Dr. Sankaran has received a number of awards for his work including the 2019 Seldin-Smith Award for Pioneering Research from the American Society of Clinical Investigation, the 2022 E. Mead Johnson Award from the Society for Pediatric Research, and 2024 Trailblazer Prize from the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health.

Program Name(s)

Discovery

Project Title

Inherited resilience to clonal hematopoiesis and myeloid malignancy by modifying stem cell RNA regulation

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

MD Anderson Cancer Center

Dr. Carter, a Professor in the Section of Molecular Hematology and Therapy, Department of Leukemia has 20+ years of experience in molecular biology, biochemistry, and leukemia research. Her research focuses on understanding the mechanisms of drug resistance and targeting anti-apoptotic proteins and cell survival signaling pathways in myeloid leukemia. She is developing mechanism-based combinational strategies in therapy-resistant AML to overcome drug resistance and eradicate myeloid leukemia cells and leukemia stem/progenitor cells. She has published extensively in the field and several clinical trials have been developed based on her pre-clinical studies. Her recent works demonstrated the effectiveness and mechanisms of action of combined inhibition of antiapoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and Mcl-1 using BH3 mimetics (Blood Cancer Journal, 2023) and targeting HSP90 epichaperomes (Blood, 2023) in TP53 mutant AML.

Program Name(s)

Translational Research Program

Project Title

Targeting TP53-Y220C mutant AML