Who We Fund

Washington University in St. Louis

Dr. Tyler Parsons completed his PhD research at Oakland University and the Beaumont Research Institute in the lab of Dr. Gerard Madlambayan where he published on the role of blood stem cells in tumor response to radiation therapy. During the final year of his PhD, he was diagnosed with a myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) which directed his career focus and passion to furthering the understanding of MPNs and their transformation potential to leukemia. To this end, he joined the lab of Dr. Grant Challen at Washington University School of Medicine (St. Louis) where he is investigating clonal evolution in MPNs and the mutational trajectory leading to secondary leukemia. The aim of his post-doctoral fellowship is to describe the clonal architecture of MPN disease progression to leukemia which could lead to early detection and improved disease surveillance. He is passionate about improving outcomes for patients by advancing our understanding of both the biology and disease evolution of MPNs.

Program Name(s)

Career Development Program

Project Title

Mechanisms of Clonal Evolution in the Transformation of MPN to sAML

The University of Melbourne

I am an Assoc. Prof. and Group Leader at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (Peter Mac; Melbourne, Australia). I formed my group in 2018 and my research program is focused upon enhancing the effectiveness of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, a form of immune therapy where a patient’s own immune cells are genetically engineered to recognize and kill tumor cells. I have published numerous seminal papers and research metrics place me in the top 1% of researchers in my field. Despite being a PI for just 5 years, I have already led 1 CAR T clinical trial and I am currently developing a second trial with a technology developed in my lab in 2020.

Previously my focus has been on using CAR T to treat cancers such as breast and lung cancer. However, recent clinical data indicates that CAR T cells have significant potential in multiple myeloma. Therefore, this project will be a key strategic enabler, allowing me to apply approaches developed in my lab to this disease.

Program Name(s)

Translational Research Program

Project Title

Enhancing the “fitness” of anti-BCMA CAR T cells for improved efficacy in multiple myeloma

Sloan Kettering Institute for Cancer Research

Jae Park, MD is an Attending Physician and Chief of Cellular Therapy Service, and a Director of Adult Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Park has written over 100 peer-reviewed articles appearing in New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, Nature Medicine, Science Translational Medicine, Blood, Cancer Discovery and Journal of Clinical Oncology focused on developing effective and safe targeted and immunotherapies and conducting translational studies. To this end, he has successfully conducted over 15 investigator-initiated therapeutic trials in the field of hematologic malignancies and cellular therapy with grant supports from ASH, LLS, ASCO, AACR and NCCN. He is widely recognized as one of the world experts in the field of CAR T cell therapies and ALL and is the leading PI of clinical trials in patients with ALL and CLL/NHL using CAR T, NK cell therapies, BiTEs, IDCs, targeted agents, and immunomodulators.

Program Name(s)

Academic Clinical Trials Program (ACT)

Hairy Cell Leukemia Research Initiative

Project Title

IL7 receptor-targeted CAR T-cell Therapy for T-Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (T-ALL)

Developing novel therapeutic approaches for classical and variant hairy cell leukemia

University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus

Dr. Eric Pietras is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. He completed his PhD training in microbiology and immunology at UCLA in 2008. He subsequently joined the laboratory of Dr. Emmanuelle Passegué for postdoctoral training and started his independent faculty position at the University of Colorado in November of 2015, earning promotion to Associate Professor in July 2021. Dr. Pietras leads a research program that leverages his dual backgrounds in innate immunity and hematopoiesis, focusing on the interplay between inflammation and oncogenic mutations as a trigger for alterations in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSC) metabolism that promote evolution to malignancy. The goal of his lab is to identify novel approaches for targeting this pathogenic process to disrupt myeloid oncogenesis and improve patient outcomes.

Program Name(s)

Career Development Program

Project Title

Targeting the pathogenic 'fire triangle' of inflammation, metabolism and mutations in myeloid leukemogenesis

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

I am a Postdoctoral Fellow with a strong background in malignant hematology research. My work focusses on identifying targetable metabolic vulnerabilities in aggressive leukemias in which effective treatment regimens are limited. I completed my PhD under the mentorship of Professor Ricky Johnstone at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia, where I discovered that FLT3-ITD mutations, among the most common in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), promote the biosynthesis of the amino acid serine. Genetic or pharmacological ablation of serine biosynthesis was selectively lethal to FLT3-ITD-mutant AML cells and synergized with cytarabine, the standard of care chemotherapy agent. This work was published in Cancer Discovery in 2021. My postdoctoral work unifies and builds on my interests and expertise in AML model generation and characterization, large-scale genetic screening, transcription, epigenetics, cellular metabolism, and use of in vivo models for therapeutic validation.

Program Name(s)

Career Development Program

Project Title

Metabolic Regulation of Leukemic Cell Fate

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Anita Kumar, MD is an Associate Attending at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center where she specializes in mantle cell lymphoma. Dr. Kumar leads the Memorial Sloan Kettering mantle cell lymphoma research program. She serves as a principal investigator for a number of clinical trials studying novel therapies for the treatment of mantle cell lymphoma and novel clinical applications of minimal residual disease assessment. She completed her undergraduate studies in Biochemical Sciences at Harvard College and medical school at Northwestern University. She then completed her internship and residency at the Brigham and Women's Hospital and subsequently completed her hematology/oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Program Name(s)

Career Development Program

Project Title

Novel Immunotherapy Combinations in Relapsed, Refractory Mantle Cell Lymphoma

Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Dr. Erica Phillips is the Jack Fishman Professor of Cancer Prevention at Weill Cornell. She as served as the co-director for the BRIDGE program alongside Dr Leonard since the project's inception. Thus, she is equally knowledgeable about the programs accomplishments to date. The programmatic goals during this final funding year remain primarily the same, with an additional goal of formulating a new collaboration with the hematology/ oncology division at NYU Langone Hospital—Brooklyn led by Dr Oscar Lahoud. Dr Phillips will resume the role of the primary grantee/ principal investigator effective June 1, 2025 as Dr Leonard departs Weill Cornell. He will remain an adjunct faculty member and involved in the project.

Program Name(s)

IMPACT

Project Title

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

Emory University

Dr. Porter is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and holds the Paul Amos Chair for Pediatric Oncology Research. He is a pediatric hematologist-oncologist and directs a lab in which they study molecular and cellular mechanisms of leukemogenesis, with the goal of developing novel therapeutic strategies. Most recently, they have been studying how leukemia cells influence the microenvironment to promote immune evasion. For example, they found that IL-12 overcomes calcineurin-dependent immune evasion by leukemia cells. Collaboratively, they designed BiTEokines to deliver IL-12 to the immune synapse of T cells and leukemia cells, supported by a DOD award (CA180783). They have also found that B cell malignancies express high levels of Siglec15, a newly identified immune checkpoint, and that inhibition of Siglec15 promotes immune clearance of malignant B cells in vivo. Thus, they are uniquely positioned to further develop Siglec15 as a therapeutic target for leukemia and lymphoma.

Program Name(s)

Translational Research Program

Project Title

Targeting Siglec15 to promote immune response to malignant B cells

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

I am a hematologic oncologist and cancer care delivery researcher. The focus of my research is to improve quality of life (QOL) and quality of care for patients with hematologic malignancies. I have designed, successfully applied for funding, and published many studies relating to health services and outcomes for patients with blood cancers. For example, I led the international validation of a QOL scale developed for patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), the QUALMS, which has since been incorporated into several clinical trials and registries for patients with that disease. Additionally, I led a study using QOL assessment to help with transfusion decisions for patients with MDS, which is highly relevant to the final aim of my HCL 2030 proposal. I would be delighted to lead the team to complete the aims of the proposed research; moreover, the project will satisfy my goal to bring my research expertise to bear on the care that I provide for patients with hairy cell leukemia.

Program Name(s)

Hairy Cell Leukemia Research Initiative

Project Title

Quality of Life, Outcomes, and Decision Making for Patients with Hairy Cell Leukemia

Stanford University

Dr. Kathleen Sakamoto is Professor of Pediatrics at Stanford University School of Medicine. She has been studying the causes of AML and developing new therapies for the past 30 years. Her research funded by the LLS currently focuses on repurposing a drug used to treat tapeworms, niclosamide, for children with relapsed/refractory AML. Niclosamide is an FDA approved drug and is well tolerated in children. Dr. Sakamoto’s research has resulted in a Phase I clinical trial that will study toxicity, response in AML cells, and drug levels. She is also studying mechanisms of resistance of AML cells to niclosamide to look for drugs that will act synergistically for future clinical trials. Her goal is to take discoveries in the laboratory and translate them to the clinics to improve the overall survival and quality of life in children with AML.

Program Name(s)

Translational Research Program

Project Title

Niclosamide for the treatment of relapsed pediatric acute myeloid leukemia

Niclosamide for the Treatment of Relapsed/Refractory Pediatric Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Institute of Cell Biology (Tumor Research) at the Medical school Essen

Marc Seifert graduated in Biology at the University of Cologne and did his PhD at the Institute of Cell Biology (IFZ) at the University Hospital Essen. Dr. Seiferts research group at the IFZ (Cancer Reseach) exists since 2014 and combines B cell immunology with lymphoma pathogenesis. Dr. Seiferts research aims at decoding the B cell system in healthy people and to determine the critical alterations in risk groups, such as infants and elderly or patients suffering from infections or tumors. This research unravels the B cell immune dynamics throughout life and clarifies which B cell subsets or antibody specificities are beneficial in health and limited in patients. Dr. Seiferts cancer research focusses on Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, Burkitt-Lymphoma and rare entities, such as Hairy Cell Leukemia and Splenic Marginal Zone Lymphoma. Dr. Seifert habilitated in 2017 at the Biological Faculty of the University of Duisburg-Essen in the subjects immunology and cancer research.

Program Name(s)

Special Grants

Project Title

Exploiting metabolic dependencies, tumor plasticity and their consequences for drug response of HCL

Regents of the University of Michigan

I am a Research Scientist in the Deininger Lab at Versiti Blood Research Institute, where my work focuses on leukemia biology—particularly in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, mitochondrial function, and the identification of therapeutic targets in hematologic malignancies. I have extensive experience in experimental hematology, including stem cell assays, CRISPR-based genome editing, lentiviral and retroviral modeling, and advanced flow cytometry.

In my current role, I have led projects optimizing functional metabolic assays, such as Seahorse XF analysis, to study mitochondrial bioenergetics in rare stem cell populations. I also work extensively with mouse models of leukemia, including xenografts, and coordinate multi-institutional collaborations for biospecimen acquisition and translational research.

In August 2025, I will transition with the Deininger Lab to the University of Michigan, where I will hold a Research Assistant Professor appointment in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology. My goal is to continue bridging mechanistic studies with preclinical testing to develop and refine targeted therapies for hematologic malignancies.

Program Name(s)

Career Development Program

Project Title

Understanding the role of Metabolic Regulator SIRT5 in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia