Who We Fund

Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University

I completed medical school at the University of Goettingen, Germany and performed laboratory research at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and the Charité University hospital in Berlin, for which I received a doctorate from the University of Berlin. I then moved to Munich to undergo clinical training in Hematology/Oncology at the University of Munich, where I was co-investigator for several clinical trials studying treatments for patients with leukemia. Since 2017 I have been a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Ravi Majeti at Stanford where we study how healthy blood stem cells evolve into leukemia. The career development award I received from the LLS will allow me to better study how ASXL1, which is frequently mutated in blood cancers, leads to transformation of healthy blood cells into leukemia and how we can develop effective therapies. The support by the LLS is crucial to this work and I am deeply honored to have received their support.

Program Name(s)

Career Development Program

Project Title

The role of truncating ASXL1 mutations in disease initiation and progression of human myeloid malignancies

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

King's College London

I am a Physician Scientist with a specialist interest in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) and related lymphomas. My PhD, awarded by King’s College London, London, UK investigated how non-leukemic cells interact with CLL (the tumor microenvironment) and can affect the development and growth of the disease. From 2009-2013, I undertook a Visiting Fellowship in Dr Nicholas Chiorazzi’s laboratory at the Feinstein Institute of Medical Research, New York, USA continuing this line of work. I have been back in London since 2013 and have a large clinical practice in CLL and Lymphoma at both King’s College Hospital and Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital and am Clinical Senior Lecturer at King’s College London since 2018 where I continue my laboratory-based research. Through working with the UK NCRI clinical trials subgroup for CLL and by being current Secretary for the UK CLL Forum, I further contribute to undertaking and promoting research, education, and training of all health professionals and patients into blood cancers.

Program Name(s)

Translational Research Program

Project Title

Understanding SARS-Cov-2 evolution in haemato-oncology patients

TAP Partner

Auron is a platform-powered company targeting cell-state plasticity to improve patient outcomes in oncology and inflammatory disease. Auron uses AI and machine learning to compare cell states and identify novel drug targets, optimal development models, and biomarkers to facilitate proper patient selection, ultimately accelerating the development of effective and durable therapies. 

Program Name(s)

Therapy Acceleration Program

Project Title

A phase 1 study of AUTX-703, a KAT2A/B degrader, in patients with AML or MDS

The Regents of the University of California, San Diego

Catriona Jamieson, MD, PhD is a leading physician-scientist in the cancer stem cell biology field. She is a professor of medicine, the Koman Family Presidential Endowed Chair in Cancer Research, deputy director of the Moores Cancer Center and the director of the Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). Dr. Jamieson is the director of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) Alpha Stem Cell Clinic at UCSD, which provides infrastructure to accelerate the bench to bedside development and implementation of cancer stem cell targeted and cellular immunotherapy trials for hematologic and other malignancies. Dr. Jamieson’s discoveries and pioneering cancer stem cell research have informed the development of cancer stem cell targeted therapies, including JAK2 and sonic hedgehog inhibitor trials, which resulted in two FDA approvals for myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) and leukemia

Program Name(s)

Discovery

Project Title

Detection and Targeting of Enzymatic Base Editing Deregulation in Leukemia Stem Cells

Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope

Dr. Wong is an applied biostatistician with over 30 years of experience in cancer survivorship research and more recently in comparative- and cost-effectiveness studies. Since 2006, she has been part of the Long-Term Follow-Up Program at City of Hope which follows over 10,000 patients who received hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) there. She has analyzed and published results on the relationships between patient/disease characteristics and treatment exposures on outcomes (survival, complications, quality of life) in HCT survivors. She was the principal statistician in a study that examined racial difference in adherence to a 2-year daily oral maintenance therapy in children and adolescents treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and whether this variation could explain racial differences in outcomes. Dr. Wong’s expertise extends to health services research. She examined the outcomes and cost-effectiveness of lifelong echocardiographic screening, recommended by the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) Guidelines, for early detection of asymptomatic heart failure in at-risk childhood cancer survivors. The study results helped revise the current COG Guidelines. She has been conducting a cost-effectiveness study of the COG Guidelines recommendation for breast cancer screening in chest-irradiated female Hodgkin Lymphoma survivors. Two manuscripts are in preparation. The findings will provide important information to help refine the COG Guidelines.

Program Name(s)

Equity in Access

Project Title

Role of Health Insurance and Medicaid Expansion in Racial Inequity in Patterns of Care and Outcomes in Multiple Myeloma

The Ohio State University

Dr. Kerry Rogers is physician scientist at the Ohio State University James Cancer Hospital specializing in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and hairy cell leukemia. In addition being a practicing hematologist taking care of patients with CLL and hairy cell leukemia, she leads clinical trials studying new treatments for these leukemias and does translational laboratory research. One of her major focuses is improving the use of BTK inhibitors by using combination treatments that avoid traditional chemotherapy. She is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Hematology at The Ohio State University.

Program Name(s)

Career Development Program

Project Title

Improving BTK Inhibitor Therapy in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Through Rational Combination Strategies

The University of Melbourne

Dr. Lev Kats is head of the Targeted Therapeutics Laboratory at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. He completed his PhD at Monash University and postdoctoral training at Beth Israel Deaconess Centre/Harvard Medical School. Dr. Kats has made major contributions in the areas of targeted therapies, epigenetics and hematological malignancies including through discovery of important functions of cancer promoting genes and the characterization of the molecular mechanisms of anti-leukemic drugs. His laboratory uses model systems, functional and molecular genomics approaches to develop and test new therapeutic strategies for aggressive blood cancers.

Program Name(s)

Translational Research Program

Project Title

Targeting DCAF1 as a novel treatment strategy for therapy resistant multiple myeloma

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Dr. Greg Wang is currently Associate Professor at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center & Dept of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, NC, USA. He received the PHD degree from University of California, San Diego, followed by a postdoctoral training at Rockefeller University, New York. Dr. Wang’s research programs focus on fundemental understandings of how our genetic information (DNA) is stored and interpretted when cells respond to the developmental and environmental changes. Disruption or deregulation of such a process can severely affect normal development and formation of blood cells, and is often responsible for causing various blood cancers. Understanding the molecular underpinnings also allows development of new therapeutic approaches, paving a way to clinical trials in future. Dr. Wang’s research is funded by a grant of  Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Scholar. For more information, please visit his lab website: www.gregwanglab.com

Program Name(s)

Career Development Program

Decipher and Target AML Cell Dependency on Epigenetic Mutations

The University of Alabama at Birmingham

Ravi Bhatia, MD is Professor in the Department of Medicine, the John G. Kelton, M.D., Endowed Chair and Director of Research in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr Bhatia received his Hematology and Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant training from the University of Minnesota and joined the City of Hope National Medical Center in 1996, where he developed his career as a physician-scientist. His clinical interests are in hematologic malignancies and hematopoietic cell transplantation, with emphasis on myeloid leukemias. His research focuses on studying the regulation of normal and malignant hematopoietic stem cells, therapeutic targeting of malignant stem cells, and hematopoietic stem cell therapeutics. He is the author of over 170 publications and the recipient of NIH grant funding since 2006. He has been a Scholar of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and is an elected member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians.

Program Name(s)

Translational Research Program

Project Title

Prediction and prevention of therapy-related myeloid neoplasms following autologous transplantation

Seattle Children’s Hospital

Kasey Leger, MD, MSc is a pediatric oncologist at Seattle Children’s Hospital and Associate Professor at the University of Washington. Dr. Leger’s clinical and research interests focus on hematologic malignancies and cancer therapy associated cardiotoxicity. Dr. Leger leads the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) Myeloid Cardiotoxicity Working Group and the cardiac correlative studies embedded in the ongoing COG phase III randomized trial of CPX-351 in children with de novo acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Additionally, she is the principal investigator of the Seattle Children’s Cardiotoxicity Cohort Study assessing novel blood and imaging-based markers of cardiotoxicity. Dr. Leger’s overarching research goals are to reduce the toxicity of cancer therapy through primary cardioprotective interventions and identify validated risk predictors to guide secondary cardioprotection and ultimately contribute to long-term cancer cure without the burden of life-threatening heart disease during survivorship.

Program Name(s)

Career Development Program

Project Title

Cardioprotective Strategies and Cardiotoxicity Prediction in Children with Acute Myeloid Leukemia

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