Hong Wen
AML
Hong Wen, PhD
Grand Rapids, MI
United States
Van Andel Research Institute
I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Epigenetics at Van Andel Institute. My research is focused on epigenetic regulation of gene expression during blood cell formation and in the pathogenesis of blood cancer. I obtained PhD in Biochemistry from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2001 and joined Dr. Joseph Lipsick’s laboratory at Stanford University for my postdoctoral training, where I became interested in blood cancer research. In 2008, I joined MD Anderson Cancer Center as a research track Assistant Professor, where I made seminal discoveries of the ENL protein as a novel histone acetylation reader and an attractive new therapeutic target for acute leukemias. In 2018, I started my independent lab at Van Andel Institute studying epigenetic regulation of gene expression in blood cancers. The overarching goal of my research is to understand and target ENL in acute leukemias. My long-term research goal is to translate our discoveries at bench to help leukemia patients in the clinic.
Program Name(s)
Career Development Program
Project Title
Investigating and targeting the histone acetylation reader protein ENL in acute leukemias
Alfred Garfall
myeloma immunotherapy
Alfred Garfall, MD
Philadelphia, PA
United States
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Garfall is a hematologist-oncologist specializing in the care of multiple myeloma patients and research on new multiple myeloma therapies. He is a member of the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania, where he is an Assistant Professor of Medicine. Dr. Garfall completed his undergraduate studies at Princeton University, medical school at New York University, residency in internal medicine at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, and hematology/oncology fellowship at Penn. Dr. Garfall’s research focuses on immunotherapy. He has conducted clinical trials with CAR T cells and bispecific antibodies for multiple myeloma. He is specifically interested on developing new approaches to prevent relapse in multiple myeloma patients.
Program Name(s)
Academic Clinical Trials Program (ACT)
Translational Research Program
Project Title
Limited-duration bispecific antibody therapy for multiple myeloma
Vittoria Biotherapeutics
immunotherapy, CAR-T, TCL
Vittoria Biotherapeutics
Philadelphia, PA
United States
TAP Partner
Vittoria Biotherapeutics is developing novel CAR-T cell therapies that transcend the limitations of current cell therapies. Based on technology exclusively licensed from the University of Pennsylvania, Vittoria's proprietary Senza5 platform unlocks the antitumor potential of engineered T cells and utilizes a five-day manufacturing process to maximize stemness, durability, and target cell cytotoxicity. By acting on the fundamental biology of T cells, Senza5 can be used to improve the efficacy of engineered T cell therapies with pipeline applications in oncology and autoimmune diseases.
Program Name(s)
Therapy Acceleration Program
Project Title
Bingyi Chen
AML immunotherapy
Bingyi Chen, PhD
New York, NY
United States
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
I am a Research Scholar in the laboratory of Dr. Omar Abdel-Wahab at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. I obtained my Bachelor’s degree at East China University of Science and Technology and completed my PhD training at the Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health in the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences under the mentorship of Dr. Lan Wang. During my graduate studies, I identified an important role of the histone methyltransferase SETD2 in the transformation of patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) to acute myeloid leukemia (AML). As an LLS Special Fellow, I will focus on developing novel CAR-T cell therapy targeting cell surface expression of the RNA helicase U5 snRNP200. Moreover, I will explore the mechanistic basis for cell surface localization of U5 snRNP200 on AML cells. I hope that my work has immediate therapeutic potential for the future treatment of AML while shedding important novel insights into the pathobiology of AML.
Program Name(s)
Career Development Program
Nitin Jain
CLL
Nitin Jain, MD
Houston, TX
United States
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Nitin Jain, MD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Leukemia at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He earned his medical degree from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. He completed Internal Medicine residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin and fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at the University of Chicago. Dr. Jain research interests include new drug development for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Dr. Jain is Principal Investigator of several investigator-initiated phase I-II clinical trials, including combination targeted therapies (ibrutinib and venetoclax) in CLL, checkpoint inhibitors in Richter transformation, novel CD22 antibody drug conjugate in B-ALL, venetoclax + chemotherapy in B- and T-ALL, and off-the-self allogeneic CAR-T in B-ALL. The trial combining ibrutinib and venetoclax was published in New England Journal of Medicine in 2019. He has won many awards including ASCO merit award, Sabin Family Foundation Award in 2018 and MD Anderson Faculty Scholar award in 2020.
Program Name(s)
Career Development Program
Translational Research Program
Project Title
Combination Targeted Therapy in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Stephen Gottschalk
pediatric leukemia and CAR-T
Stephen Gottschalk, MD
Memphis, TN
United States
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
I am a pediatric oncologist, who is interested in using the patient’s immune system to fight cancer. I grew up in Germany and moved to the US in 1992 after obtaining my medical degree. After completing my training in pediatric and oncology, I became faculty at the Cancer Center of Texas Children’s Hospital and the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Baylor College of Medicine. In the laboratory I focused on developing immune cell therapies for cancer patients, which I translated with my research team into the clinic. In addition, I managed pediatric cancer patients, who underwent bone marrow transplantation, and participated in numerous clinical studies. In 2017 I became Chair of the Department of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The department focuses on evaluating novel transplant and cell therapy approaches using genetic engineering approaches to augment the ability of the immune system to fight cancer.
Program Name(s)
Translational Research Program
Project Title
CD70-directed CAR T-cell therapy for the treatment of relapsed/refractory pediatric AML
Ana Vujovic
AML
Ana Vujovic, PhD
Denver, CO
United States
University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus
Ana Vujovic is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. She completed her PhD under the mentorship of Dr. Kristin Hope at the University of Toronto and Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, where she studied the role of post-transcriptional regulation in hematopoietic and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) stem cells. Ana joined the laboratory of Dr. Craig T. Jordan in the Spring of 2023, where her postdoctoral studies are focused on investigating metabolic vulnerabilities in AML stem cells and in particular mechanisms that underlie the resistance of these cells to the combination therapy, Venetoclax and Azacitidine (Ven/Aza). The objective of her postdoctoral research is to identify novel therapeutic strategies to uniquely target the metabolic vulnerabilities of Ven/Aza-resistant AML stem cells with the goal of improving AML patient outcomes.
Program Name(s)
Career Development Program
Project Title
Du Wei
Leukemia
Du Wei, PhD, MD
Pittsburg, PA
United States
University of Pittsburgh
My research is centered on pathophysiology of hematologic diseases such as bone marrow failure and leukemia, with specific focus on hematopoietic stem cell (HSC), DNA damage and immune response, and tumor microenvironment. I have been investigating HSC-BM niche interaction and HSC regeneration under conditions of injury and aging; and have identified functional interactions between certain factors implicated in cell proliferation, polarity, adhesion/migration, stem cell metabolism and aging. My work has led to 53 peer-reviewed scientific papers in high-impact scientific journals, including Blood, JCI, Nat Comm and Leukemia. I laid the groundwork for my long-term research by developing cell and animal models as well as effective assays for identifying mechanisms underlying critical hematological diseases as PI on several NIH- and private-funded grants. I am confident that both myself as a PI and my innovative research are highly competitive in future success in grants and publications.
Program Name(s)
Career Development Program
Project Title
Omar Abdel-Wahab
AML/MDS
Omar Abdel-Wahab, MD
New York, NY
United States
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
I am the Edward P. Evans Chair in MDS at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) where I also serve as Chair of the Molecular Pharmacology Program. My clinical areas of expertise are in myeloid malignancies, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and rare forms of leukemias (hairy cell leukemia, CMML, BPDCN, and histiocytoses).
Over the last ten years, my laboratory has been focused on understanding alterations in the process of RNA splicing in cancer. Motivated by the discovery of high frequency mutations in the splicing machinery in leukemias and MDS, my lab’s work has led to the development of several therapeutic approaches for these genetic subtypes of cancer. I have received the Seldin-Smith Award for Pioneering Research from the American Society of Clinical Investigation, the Dameshek Prize from the American Society of Hematology, and the Pershing Square Sohn Prize for Young Investigators in Cancer Research.
Program Name(s)
Discovery
Project Title
TCR T cells for the treatment of SRSF2 mutant myeloid neoplasms
Sweta Patel, PhD
Aurora, CO
United States
University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus
I am a scientist of Indian origin who moved to the US upon completion of a Master’s in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology degree. I obtained my PhD in Cancer Biology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, in the laboratory of Dr. Rob Welner. My PhD project focused on identifying basic mechanisms of drug resistance in blood cancer stem cells. This work culminated in 4 first author and 9 co-author publications. To gain experience in translational research, grant writing and mentoring, I am pursuing postdoctoral studies with Dr. Craig Jordan at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Here, I am leveraging my training in blood cancer and stem cell biology to identify new approaches for targeting malignant stem cells in myelodysplastic syndrome. This training will help me achieve my long-term goal of establishing an independent translational research program to improve outcomes for blood cancer patients and mentor students interested in pursuing a blood cancer research career.
Program Name(s)
Career Development Program
Project Title
Catherine Smith
leukemia
Catherine Smith, MD
San Francisco, CA
United States
University of California San Francisco
Dr. Smith is a physician-scientist whose laboratory focuses on therapeutic resistance mechanisms and novel treatment strategies for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). She has a particular interest in AML associated with mutations in Fms-like Tyrosine Kinase-3 (FLT3), which is the most frequently mutated gene in AML and associated with resistance to conventional therapy. She has been involved in the development of multiple active FLT3 inhibitors as a clinical-translational investigator. Dr. Smith was born and raised in San Francisco, California. She attended Yale University where she majored in Chemistry, graduated cum laude, and was awarded the Howard Douglas Moore Prize for excellence in chemistry. She attended medical school at Duke University School of Medicine. Dr. Smith has been the recipient of numerous career development awards, including a prior Blood Cancer United Special Fellow in Clinical Research Award.
Program Name(s)
Career Development Program
Project Title
Xiaodi Wu, MD, PhD
New York, NY
United States
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