Who We Fund

Stanford University

Gerlinde Wernig, M.D. is an Associate Professor of Pathology at Stanford University and a world expert on fibrosis and blood cancers. She co-discovered the JAK2 V617F mutation that drives myeloproliferative neoplasms and identified c-JUN as a key regulator of fibrosis across organs. Her laboratory develops advanced models of human fibrotic disease, using patient-derived organoids, xenografts, and mouse systems to uncover how inflammation and cancer signaling reshape tissues. By combining next-generation single-cell and multi-omics approaches, Dr. Wernig’s research identifies new targets to treat fibrosis and bone-marrow failure. As a clinical hematopathologist, she brings deep diagnostic expertise to bridge scientific discovery and patient care.

Program Name(s)

Hairy Cell Leukemia Research Initiative

Project Title

Identifying Prognostic Markers of Relapse in Hairy Cell Leukemia (HCL) and HCL-Variant by Profiling Mutated Blood Stem Cells and Fibrosis Pathways

Washington University in St. Louis

Dr. Bern is a post-doctoral fellow in Dr. Timothy Ley’s lab at Washington University School of Medicine and a clinical fellow in the Hematology and Oncology program. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Physics from Duke University. Following undergraduate, he completed M.D./Ph.D. training at Washington University School of Medicine, where he earned his Ph.D. in Immunology, studying mechanisms regulating natural killer cell activation, in the laboratory of Dr. Wayne Yokoyama. He then joined the Physician Scientist Training Program at Washington University School of Medicine for Internal Medicine residency and Heme/Onc fellowship. His current research is focused on understanding mechanisms of chemotherapy resistance in Primary-Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia. His long-term goal is to identify novel therapeutic strategies for this population of patients with extremely poor outcomes and few treatment options.

Program Name(s)

Career Development Program

Project Title

Identifying Mechanisms of Chemoresistance Induced by MECOM in Primary-Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Winship Cancer Institute

Dr. Jean Koff is an Associate Professor in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology and Director of the Lymphoma Program’s Translational Research Team at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. Her clinical expertise in lymphoma is complemented by her research characterizing the immunologic and genetic factors that contribute to poor outcomes in lymphoma patient populations under-represented in most studies, such as African Americans and organ transplant recipients. She serves as an investigator on several team science projects involving multi-institutional cohorts of lymphoma patients with integrated analyses of clinical and molecular data, including the Lymphoma Epidemiology of Outcomes cohort study. Dr. Koff is the 2024 Chair of the Scientific Committee on Lymphoid Neoplasia for the American Society of Hematology. Her work has been funded by the Lymphoma Research Foundation, the American Association for Cancer Research, the American Cancer Society, and the NIH.

Program Name(s)

Specialized Center of Research Program

Project Title

Translating molecular profiles into treatment approaches to target disparities in lymphoma

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Margaret Shipp, MD, is Chief of the Division of Hematologic Neoplasia at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Her research focuses on the clinical and molecular heterogeneity of the large B-cell lymphomas (LBCLs) and Hodgkin lymphomas. Dr. Shipp has led efforts to define molecular signatures of LBCLs and Hodgkin lymphomas, identify biologically distinct subsets of these diseases, and characterize associated rational treatment targets including modulators of the host anti-tumor immune response.

Program Name(s)

Translational Research Program

Project Title

Analysis and Targeting of Tumor-Associated Monocytes/Macrophages that Inhibit PD-1 Blockade

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

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

Boston Children's Hospital

In the last 17 years, I developed gene editing tools to improve cancer immunotherapy or promote safer applications of human hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) gene therapy. I pioneered this field since when the first gene editing enzymes were shown to be potentially useful for therapeutic purposes. In 2012, I published a break-through work where we demonstrated for the first time the possibility to genetically inactivate the T cell receptor in primary T cells for improving safety/efficacy of cancer adoptive immunotherapies. This innovative approach is now widely used in immunotherapy field for generating allo-compatible T cells or to express CAR genes under the TCR promoter. In 2014, I developed the first protocol that allows targeted transgene integration in human HSC capable of long-term multilineage repopulation. My current efforts are aimed to move these advanced genetic engineering strategies towards an effective therapeutic treatment for inherited and acquired hematologic diseases.

 

Program Name(s)

Translational Research Program

Project Title

Towards clinical testing of epitope editing to enable novel adoptive immunotherapies

Mayo Clinic

I am a physician-scientist focusing on the biology and therapeutic targeting of B-cell lymphoma. I trained in Medical Oncology in Italy. Given my interest in the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer development, I enrolled in a PhD program in Cellular Biology and Experimental Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK). I explored the impact of novel therapeutic agents aimed at disrupting well-defined oncogenic signaling pathways. I pursued postdoctoral studies at Weill Cornell. The focus of my postdoctoral research was aberrant epigenetic programming and development of precision therapies in B-cell lymphoma. I then honed my clinical expertise in lymphoma as an advanced fellow at MSK. I further enhanced my research skills in immunotherapy and epigenetic as an advanced fellow at Mayo Clinic. Most recently, I have started my independent research program at Mayo Clinic focusing on epigenetic dysregulations in B cell malignancies and their impact on the tumor microenvironment.

Program Name(s)

Special Grants

Identifying the oncogenic cooperation between IRF4 and MYD88l265p and their impact on the Tumor Microenvironment of Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia

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

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

A phase 1 study of VIPER-101, a CD5-edited dual population chimeric antigen receptor cell therapy, to enhance immunotherapy against T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Columbia University Medical Center

I am a pediatric oncologist and health outcomes researcher at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. My research aims to identify how social determinants of health drive care and outcomes in children, adolescents, and young adults (AYA) with leukemia and lymphoma. At Columbia, I am the institutional Principal Investigator for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute ALL Consortium and I serve on the Children’s Oncology Group Hodgkin Lymphoma (HL) Steering Committee. In these roles I participate in the design and implementation of new clinical trials, and in the development of embedded health services studies. My recent work includes a series of large-scale analyses (using clinical trials and population data) evaluating outcomes by race/ethnicity and age in ALL and HL. Increasingly, I am working to identify barriers to clinical trial participation among diverse populations, and on leveraging the clinical trial infrastructure to collect prospective data on social determinants of health.

Program Name(s)

Career Development Program

Project Title

Leveraging cancer registries, clinical trials, and community partnerships to address disparities in pediatric, adolescent, and young adult lymphoma

Massachusetts General Hospital

Subha was born and raised in India where he completed his Masters in Biochemistry from the University of Calcutta, India. Thereafter, he joined the Ph.D. program at Institute of Life Sciences, to pursue a career in research. His past research work focused on the role of chromatin remodelling complexes in guiding differentiation  programs and lineage choices in hematopoiesis, and how these epigenetic switches can contribute to leukemic transformation. Presently, he is a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Peter Miller's lab at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.  Menin inhibitors (MIs), have recently emerged as an exciting new modality for treating AML. However, MIs are not curative and associated with toxicities like differentiation syndrome. His overachieving goal here is to dissect mechanisms of MIs and come up with combination strategies/targets that can improve the efficacy of MIs in order to achieve profound and long lasting responses in AML patients.

Program Name(s)

Career Development Program

Project Title

Leveraging p53 to Improve Menin Inhibition in Leukemia Therapy

Columbia

I am an Associate Professor in Pediatric Hematology Oncology and Director of the Pediatric Immunotherapy Program at Columbia University. My work focuses on advancing immune therapies (CAR T cells) for children with cancer. I recently transitioned from Stanford University (2013–2025), where I led early first-in-human CAR T cell trials and helped deliver over 250 CAR-therapies to children with advanced cancer. Recognizing a major gap in data sharing, I founded the Pediatric Real-world CAR Consortium, a collaboration of over 50 pediatric oncology centers that enables large-scale data and sample sharing. Through this effort, we have identified predictors of survival and toxicity, modifiable treatment factors that impact survival, and informed international clinical trials. Given the recent approval of CAR T cells, long-term outcomes remain poorly understood. Our next goal is to study survivorship, late effects, and strategies to improve cure rates while reducing toxicity.

Program Name(s)

Dare to Dream

Project Title

Establishing longitudinal outcomes and clinical prognosticators in pediatric and young adult B-ALL after commercially available CD19-CAR T cells