WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society today awarded two Specialized Center of Research (SCOR) grants, bringing funding for the program -- the Society’s most synergistic research initiative -- past $77 million in the five years since its inception. The two new awards will advance the development of targeted anti-cancer therapies.
“The two Specialized Center of Research grants awarded this year have the essential ingredients we are looking for,” said Marshall Lichtman, M.D., the Society’s executive vice president, Research & Medical Programs. “They have outstanding and accomplished scientists, synergy among the projects and investigators, and a high probability of innovative therapies for the diseases under study.” Each recipient receives $5 million, distributed over a five-year period.
John Bushweller, Ph.D., associate professor of physiology and chemistry, Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics, University of Virginia, is one of this year’s recipients. Dr. Bushweller is developing novel, highly-specific inhibitors of proteins that play a critical role in the development of acute and chronic myelogenous leukemia.
“We are on the brink of a very exciting time for the treatment of leukemia,” said Dr. Bushweller. “We are now able to target drugs very specifically to certain proteins, resulting in more effective treatments with vastly reduced side effects and better long-term outcomes for patients.” Dr. Bushweller cites the success of Gleevec(R) in the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia as a powerful example of the potential of this approach. “Our SCOR project is based on this concept,” he added. “We hope that our research will make it to clinical trials in patients and prove to be highly effective weapons in the treatment of leukemia.”
Tak Mak, Ph.D., professor, Department of Immunology and Medical Biophysics, and director, Advanced Medical Discovery Institute, University of Toronto, is the second SCOR recipient. He is studying signaling pathways in leukemia- and lymphoma-genesis.
“Our research efforts are focused on identifying the genetic changes in leukemias and lymphomas that have an impact on programmed cell death,” Dr. Mak explained. “Defects in cell death contribute to the development of these cancers as well as to resistance to treatment.”
By identifying and comparing leukemic stem cells (LSC) and normal hemopoietic stem cells from patients with myeloid and lymphoid malignancies, Dr. Mak will gain a better understanding of the mechanisms that underlie the resistance to cell death exhibited by LSC and their progeny. The goals of Dr. Mak’s SCOR are to gain knowledge that will provide novel risk markers and therapeutic targets that will ultimately improve the design of human clinical trials.
“We are greatly encouraged by the recent discovery within our group that new mechanisms of resistance to cell death exist,” Dr. Mak added. “These findings will pave the way for the development of novel targeted anti-cancer therapies.”
“The cornerstone of the SCOR program is its collaborative structure: every recipient works with a cross-disciplinary team of leading researchers from their own and other universities and medical institutions,” said Alan Kinniburgh, Ph.D. the Society’s senior vice president of research. “The concept behind the program is that leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma treatments and cures will be discovered most quickly in an environment of collaboration and teamwork.”
Dr. Bushweller’s team is working in collaboration with Milton Brown, M.D., Ph.D., University of Virginia; D. Gary Gilliland, M.D., Ph.D., Harvard Medical School; P. Paul Liu, M.D., Ph.D., National Human Genome Institute of The National Institutes of Health; and Nancy Speck, Ph.D., Dartmouth Medical School.
Dr. Mak’s team is working in collaboration with John E. Dick, Ph.D., Cynthia Guidos, Ph.D., Jayne Danska, Ph.D., University of Toronto; Doug Green, Ph.D., La Jolla Institute for Allergy Immunology; and Mark Minden, M.D., Ph.D., Ontario Cancer Institute.
About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society(R), headquartered in White Plains, NY, is the world’s largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing education and patient services. The Society’s mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Since its founding in 1949, the Society has invested more than $360 million in research specifically targeting leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. Last year alone, the Society made more than 812,000 contacts with patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals through services provided at its Home Office and by its 63 chapters nationwide.
For more information about blood cancer, visit http://www.lls.org/ or call the Society’s Information Resource Center (IRC), a call center staffed by master’s level social workers, nurses and health educators who provide information, support and resources to patients and their families and caregivers. IRC information specialists are available at (800) 955-4572, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.
Contact: Jon Garbo
914-821-8969
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
CONTACT: Jon Garbo of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, +1-914-821-8969
Web site: http://www.lls.org/
