The loss of an exceptional young man to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma at age 30 served as the inspiration for the creation of an outstanding fundraising endeavor. Under the direction of Stephen J. Forman, M.D., chair, Division of Hematology & Hemaptopoietic Cell Transplantation at City of Hope, friends and family members established the Tim Nesvig Fellowship for Lymphoma Research Fund to further understand the underlying causes of lymphoma and develop better treatment options for patients.
Defu Zeng, M.D., associate professor in the departments of Diabetes, Endocrinology & Metabolism and Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, will use the fellowship to further research on a new regimen for a potentially lifesaving treatment for blood cancers. Hematopoietic cell (blood stem cell) transplantation, or HCT, usually requires a patient to undergo chemotherapy and radiation beforehand. After transplantation, patients who receive cells from an unrelated donor can face a potentially deadly side effect called graft-versus-host disease, or GVHD. Zeng and his team are investigating the use of a genetically engineered antibody called anti-CD3 before transplantation. In laboratory studies, this nontoxic treatment has shown great promise both in preventing GVHD and as a replacement for radiotherapy before transplant. His work may make the procedure safer and available to more patients.
The Nesvig Fellowship will allow Anna Scuto, Ph.D., staff scientist in the Department of Molecular Medicine, to expand on encouraging early results examining non-Hodgkin’s B-cell lymphoma. She investigates the role of one protein — signal transducer and activator of transcription 3, or STAT3 — in the disease. Her preliminary research has found that the STAT3 pathway is activated in lymphoma cells — unlike healthy B cells. Her lab experiments showed that inhibiting STAT3 halted lymphoma’s growth and spread. Scuto will evaluate the lymphoma-fighting potency of a variety of targeted therapies that inhibit STAT3 and related cellular pathways. The goal is to move these therapies, which may prove more effective and less toxic than current treatments, into clinical trials for non-Hodgkin’s B-cell lymphoma.
2008, Ryotaro Nakamura, M.D.
2007, Mark Kirschbaum, M.D.
2006, Leslie Popplewell, M.D.
2005, Aung Naing, M.D.