Featured Grant Funding

  • Dr. Ya-Huei Kuo is PI along with Dr. Marcucci and Dr. Nguyen on an R01 (CA205247) titled, “Targeting MicroRNAs to Eradicate Leukemia Stem Cells” to test the miR-126 inhibitor called miRisten by conducting mechanistic, pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic and toxicology studies followed by a phase 1 clinical trial in AML patients with resistant disease. 
  • Dr. Ling Li is the PI on an R01 (HL141336) titled “Targeting protein acetylation as a therapeutic approach for MDS” to use genetic mouse models to determine the role of TET2 acetylation contributing to established MDS stem cells maintenance and assess whether deacetylated TET2 could reduce survival and growth of human and murine MDS stem cells. He is also the PI on an R01 (CA248149) titled “Role of Protein Arginine Methyltransferase 9 in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Maintenance” to evaluate the functions of PRMT9 activity and eEF1A1 arginine methylation in human AML patient specimens and genetic mouse models with a goal of developing novel AML therapies based on PRMT9 inhibition 
  • Dr. Jianjun Chen is the PI on an R01 (CA236399) titled, “The role and mechanism of METTL3/METTL14-mediated RNA modification in the pathogenesis and drug-resistance of AML” to decipher the molecular mechanisms underlying the pathological roles of METTL3 and METTL14 in AML development/maintenance, LSC/LIC self-renewal and drug resistance. He is also the PI on an NCI R0 (DK124116) titled, “The function and underlying mechanism of TET1 in myelodysplastic syndromes” to determine whether TET1 is required for the development and maintenance of MDS. 
  • Dr. Bin Zhang is the PI along with Dr. Marcucci on an R01 (CA248475) titled, “Vascular Remodeling in the Bone Marrow Leukemic Niche: A Therapeutic Target?” that seeks to understand the mechanisms through which non-leukemia cells (collectively called the microenvironment) in the bone marrow of AML patients support LSCs and to design new therapies that target these mechanisms and eliminate LSCs. 
  • Dr. Russell Rockne is PI along with Dr. Ya-Huei Kuo and Dr. Marcucci on a U01 (CA250046) titled, “Information flow and state transitions at the system and multi-dimensional scales in leukemia progression” to develop and validate a mathematical theory and geometrical method to model systems-level state change over time to describe and predict cancer evolution response to therapy.