WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Aug. 4 NY-LLS-honors
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
(LLS) has named five researchers as Stohlman Scholars, recognizing their
outstanding contributions to the advancement of blood cancer research. The
honors will be officially announced at the LLS Stohlman Scholar Scientific
Symposium, Nov. 6-7, in Kansas City, MO.
The Stohlman Scholars are LLS grant recipients who are highly qualified
investigators who have demonstrated their ability to conduct high quality
original research bearing on leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma and are in the
final year of their five-year research grant periods. These Scholars hold
faculty-level or equivalent positions at major research institutions. This
year's Stohlman Scholars are:
-- Martin Carroll, M.D., associate professor, Department of Medicine,
University of Pennsylvania. Proliferation in normal blood cells is controlled
by signals from their surroundings, but this control system is generally
defective in leukemia cells. Rather than dividing at a measured pace to
replace old blood cells, leukemia cells divide continuously, out of proportion
with the need for new blood cells. Dr. Carroll's laboratory has previously
identified signaling pathways that are inappropriately turned-on in leukemia
cells. He is testing known drugs to turn off these pathways in the clinic
while his laboratory continues to identify altered signaling systems in acute
myelogenous leukemia that may be targeted with newer compounds. Through these
approaches, Dr. Carroll is working to develop better ways to kill leukemia
cells, leading to more effective therapies.
-- Craig T. Jordan, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Medicine,
James P. Wilmot Cancer Center, University of Rochester School of Medicine.
Dr. Jordan's research is focused on myeloid leukemia stem cells, from which
cancers derive and relapses evolve. Leukemia stem cells produce large numbers
of blood tumor cells known as blast cells. Standard chemotherapy is not
effective against leukemia stem cells, so his team is studying agents to
effectively destroy the leukemia stem cells while sparing normal stem cells.
-- Michelle A. Kelliher, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Cancer
Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School. Dr. Kelliher's research
is focused on T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), a form of blood
cancer that still has a very poor prognosis. She has studied how the
oncogenes TAL1 and NOTCH1 cooperate to cause T-ALL. Kelliher and colleagues
recently discovered that NOTCH1 contributes to leukemia by directly inducing
expression of C-MYC. Her laboratory also recently demonstrated that NOTCH
inhibitors extend the survival of leukemic mice, suggesting that these drugs
may prove effective in patients.
-- Danesh Moazed, Ph.D., professor, Department of Cell Biology, Harvard
Medical School. Maintenance of proper gene activity patterns is crucial for
the creation and maintenance of different cell types. Dr. Moazed's research
is focused on how cells maintain their identities over long periods of time
and during numerous divisions. Failure to maintain cell identity during the
life of an organism has catastrophic consequences and results in cancer and
other diseases. The cell identity maintenance process involves a cellular
memory mechanism that packages genes into specialized DNA-protein structures,
called chromatin. Dr. Moazed's lab uses yeast cells to study the molecular
machinery involved in cellular memory. The research is focused on two
distinct mechanisms that maintain specialized chromatin structures. In one
mechanism, a group of proteins, called the SIR proteins, chemically modify the
histone building blocks of chromatin and form chromatin-bound polymers. In
the second mechanism, tiny RNA molecules bind to specific regions on
chromosomes and silence genes by recruiting chromatin-modifying complexes.
The interactions of the protein and RNA molecules with chromatin are
fundamental to the memory mechanism. Their understanding will lead to a
better understanding of how the memory process fails in yeast as well as in
human leukemias and lymphomas.
-- Michael Teitell, M.D., Ph.D., professor, Departments of Pathology and
Pediatrics, University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Teitell's team
discovered that an irregularity in a gene called TCLI is frequently involved
in non-Hodgkin lymphoma, but only when the TCLI abnormalities are accompanied
by other genetic defects. The researchers identified several of these
defects, including abnormal expression of the Myc oncogene, already known to
play a role in causing lymphomas. His team is working to identify other
molecular defects that occur in human lymphomas, which will help in the
development of new targeted drugs for patients with these genetic defects and
improved tests to lead to more individualized treatment for each patient based
on the recognition of particular defects. Dr. Teitell and his colleagues also
used TCL1 to make one of the very first mouse models for germinal center B
cell lymphoma, upon which much of their work is based.
"The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society believes that the work of these
exceptional scholars and the more than 400 gifted scientists we are supporting
around the world will result in substantial improvement in the lives of
patients afflicted with leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma," said Louis DeGennaro,
Ph.D., LLS chief scientific officer. "The work being done by these gifted
researchers shows great promise in advancing new and improved treatments for
blood cancer patients."
The Stohlman Scholars are named in memory of Frederick Stohlman Jr., M.D.,
a major figure in stem cell physiology and blood cell cancer research.
About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, headquartered in White Plains, NY, with
68 chapters in the United States and Canada, is the world's largest voluntary
health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing
education and patient services. The LLS 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, LLS has invested more than $600
million in research specifically targeting leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma.
Last year alone, LLS made 5.1 million contacts with patients, caregivers and
healthcare professionals. For more information about blood cancer, visit
www.LLS.org or call the LLS 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: Andrea Greif
914.821.8958
andrea.greif@lls.org
SOURCE The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
