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2001 Senior Research Award Winners
Melissa Alsina, MD
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center
"Effects of Farnesyl Transferase Inhibitors (FTI) in Combination with Cytotoxic Chemotherapy or Other Drugs Targeting Ras Processing on Myeloma Tumor Burden, in a SCID-hu Model of Human Myeloma: A Preclinical Study"
Olcay Batuman, MD
SUNY-Downstate Medical Center
"Gene Expression Profile of Vascular Endothelial Cells in Patients with Multiple Myeloma and its Clinical Significance"
Lawrence Boise, PhD
University of Miami School of Medicine
"Arsenic Trioxide and Ascorbic Acid as Treatment for Multiple Myeloma"
Dennis Carson, MD
University of California, San Diego
"Targeting Multiple Myeloma with R-Etodolac"
Steven Grant, MD
Virginia Commonwealth University
"Checkpoint Abrogation and MEK/MAPK Inhibition: A Novel Strategy for the Treatment of Multiple Myeloma"
Lori Hazlehurst, PhD
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center
"The Significance of DNA Repair in Mediating Resistance Associated with Adhesion of Myeloma Cells to Fibronectin"
Teru Hideshima, MD, PhD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
"Biologic Sequelae of Interleuken-6 Induced PI3-K/Akt Signaling in Multiple Myeloma"
Awarded Second Year of Funding
Awarded Second Year of Funding
Nicholas Mitsiades, MD, PhD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
"Apoptosis of Multiple Myeloma Cells Induced by FasL and TRAIL/Apo2L: Therapeutic Applications"
Awarded Second Year of Funding
Awarded Second Year of Funding
Paul Sanders, MD
University of Alabama at Birmingham
"Characterizing the Binding Interaction Between Tamm-Horsfall Protein and Immunoglobulin Light Chains"
Pieter Sonneveld, MD, PhD
University Hospital Rotterdam, The Netherlands
"The Role of MVP/Vaults in the Generation of Drug Resistance in Multiple Myeloma"
Keith Stewart, MD
Princess Margaret Hospital, Canada
"Cataloguing the Expressed Gene Profile of Multiple Myeloma"
Awarded Second Year of Funding
Awarded Second Year of Funding
Shmuel Yaccoby, PhD
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
"Myeloma-Microenvironment Interaction Dynamics: The Involvement of Bone Cells"
2001 Fellows' Award Winners
David Dingli, MD
Mayo Clinic
"A Gene Therapy Approach for Multiple Myeloma"
Cristina Gasparetto, MD
Duke University Medical Center
"Dendritic Cell Based Vaccination for Multiple Myeloma"
Toshiaki Hayashi, MD, PhD
Dana Farber Cancer Institute
"Immunotherapeutic Approach to Multiple Myeloma"
Martha Lacy, MD
Mayo Clinic
"Randomized Phase II Trial of Dendritic Cell-Based Idiotype and Post-Transplant Multiple "
Richard LeBlanc, MD
Dana Farber Cancer Institute
"A Model For The In Vivo Growth Of Multiple Myeloma In The Bone Marrow Microenvironment"
Constantine Mitsiades, MD, M.Med.Sc
Dana Farber Cancer Institute
"The Molecular Chaperone Hsp90 As A Novel Therapeutic Target For Multiple Myeloma"
Kenneth Shain, PhD
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute
"B1 Integrin-Initated Signaling Events Regulate The Subcellular Localization of c-FLIP L Following Adhesion To Fibronectin, Protecting Adhered MM Cells From CD95-Mediated Apoptosis"
Masood Shammas, PhD
Harvard Medical School
"Targeting Telomere Expansion Mechanisms for Multple Myeloma"
Cameron Turtle, MBBS, FRACP, FRCPA
Mater Medical Research Institute
": Optimization of Dendritic Cell Preparation and mRNA Loading for Multiple Myeloma Immunotherapy"
Karin Vanderkerken, PhD
Free University Brussels
"The Role of RANK/RANK Ligand Interaction in the Development of Multiple Myeloma Disease: Study in the 5TMM Model"
2001 Collaborative Program Grant
The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation is proud to announce the recipients of the first MMRF Collaborative Program Grant which is funding $1.5 million over 3 years to three centers of excellence in myeloma research: Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Mayo Clinic, and Moffitt Cancer Center. The winning grant, entitled "Development of Novel Target-based Therapies for Multiple Myeloma," encompasses three inter-related projects and one unifying core. The focus will be to identify new therapies and to rapidly move promising leads from the bench to the bedside for evaluation in clinical trials at all three institutions. This innovative program couples basic science and clinical research expertise that has immediate clinical relevance for patients.
Researchers:
Researchers:
Kenneth Anderson, MD,
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
William Dalton, MD, PhD,
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Institute
Robert Kyle, MD,
Mayo Clinic
Nikhil Munshi, MD,
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Vincent Rajkumar, MD,
Mayo Clinic
Stephen Russell, MD, PhD,
Mayo Clinic
Grant Summary
Project 1
The first project involves characterizing the cell pathways involved in myeloma cell growth, survival, and migration in the bone marrow environment in order to identify novel molecular targets for therapy. This project is centered at Dana-Farber Cancer Insitute. Dr. Anderson will head this project and will also serve as the Principal Investigator for the entire program, directing and coordinating all preclinical and clinical studies.
Project 2
The second project is centered at the Moffitt Cancer Institute, where Dr. Dalton will head the project. It is investigating how myeloma cells become resistant to therapy, with the goal of designing strategies to prevent or overcome drug resistance. There is a particular emphasis on the role of myeloma cell interaction with the environment in the development of resistance.
Project 3
The third project is evaluating the role of angiogenesis in disease progression. This project is centered at the Mayo Clinic and will involve the work of Drs. Kyle, Rajkumar, and Russell. According to Dr. Rajkumar, the goal is to identify targets that are involved with increased angiogenesis in myeloma, as well as targets that are related to angiogenesis but which promote myeloma cell growth more directly. Then, they will use these targets to develop new therapeutics. As an example, Dr. Russell has developed a therapy that involves the use of a modified measles virus to target myeloma cells and the blood vessels critical for myeloma cell growth.
The Unifying Molecular Profiling Core: A Fourth Component
In addition to funding the three individual research projects, the grant is unique in that it will also support a central core laboratory to perform gene analysis for the entire program. Dr. Munshi will be heading the core laboratory which will be central to the new research being conducted. The lab will first look at the genetic and molecular mechanism of action of the new drugs in the laboratory. Then when the drugs are tested in clinical trials, they will determine whether their anti-myeloma effect in patients is the same as what was seen in the lab. Ultimately, this will allow the identification of specific targets for new treatments that will be more efficacious and better tolerated.
The figure below shows how all components of the program work together.
The figure below shows how all components of the program work together.
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2001 Grant Recipients
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