Cancer Breakthrough Funds AML Research at MD Anderson

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has received more than $5.7 million in grants from Break during Cancer to support collaborative research teams working to discover new molecular targets to eradicate minimal residual disease in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and treat clonal hematopoiesis, a precursor to AML.

MD Anderson has received $2.7 million in research funding targeting histologic hematopoiesis to prevent AML TeamLab and $3 million to eradicate minimal residual disease in AML TeamLab. Projects expand on work begun on MD Anderson’s myelodysplastic syndromes and acute myeloid leukemia Moon Shot^®.

This funding is part of $20 million in grants awarded to the five cancer centers that include BRIC during Cancer: MD Anderson, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT.

Collaborative group research and integrating expertise across disciplines is central to our approach at MD Anderson, and we are proud to work together across institutions to accelerate progress. We are grateful for the break during Cancer to support this important work, and we look forward to breakthroughs that can improve the lives of patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML).

Giulio Drita, MD, PhD, chief scientific officer of MD Anderson

Draetta and David Jaffray, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer and Chief Digital Officer at MD Anderson, serve as members of The Break during Cancer Board.

Stop during Cancer TeamLab’s model encourages and enables collaboration to look beyond conventional therapies, develop strategies and new thinking to address challenges in cancer treatment, and pave the way for faster discoveries. The model allows researchers to work collaboratively in real time using new technologies and systems to reduce barriers that often affect collaboration between organizations.

MD Anderson faculty projects and researchers include:

• Eliminate minimal residual AML diseases Researchers will investigate the mechanisms that contribute to the persistence of residual disease after treatment and develop new tools to detect, target and treat residual acute myelogenous leukemia. Contributing researchers to the MD Anderson College include: Michael Andreff, MD, PhD; Pavan Pasherdi, MD; Jared Birx, Ph.D.; Naval Daver, MD; Ghias Issa, MD; Priya Kopekar, Ph.D.; Jeffrey Muldrum, MD; Muharrem Meftuoglu, MD; Keyur Patel, MD, Ph.D.; Farhad Ravandi, MD; and Nicholas Short, MD
• Targeting clonal hematopoiesis to prevent acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) For early detection and treatment of clonal hematopoiesis, a pre-malignant condition of AML, the team will pursue new strategies and pathways in high-risk patients. Associate faculty researchers at MD Anderson include: Pavan Pasherdi, MD; Ken Chen, Ph.D.; Kelly Shin, MD; Simona Cola, Ph.D.; Courtney DiNardo, MD; Guillermo García Manero, MD; Danielle Hammond, MD; Jeffrey Muldrum, MD; and Koichi Takahashi, MD, PhD.

said Jeffrey Muldrum, managing director, president Hematopoietic Biology and Malignancy in MD Anderson. “Two major barriers to improving patient outcomes are the failure of current therapies to eliminate the minimal remaining disease cells that have developed resistance and the lack of effective strategies to prevent progression of clonal hematopoiesis to AML. Bringing together the best labs and clinical researchers at five leading institutions in focused TeamLabs will enable breakthrough discoveries Which promises to establish new principles and treatments for our patients.”

In 2022, MD Anderson earned more than $10 million from Break during Cancer To support research projects focused on pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer and glioblastoma. break during The Cancer Program was launched in 2021 with the goal of bringing together the best cancer research institutions in the country to find new solutions to some of the biggest cancer research challenges.