One of the premiere conferences for sharing the latest leukemia research is the American Society of Hematology’s (ASH) annual meeting. Thousands of scientists from around the world present their latest findings in scientific program sessions or in poster presentations. This meeting is an opportunity for the researchers to share discoveries with each other, and also for staff from the Leukemia Research Foundation to personally meet with some of the scientists who are being funded with New Investigator Research Grants (NIRG), so we can share the latest successes with our patient and caregiver community.

Below are a few captured moments from just some of the many formerly and currently funded researchers who attended this year’s meeting, which was recently held in Orlando.

Eric Wang, PhD, (left) with the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, was part of the poster showcase. He is currently being funded with a NIRG to investigate what might be driving acute myeloid leukemia (AML) therapy resistance.

Jo Ishizawa, MD, PhD, (below left) from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (2022 NIRG funded researcher) and Robert Bowman, PhD, (below right) from the University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine (2023-2025 NIRG funded researcher) met up at a poster session.

Dr. Ishizawa’s NIRG funded project focused on improving targeted therapy for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and as a result he and his team made substantial progress in discovering novel findings for future development of AML therapy.

Dr. Bowman’s project focused on cell biology for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with FLT3 mutation.

Dr. Bowman’s study identified pathways that support differentiation and nominated new combinatorial therapies that can promote the efficacy of FLT3-targeted therapy. These therapies are FDA-approved for other disease indications and they are now actively pursuing combination therapies in preclinical models to improve FLT3 targeted therapy.

Shruti Bhatt, PhD, (left) a currently funded NIRG recipient from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and Pamela Sung, MD, PHD (right) from Roswell Park in Buffalo, New York, were co-moderators of an ASH session titled “Molecular Pharmacology and Drug Resistance: Myeloid Neoplasms: Novel targets and drugs”.

Dr. Bhatt’s currently funded NIRG funded project focuses on exploring therapeutic strategies for specific acute myeloid leukemia (AML) mutations.

Marta Derecka, PhD (below, seated) with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and a 2023-2025 NIRG funded researcher, co-moderated and presented her work in an ASH session titled “Hematopoiesis in the Golden Years: Aging, Epigenetic Landscapes, and Clonal Destiny.”

Dr. Derecka’s NIRG funded project looked at how blood cells communicate with their environment in the bone marrow. Her work provided previously unknown insights into mechanisms that lead to a certain type of bone marrow cancer progression and identified potential novel therapeutic avenues.

Caner Saygin, MD, (below) from UC Medicine and a currently funded NIRG researcher, participated in a poster presentation.

His NIRG funded project is focused on understanding the role of a specific protein in acute lymphoblastic leukemia T-cells (T-ALL), and how blocking it might be a new way of treating this disease, which could open the door to developing a new, more effective therapy for patients.

Lindsey Whyte, Director of Programs & Partnerships (below left) and Wesley Bauer, Director of Development (below right), also attended the conference, meeting with our New Investigative Research Grant recipients, as well as other leading scientists.