New Investigator Research Grant Program

This project aims to improve the success of stem cell transplants for patients with a type of blood cancer called acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Although these transplants can cure the disease, they often cause serious complications—one where the donor's immune cells attack the patient’s body (called graft-versus-host disease, or GVHD), and another where the cancer comes back. Our team is developing a new kind of immune cell therapy using specially engineered natural killer (NK) cells to target a molecule called CD45RA. This molecule is found on the immune cells that cause GVHD and on leukemia stem cells that can lead to relapse, but not on healthy stem cells. By attacking only the harmful cells, this therapy could reduce the risk of GVHD and prevent the cancer from returning—without weakening the immune system. If successful, this approach could lead to safer, more effective treatments and better outcomes for leukemia patients.