Investment Supports Early-Career Scientists Dedicated to Developing Patient Therapies and Lymphoma Cures
The Lymphoma Research Foundation (LRF) announced it awarded 29 grant programs totaling more than $2 million to early-career and disease-specific scientists based at many of the world’s leading cancer research institutions.
The 2021 LRF grantee class represents 19 medical institutions and academic medical centers in North America, covering various disease subtypes, treatments, and cohorts, including T-cell lymphomas, B-cell lymphomas, adolescent and young adult lymphoma, and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy. Grant selections are awarded with the guidance of the LRF Scientific Advisory Board (SAB), which is comprised of 45 world-renowned lymphoma experts dedicated to seeking out the most innovative and promising lymphoma research projects for investment.
“The Lymphoma Research Foundation supports early-career scientists not just to support the next generation of lymphoma research, but because these scientists are already pursuing questions that will be crucial to a better understanding of lymphoma biology and therapies that will translate into improvements in patient outcomes,” said Andrew D. Zelenetz, MD, PhD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Chair of the LRF SAB. “The incredible promise that this year’s class presents will have an immeasurable impact on future generations of lymphoma patients and their loved ones.”
In 2021, LRF expanded its Lymphoma Scientific Research Mentoring Program (LSRMP) to foster and develop the next generation of laboratory and translational researchers. The LSRMP is a first-of-its-kind two-year program that provides hematology and oncology fellows and junior faculty a unique experience to learn how to build a successful lymphoma research career. Program participants, known as LRF Scholars, attend a week-long intensive workshop to learn and network with members of LRF’s SAB and gain the skills needed to design and administer research studies, apply for future grant funding, and establish themselves as independent researchers.
In addition to expanding its mentoring program, LRF introduces its new Health Equity Initiative (HEI) devoted to breaking down barriers women and researchers of color may face while navigating a career in lymphoma research and addressing inequities in the care and treatment of lymphoma patients.
“Due to the pandemic, research labs and scientists across the country have been impacted by shutdowns and reduced funding, disrupting the continuity of blood cancer research,” said Meghan Gutierrez, Chief Executive Officer at the Lymphoma Research Foundation. “The Foundation is proud to not only remain committed to supporting lymphoma investigators but to expanding our research program at this critical time, accelerating scientific discovery and doing our part to support the scientists searching for new treatments.”
CLINICAL INVESTIGATOR CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARD
Pamela Blair Allen, MD, MS – Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University (HEI)
Jamie E. Flerlage, MD, MS – St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Reid Merryman, MD – Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Marco Ruella, MD – Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP GRANTS
Elena Battistello, PhD – New York University School of Medicine
Lydie Debaize, PhD – Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Oliver Press Memorial Fellow)
Kathleen Dixon, PhD – University of Minnesota Twin Cities (HEI)
Edmond Feris, PhD – Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center
Rui Guo, MS, PhD – Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Alexandre Hirayama, MD – Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (HEI)
Hannah Isles, PhD – Weill Cornell Medicine
Richa Kapoor, PhD – Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania (HEI)
Phil Lange, PhD – UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center (Bruce D. Cheson Fellow)
Elisa Mandato, PhD – Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Nicole Prutsch, PhD – Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (HEI)
LYMPHOMA SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH MENTORING PROGRAM – CLINICAL TRACK
David A. Bond, MD – OSUCCC – James (Eric Cohen Distinguished Scholar)
P. Connor Johnson, MD – Massachusetts General Hospital (Stephanie A. Gregory Distinguished Scholar)
Niloufer Khan, MD, MS – Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Arushi Khurana, MBBS– Mayo Clinic, Rochester (Clarence G. Henry, Jr. Memorial Scholar)
Luis Malpica Castillo, MD – University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (Chike Springer Legacy Scholar, HEI)
Erin Mulvey, MD – Weill Cornell Medicine (Peykoff Initiative Scholar)
Jason T. Romancik, MD – Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University (Runge Lymphoma Project Scholar)
Suchitra Sundaram, MD – Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
LYMPHOMA SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH MENTORING PROGRAM – TRANSLATIONAL TRACK
Tomohiro Aoki, MD, PhD – BC Cancer Research
Zachary Epstein-Peterson, MD – Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Rossella Marullo, MD, PhD – Weill Cornell Medicine
Coraline Mlynarczyk, PhD – Weill Cornell Medicine
Patrizia Mondello, MD, PhD, MSc – Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (Peykoff Initiative Scholar)
Brian Sworder, MD, PhD – Stanford School of Medicine (LRF Ambassador Scholar)
To learn more about LRF’s research grant program, visit lymphoma.org/research. LRF is currently accepting letters of intent (LOI) for the Jaime Peykoff Follicular Lymphoma Initiative – Follicular Lymphoma Priority Research Grant through April 30, 2021, and will accept applications for the 2022 Early Career Grant programs starting June 2021 at lymphoma.org/grants.