Dear Friends of LRF,

While incredible strides have been made in the study of lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), many patients remain vulnerable to experiencing a relapse, late effects of treatment, or diminished quality of life. We recognize that supporting innovative research is the only way to advance our understanding of lymphoma and lay the foundation for improved patient care. That is why we remain committed to finding cures through an aggressively funded research program for lymphoma and CLL scientists.

This year—with your dedicated support—we were able to fund more than $5 million in research grants, supporting 29 researchers from the nation’s leading medical and academic institutions. This investment ensures the best and brightest scientific minds can pursue careers in blood cancer research.

In this issue of Pulse, we are excited to introduce you to our Clinical Investigator Career Development Award (CDA) and Postdoctoral Fellowship grantees. The CDAs and Postdoctoral Fellowships are cornerstones of our early career investigator program, providing grants to scientists with the greatest potential to contribute to our understanding of the disease and the development of new lymphoma therapies and diagnostic tools. Grantee projects span numerous disease subtypes, including rare disease states like T-cell lymphomas, as well as novel therapeutics, including chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy. Projects exploring the needs of specific patient populations, including adolescents/young adults and military veterans, have also been selected for funding.

The Foundation has also awarded multi-year grants to five international experts studying one of the most common forms of lymphoma as part of its Jaime Peykoff Follicular Lymphoma Initiative. Established in 2020, the Initiative is poised to transform the follicular lymphoma (FL) treatment landscape—a subtype of lymphoma with no known cure. In this issue, we profile one of the 2022 Jamie Peykoff grantees, Abner Louissaint, MD, PhD of Massachusetts General Hospital, a global hematology expert with his sights set on revolutionizing the treatment of FL. Dr. Louissaint describes the work his lab is pursuing to help categorize FL and how his Lymphoma Research Foundation-funded research project will help to support these efforts.

We are more confident than ever that we will find a cure for lymphoma—something we would not be able to achieve
without your support. Thank you all for your dedication to our shared mission.

Sincerely,
Meghan Gutierrez
Chief Executive Officer