Researcher Spotlight: Xin Meng, PhD

Yale University

Dr. Meng’s interest in lymphoma research began early in her academic career, when a little girl in her hometown developed lymphoma. “Her mother, desperate for help, came to me — since I was one of the few locals with a background in medicine,” she says. Dr. Meng advised the family on where to get treatment and helped raise funds to ensure the little girl could get the care she needed. “Seeing her recover and return to a normal life gave me a deep sense of purpose and achievement,” she says. “That experience made me realize the huge impact that effective treatments can have on patients and their families.” This experience motivated Dr. Meng to pursue her graduate training in immunology at Shanghai Medical College at Fudan University and laid the foundation for her current work in B-cell lymphomas.

With the support of the Foundation, Dr. Meng’s current research is aimed at identifying novel treatment options for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), which have very poor outcomes if relapse occurs or resistance develops. Through her research, Dr. Meng has identified a unique mechanism by which these cancer cells remove key proteins to support their survival. “When this removal process is blocked, the protein builds up in the cancer cells and triggers a chain reaction that shuts down the genes the cancer needs to survive — essentially turning its own biology against it,” she explains.

“The exciting part is that there are already existing drugs — used safely in other diseases — that can interfere with this removal process,” Dr. Meng continues. “We’re now working to identify which of these drugs work best against these cancers and how they can be combined with current treatments.” Because these medicines have already been tested for safety in humans, Dr. Meng hopes they can be brought into the clinic more quickly than developing a new drug from scratch, offering easier access to patients with CLL and MCL.

As she reflects on what the support of the Foundation has meant for her research, Dr. Meng shares a message of hope that is sure to resonate with others from similar backgrounds. “Perhaps most importantly, this grant affirmed that my background — coming from a small town, being part of a community where medical resources are limited — doesn’t limit my potential,” she says. “It told me that my perspective matters. And it strengthened my commitment to keep working at the highest level — not just to advance science, but to give back to the people like those I grew up with, who need hope, answers, and better treatments. This Foundation didn’t just fund a project — they invested in a mission.”