The Leukemia Research Fund supports a project founded at the University of Minnesota Medical School in 1971 by the late Richard Brown, a Twin Cities businessman whose 10-year old son died from leukemia. Since its inception, the primary goal of the project has been to support research in leukemia and related diseases through a basic science/interdisciplinary laboratory approach. Laboratory scientists and physicians with backgrounds in oncology, genetics, biochemistry, immunology, virology, and pathology have been and continue to be involved with the project. The interdisciplinary approach provides the greatest possibility of accelerating progress toward a cure of leukemia and related diseases.

The Leukemia Research Fund distributes research funds to University of Minnesota faculty in the form of two-year competitive grants that are peer-reviewed. Faculty are encouraged to submit novel, untested ideas so that the grants can function as seed money. This helps to move new ideas forward to the point where investigators can secure long-term national funding, for example, through the National Institutes of Health or the American Cancer Society. Grant recipients are required to submit an annual progress report on their research project. This process is organized and administered by the University of Minnesota Cancer Center.

Over $4 million has been raised and disbursed since the inception of the Leukemia Research Fund. Support has come from foundations, corporations and individual contributions. The Leukemia Research Fund is a primary beneficiary of the Danny Thompson Memorial Golf Tournament in Sun Valley, Idaho. Since 1977 the Danny Thompson Tournament has contributed over $3 million.

The following is a list of the 2006-2008 recipients of Leukemia Research Fund support and their research projects:

Vivian Bardwell, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development - "An in vivo dissection of the role of the BCL6 corepressor, BCOR, in lymphomagenesis." This study will investigate the role of the BCL6 corepressor, BCOR, in the development of B cell lymphomas. This basic research may aid in the design of future improved anti-lymphoma therapies.

Anja-Katrin Bielinksy, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics - "Role of human Mcm10 in maintaining genome stability." Dr. Bielinksy will study the underlying mechanism of chromosomal rearrangements at fragile sites in the human genome that have been implicated in the development of leukemia.

Wei Chen, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Pediatrics - "TLR7-targeted immunotherapy of acute lymphocytic leukemia." Dr. Chen has been developing a novel immunotherapy approach in the treatment of acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) by targeting Toll-like receptors (TLR) expressed on human acute lymphocytic leukemia B cells. He will perform a series of experiments to undertand the antileukemia effects and mechanisms of a new drug, A52A, that could serve as a new therapeutic agent for human B-ALL.

William Elmquist, PharmD., Ph.D., associate professor, School of Pharmacy - "Active transport and targeted delivery of novel tyrosine kinase inhibitors." Dr. Elmquist will test the hypothesis that the novel second-generation "molecularly-targeted" chronic myeloid leukemia drugs, nilotinib and dasatinib, have a diminished substrate affinity for efflux transporters compared to the FDC-approved drug imatinib. These differences in active transport across tissue barriers or cell membranes could translate into improved targeted drug delivery to the central nervous system and to the target leukemia cell.

Michael Farrar, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology - "The role of STAT5 and pre-BCR signaling in B cell-acute lymphocytic leukemia." Dr. Farrar will investigate whether the transcription factor STAT5 and/or pre-BCR signaling promotes the development of pre-B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), which could result in improved therapies for pre-B-ALL in the future.

Reuben Harris, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics - "How DNA cytosine deaminase proteins help cause blood cancers." This study examines the antibody gene diversification enzyme AID. The aim is to determine if the AID can be "mis-directed" and thereby precipitate genome-wide instabilities that could in turn promote the development of leukemia and lymphomas.

Ameeta Kelekar, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology) - "Noxa-Mcl-1 interactions in the nucleus and their role in cell cycle progression." Dr. Kelekar will investigate the mechanisms of regulation for the Noxa protein in order to determine its contribution to cell cycle progression in leukemia cells.

Ashish Kumar, M.D., Ph.D. , assistant professor, Department of Pediatrics - "Molecular pathogenesis of MLL-fusion gene leukemia." Dr. Kumar seeks to identify mutational events that co-operate with the MLL-AF4 fusion gene in the pathogenesis of leukemia. MLL-rearrangement leukemia is the most common and most often fatal leukemias of infancy. The long term goal is to advance the development of targeted therapies for MLL-fusion gene leukemia.

Tucker LeBien, Ph.D., professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology - "Proto-oncogene destabilization of human B-lineage cells." This project will investigate the role of the proto-oncogene c-Myc in destabilizing the development of normal human B-lineage cells, as a first step in establishing a new model to elucidate the changes necessary to transform a lymphoid progenitor into a leukemic cell. This could lead to new strategies to evaluate the etiology, genetic predisposition, and treatment of childhood leukemia and related diseases.

Matthew Mescher, Ph.D., professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology - "CD8 T cell targeted immunotherapy for leukemia." Dr. Mescher developed a novel approach for tumor immunotherapy called Large Multivalent Immunogen (LMI), which was shown to be effective in controlling growth and/or eliminating established solid tumors in several mouse models, and is currently being tested in melanoma and renal carcinoma clinical trials with promising results. This research project will determine if LMI can also be effective for the treatment of disseminated leukemia.

Michael Verneris, M.D., assistant professor, Department of of Pediatrics - "The developmental stages of CD56bright and CD56dim natural killer cells." This study will characterize the stages of natural killer (NK) cell development, in order to gain insight into basic mechanisms that can serve as a foundation for the development of novel methods using NK cells for therapeutic purposes.

Carston Wagner, Ph.D., professor, Department of Medicinal Chemistry - "Anti-leukemia immunotherapeutic nanorings." Dr. Wagner seeks to develop a new, practical method for the design and preparation of self-assembling antibody nanoparticles that can be used for the imaging and treatment of B-cell leukemias.

Brenda Weigel, MSc, M.D., assistant professor, Department of Pediatrics) - "TLR agonists as therapy for acute leukemia." This study will determine the optimal dosing of toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists in a mouse model of acute myelogenous leukemia. The aim is to define the effector mechanisms involved in an anti-tumor response and evaluate the anti-tumor efficacy of TLR agonists in combination with chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant.

To make a donation to the Leukemia Research Fund, visit the University of Minnesota Foundation Web site.