Cancer Center researchers and U of M colleagues are well-represented among the presenters at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting in Orlando, Fla., December 9-12, 2006. Below is a list of their presentations.

If you or someone from your laboratory is giving an oral or poster presentation at ASH that is not listed here, please e-mail Gina Kennedy, kenne069@umn.edu, with your name, title and/or lab affiliation, and the title of your presentation.

Oral Presentations

Veronika Bachanova, M.D., Medicine HOT Fellow, "Notch Activation in Cord Blood Progenitors Induces a CD7+ Common NK/T Precursor Capable of NK Cell Commitment without Full Maturation and Differentiation of Lineage Committed Pre-T Lymphocytes with a Th 1 Phenotype"

K. Scott Baker, M.D., Assistant Professor, Pediatric H/O/BMT, "Unrelated Donor Hematopoietic Cell Transplant (HCT) for Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis (HLH)"

Bruce Blazar, M.D., Professor, Pediatric H/O/BMT, "In Vivo CpG Administration Accelerates Graft-Versus-Host Disease (GHVD) Lethality by Toll-Like Receptor 9 (TLR9) Ligation of Host Antigen-Presenting Cells (APCs) and Promotes Allogeneic Bone Marrow (BM) Rejection by TLR9 Ligation of Donor APCs"

Mary Eapen, M.D., Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR), Milwaukee, WI (collaborator of John Wagner, M.D.), "Unrelated Donor Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) in Children with Acute Leukemia: Risks and Benefits of Umbilical Cord Blood (CB) Versus HLA A, B, C, DRB1 Allele-Matched Bone Marrow (BM)"

Francis Harding, Kaufman lab, "Scaleable Production of Hematopoietic Cells Suitable for Transfusion from Human Embryonic Stem Cells in a Stirred Bioreactor System"

Ashish Kumar, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Pediatric H/O/BMT, "Differential Expression of Mll-AF9 Up-Regulated Genes Correlates with Enhanced Self-Renewal of Hematopoietic Progenitors."

Xueqing Liang, M.D., Ph.D., Research Associate, Pediatric H/O/BMT, "Toll-Like Receptor 7-Targeting of Human B-Lineage Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia Induces Immunogenicity and Apoptosis of Leukemia Cells" (Dr. Liang is also the recipient of an ASH Travel Award for this meeting.)

Margaret MacMillan, M.D., Assistant Professor, Pediatric H/O/BMT, "Single Versus Double Umbilical Cord Blood Transplantation (UCBT): Higher Risk of Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease (GVHD) but Lower Transplant Related Mortality (TRM) in Recipients of Double UCBT"

Jeffrey Miller, M.D., Professor, Medicine HOT, " Lymphodepletion Followed by Donor Lymphocyte Infusions (DLI) Causes Significantly More Acute Graft Versus Host Disease Than DLI Alone" and "KIR Ligand Absence in Recipients of Unrelated Donor (URD) Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (HCT) is Associated with Less Relapse and Increased Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD)"

Daniel Mulrooney, M.D., Assistant Professor, Pediatric H/O/BMT, "Twenty Years of Follow-Up Among Survivors of Childhood and Young Adult Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML): A Report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS)"

Patricia Taylor, Blazar lab, "FTY720 Inhibits Graft-Versus-Host Disease (GVHD) and Allogeneic Bone Marrow (BM) Graft Rejection Independent of Effects on T Cell Egress from Lymphoid Tissue"

Jakub Tolar, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Pediatric H/O/BMT, "Induction of Endogenous Repair Mechanisms by Single-Stranded DNA Oligonucleotide Therapy for Correction of the DNA−PK Mutation in Murine Severe Combined Immune Deficiency"

Petter Woll, Kaufman lab, "Characterization of Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells Derived from Human Embryonic Stem Cells that Differentiate into Natural Killer Cells Capable of In Vivo Anti-Tumor Activity"

Bin Yin, Ph.D., Largaespada lab, "Bcl11a Causes Leukemia/Lymphoma in Cooperation with Nf1 Inactivation"

Xianzheng Zhou, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Pediatric H/O/BMT, "Sleeping Beauty (SB) Transposon Mediated Umbilical Cord Blood (UCB) T Cell Therapy for Refractory Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)"

Poster Presentations

Rachel Bergerson, Largaespada lab, "A Screen for Mll-AF9 Cooperating Mutations in Leukemogenesis Using MLV-Based Mutagenesis"

Weili Chen, Kersey lab, "The Mll-AF9 Knock-In Fusion Gene Results in Reprogramming and Enhanced Self-Renewal of Hematopoietic Progenitors, Especially in the HSC and CLP Populations"

Sarah Cooley, M.D., Assistant Professor, Medicine HOT, "A Subpopulation of Human NK Cells Lacking Inhibitory Receptors for Self MHC is Developmentally Immature Rather than Autoreactive"

Purvi Gada, M.D., Medicine HOT Fellow, "Optimal NK Cell Expansion Depends on Accessory Cells, Synergy between Physiologic Concentrations of IL-2 and IL-15, and Umbilical Cord Blood (UCB) NK Cell Precursors Expand Better Than Adult NK Cells"

Jian-Guo Geng, M.D., Assistant Professor, Medicine HOT, "Regulation of Tissue Factor by NF-kB Transcription Factor p50 is Essential for the Pathogeneses of Deep Vein Thrombosis and Arterial Restenosis"

Kalpna Gupta, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Medicine HOT, "Microenvironment-Induced Endothelial Heterogeneity Stimulates Retinal Neovascularization in Sickle Mice" and "Opioid Receptors Stimulate Angiogenesis, Lymphangiogenesis and Neurogenesis in Ischemic Wounds in Sickle Mice"

Pankaj Gupta, M.D., Assistant Professor, Medicine HOT, "A phase II study of an oral VEGF receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (PTK787/ZK222584) in patients with MDS: CALGB Study #10105"

Paul D. Harker-Murray, M.D., Pediatric H/O/BMT Fellow, "Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation as Therapy for Pediatric Patients with Relapsed Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia with and Without CNS involvement"

Sonja Johnson, LeBien lab, "Distinct IL-7 Signaling Outcomes in Normal Human B and T-Lineage Progenitors"

Margaret MacMillan, M.D., Assistant Professor, Pediatric H/O/BMT, "Thymic Shielding (TS) in Recipients of Total Body Irradiation (TBI) and Alternative Donor Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant (AD-HSCT): Reduced Risk of Opportunistic Infection in Patients with Fanconi Anemia"

Jeffrey Miller, M.D., Professor, Medicine HOT, "A Novel Triple Umbilical Cord Blood Transplant (UCBT) Strategy to Promote NK Cell Immunotherapy (Unit 1) with a Fully Ablative Preparative Regiment Followed by a Double UCBT in Patients with Refractory AML"

Angela Panoskaltsis-Mortari, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Pediatric H/O/BMT, "Amelioration of Idiopathic Pneumonia Syndrome (IPS) and GVHD by KGF-Pretreatment is Partly Mediated Via a STAT-6—Dependent Pathway in the Host"

Patricia Taylor, D.V.M., Blazar lab, "Mechanisms Responsible For and Strategies To Overcome Bone Marrow (BM) Rejection in Allosensitized Recipients"

Jakub Tolar, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Pediatric H/O/BMT, "Engraftment and Survival Following Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Osteopetrosis Using a Reduced Intensity Conditioning Regimen"; "High Incidence of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Mosaicism in Fanconi Anemia;" and "Osteosarcoma Derived from Cultured Mesenchymal Stem Cells"

Marcie Tomblyn, M.D., Assistant Professor, Medicine HOT, "Promising Progression Free and Overall Survival Using a Novel (CY/FLU/TBI) Reduced-Intensity Conditioning (RIC) Regimen for Allogeneic Sibling Stem Cell Transplantation (SCT)"

Brenda Weigel, M.D., Assistant Professor, Medicine HOT, Therapeutic Stimulation of the Adaptive and Innate Immune System by Toll-like receptor TLR7/8 Agonists Reduced AML Tumor Bruden and Improves Survival in a Murine Model"