This $523,292 federal Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) under the Cancer Cause and Prevention Research program (CFDA 93.393) supports research to investigate a novel DNA repair defect in Ewing sarcoma, an aggressive form of cancer. The primary awardee, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Inc., will leverage its expertise in oncology, genomics, and translational medicine to pursue three key aims: 1) examine the molecular mechanisms suppressing microhomology-mediated...
This $401,115 Project Grant awarded by the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.396 - Cancer Biology Research) to Georgetown University will support the development and testing of a 3D bioengineered microfluidic platform (3D-BMP) to study the biology of Ewing sarcoma bone metastasis. The 3D-BMP is designed to mimic the bone microenvironment, enabling high-throughput genomic screening of Ewing sarcoma cell lines with differing metastatic potential. The goal is to identify key molecular drivers of...
The Defense Health Agency awarded Dana-Farber Cancer Institute a $712,001 Project Grant under the Military Medical Research and Development program to conduct research on understanding the role of DNA damage repair deficiency in Ewing sarcoma pathogenesis through integrative computational biology. The three-year award runs from September 1, 2023 through August 31, 2026. Through this funding, Dana-Farber will utilize computational methods to analyze Ewing sarcoma tumor samples and related...
This Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.395 - Cancer Treatment Research) provides $436,850 to Emory University to conduct research aimed at dissecting and targeting the PAK4 kinase in Ewing sarcoma, a common pediatric bone tumor. The overarching goals are to gain molecular insights into PAK4-mediated mechanisms and investigate the therapeutic potential of targeting PAK4 in Ewing sarcoma. The research includes defining PAK4 signaling networks, evaluating PAK4's role...
This federal Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Research Manpower program (CFDA 93.398) will support research to validate and implement circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) as a clinically informative biomarker for adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with sarcomas. The $253,273 award to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute aims to establish ctDNA-based prognostic thresholds for risk of relapse in fusion-negative and fusion-positive sarcomas at diagnosis and following initial...
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) awarded a Project Grant under the Cancer Research Manpower (CFDA 93.398) program to The Broad Institute, Inc. in the amount of $143,788. The grant, which runs from February 1, 2025 to January 31, 2027, supports research to understand the genetic dependencies and activation mechanisms of the KIAA1549-BRAF fusion, a common driver mutation in pediatric low-grade gliomas (PLGGs). The key goals of the project are to: 1) determine if the enzymatic activity of the...
This federal Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.395 - Cancer Treatment Research) provides funding to the Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope to investigate the role of IL-6/STAT3 signaling in CIC-DUX4 fusion sarcoma metastasis and immunosuppression. The $593,028 award, effective April 3, 2025 through March 31, 2030, aims to define the critical role of IL-6/STAT3 signaling in tumor cell growth and metastasis, as well as its impact on tumor-associated...
This Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute (CFDA 93.395 - Cancer Treatment Research) provides $2,880,937 to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Inc. to conduct research aimed at improving survival for children with diffuse midline gliomas (DMG), an aggressive type of brain cancer. The research project tests the hypothesis that combining radiation therapy with drugs that target specific vulnerabilities in DMG cells can enhance the efficacy of radiotherapy. Key components include:...
This $432,614 Project Grant awarded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) under the Cancer Research Manpower (CFDA 93.398) program supports research at Duke University to investigate the relationship between chromosomal instability, loss of chromosome 17p, and dependence on the mitotic regulator NDE1 in cancer cells. The research aims to characterize how these genetic alterations contribute to vulnerabilities that could be therapeutically targeted. Specifically, the project will define the link...
The Department of Defense's Military Medical Research and Development program (CFDA 12.420) has awarded a $708,100 Project Grant to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Inc. (Dfci) to conduct research on "Overcoming Rebound Growth of Pediatric Low-Grade Glioas Following MAPK Pathway Inhibition." The grant, which runs from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2026, will support Dfci's efforts to better understand the mechanisms driving recurrence of pediatric low-grade glioma brain tumors after...
This federal Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Research Manpower program (CFDA 93.398) is providing $514,196 to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Inc. (DFCI) to investigate IGF2BP1 as a novel therapeutic target for Ewing sarcoma, a prevalent pediatric bone cancer. The project aims to validate IGF2BP1, an oncofetal RNA binding protein, as a dependency for Ewing sarcoma growth and determine the underlying molecular mechanisms. Specifically, the researchers will use CRISPR-Cas9 and targeted protein degradation approaches to study the impact of disrupting IGF2BP1 in Ewing sarcoma cell lines and patient-derived xenograft models. An integrated omics analysis will also be conducted to identify critical mRNA substrates regulated by IGF2BP1 in Ewing sarcoma. The project is expected to run from September 2024 to April 2027 and will provide the postdoctoral fellow leading the work with expertise in CRISPR, functional genomics, and in vivo cancer research, positioning them to launch an independent career focused on developing new chemical tools to study pediatric cancers.