This $100,760 federal Project Grant was awarded on January 1, 2025 by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) under the Cancer Research Manpower program (CFDA 93.398) to the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, a non-profit organization located in New York, NY.
The grant is funding research to develop a nanoparticle-based RNA interference (RNAi) therapy that can target and inhibit the expression of Cyclophilin A and E-Selectin in bone marrow endothelial cells. This approach aims to disrupt multiple myeloma (MM) cell homing, progression, and drug resistance mechanisms. The project involves testing the RNAi nanoparticles both in vitro and in a mouse xenograft model of MM, including in combination with the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib. Successful completion of this work is expected to provide a broadly enabling platform for targeting the tumor microenvironment in bone marrow-homing cancers.