The National Cancer Institute (NCI) awarded a $483,110 Project Grant under the Cancer Biology Research program (CFDA 93.396) to the Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope to conduct research on the functional role of PAX5 mutations in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). The 5-year project aims to systematically dissect the mechanisms by which PAX5 mutations, which occur in over 10% of B-ALL cases, contribute to disease initiation and progression. The research will use orthogonal...
Federal Grant Award Summary The National Cancer Institute (NCI) awarded the Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope a $517,090 Project Grant under the Cancer Biology Research program (CFDA 93.396) on August 18, 2025, to investigate the role and biological function of a novel signature gene designated AL021978.1 (A978) in Philadelphia chromosome (PH)-positive and PH-like B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). The research aims to address high-risk leukemia subtypes with survival...
Federal Grant Award Summary The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute received a $744,511 Project Grant from the National Cancer Institute under the Cancer Biology Research program (CFDA 93.396) effective July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2031. The grant funds fundamental research to characterize and target hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell-like (HSPC-like) blasts in high-risk acute leukemias, including acute myeloid leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and mixed-lineage...
Federal Grant Award Summary The National Cancer Institute awarded Seattle Children's Hospital (doing business as Seattle Children's Research Institute) a $3.48 million Project Grant under the Cancer Treatment Research program (CFDA 93.395) effective August 1, 2025, through July 31, 2029. This project systematically identifies genomic heterogeneity and relapse predictors in pediatric and adolescent/young adult patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive (PH+) and ABL-class PH-like acute...
Federal Project Grant Award Summary The National Cancer Institute (NCI) awarded $434,969 to the University of Pennsylvania on May 1, 2026, under the Cancer Treatment Research program (CFDA 93.395) to investigate cellular mechanisms underlying acute myeloid leukemia (AML) persistence during FLT3 (Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3) inhibitor therapy. The five-year project, completing April 30, 2031, combines genetically engineered mouse models with human specimen analysis to determine which leukemic cell...
Federal Grant Award Summary Baylor College of Medicine received a $160,500 Project Grant award from the National Cancer Institute under the Cancer Biology Research program (CFDA 93.396), effective July 10, 2025, with completion targeted for June 30, 2027. The award funds the development and investigation of in vivo murine models to examine the role of caspase-2 in nucleophosmin-mutated acute myeloid leukemia (NPM1C+ AML). The research deliverables include the establishment of transgenic mouse...
Federal Project Grant Award Summary The National Cancer Institute (NCI), under the Cancer Research Manpower program (CFDA 93.398), awarded $276,545 to The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute on June 8, 2026, for the development of genomic risk prediction models for T-cell malignancies. The project, which runs through May 31, 2031, addresses a critical gap in clinical care by developing and validating risk stratification tools for T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) and...
Federal Project Grant Award Summary Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Inc. received a $721,653 Project Grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) under the Cancer Treatment Research program (CFDA 93.395), awarded June 5, 2026, with completion scheduled for May 31, 2031. The award supports research investigating protein O-mannosylation as a therapeutic vulnerability in KIAA1549-BRAF-driven pediatric low-grade gliomas (PLGGs), the most common solid tumors in childhood. The research will develop...
Federal Grant Award Summary The National Cancer Institute awarded Boston Children's Hospital a $578,559 Project Grant under the Cancer Biology Research program (CFDA 93.396) effective July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2031, to conduct fundamental research on the tumor suppressor function of P190 RhoGAP. The research program investigates how the ARHGAP35 gene product P190A regulates cell proliferation and survival through the Hippo signaling pathway, with particular focus on understanding how...
Federal Project Grant Award Summary The National Cancer Institute awarded a Project Grant of $495,715 to the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research under the Cancer Biology Research program (CFDA 93.396) on August 5, 2025, with a completion date of July 31, 2030. This award funds fundamental research to decipher the pathogenesis and therapeutic vulnerabilities in germline RUNX1-mutated acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The research focuses on understanding how germline RUNX1 mutations...
Federal Grant Award Summary
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) awarded $966,220 in Cancer Biology Research funding (CFDA 93.396) to the Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope on September 1, 2025, for a five-year project concluding August 31, 2030. This Project Grant funds fundamental research to dissect the functional role of PAX5 (paired box protein 5) mutations in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), the most common pediatric cancer. The research will generate comprehensive mechanistic insights into two PAX5-driven B-ALL subtypes—PAX5ALT and PAX5 P80R—which display significantly different clinical prognoses despite both being characterized by PAX5 mutations.
The deliverables include systematic experimental and analytical characterization of PAX5 mutant-driven leukemogenesis using multiple orthogonal research models (B-ALL cell lines, murine leukemia models, and human B-ALL patient samples) combined with multi-omics platforms including RNA sequencing, chromatin immunoprecipitation and tagmentation (CUT&TAG), assay for transposase-accessible chromatin with sequencing (ATAC-seq), end-sequencing (END-seq), whole-genome sequencing, and single-cell analyses. The research aims to elucidate how PAX5 mutants exert dominant effects in leukemia initiation through altered transcriptional activity and binding patterns, with preliminary evidence suggesting metabolic alterations and differential dexamethasone sensitivity may explain divergent clinical responses. These findings are intended to inform development of improved therapeutic interventions for PAX5-mutant B-ALL patients.