Starting in 2024, watch this space for news about grants awarded for research
LION HEARTS SHARE ALL FUNDRAISING PROCEEDS WITH YALE BREAST CANCER RESEARCHERS
Through Connecticut high school swimming "Lap-a-Thons" and smaller fundraising events throughout the year—this past year, Rumanoff’s Jewelry Store in nearby Hamden held an all-day Lion Heart sales event and Claire’s CornerCopia in New Haven sponsored a Breast Cancer Awareness Day— the all-volunteer Lion Hearts foundation raised $150,000. It awarded three 2024 grants for cancer research this year of $50,000 each. The projects are:
• Developing CAR-mast cell therapy for breast cancers Principal Investigator: Xiaolei Su, PhD, Assistant Professor of Cell Biology, Yale School of Medicine. Co-Investigators: Sidi Chen, PhD, Associate Professor of Genetics and Neurosurgery, YSM; and Christopher Kepley, Associate Professor of Nanoscience, University North Carolina Greensboro
• Development of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells targeting MET in metastatic triple negative breast cancer Principal Investigator: Po-Han Chen, MD, PhD Instructor in Hematopathology, Department of Pathology, YSM; Co-Investigator: Samuel Katz, MD, PhD Associate Professor of Pathology, YSM; and collaborator Qin Yan, PhD Professor of Pathology, YSM
• Investigating a novel epigenetic mechanism in breast cancer
Principal Investigator: Andrew Xiao, PhD Associate Professor of Genetics, YSM
ACS SELECTS YSM THERAPEUTIC RADIOLOGY FOR RESEARCH SUPPORT
Postdoc Fellow Adam Krysztofiak, PhD, of Therapeutic Radiology was recently chosen by the American Cancer Society for a two-year award in support of his research project: “Targeting Gene Amplifications in HER2-positive Metastatic Breast Cancer by Activating DNA Damage Response.” “Our Extramural Research program invests in outstanding science….We look for the brightest minds to answer the toughest questions. You are part of a very select group of scientists and healthcare professionals who have received grants from the American Cancer Society over the last 75 years. Thank you for helping us end cancer as we know it, for everyone,” the ACS letter said in part.
FOUR YALE ASSISTANT PROFESSORS AWARDED 2024 ACS INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH GRANTS
The American Cancer Society’s grants ensure funding, up to $40,000 total for one year, for the initiation of promising new projects or novel ideas with the aim of obtaining preliminary results to enable them to compete successfully for national cancer research grants. The grantees are:
• Timothy Robinson, MD, PHD—Non-invasive assessment of hypoxia as a biomarker of T-cell therapy response in relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphomas.
• Huaijin Ken Leon Loh, PhD—Understanding interactions between the autonomic nervous system and pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
• Salil Garg, MD, PhD—Defining the developmental heterogeneity of pediatric hepatoblastoma.
• Monica Valero, MD, FACS—STREAMLINE (Streamlining Time-sensitive Referrals and Exams for Women with Abnormal Mammograms from Low-Income or No Insurance Racial and Ethnic Minority Groups).