Concept Grants Awarded for Myelofibrosis Research
Chicago, IL and White Plains, NY (PRWEB) July 10, 2013 -- The MPN Research Foundation and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) are proud to announce the winners of the second round of the MF Challenge grant program. Winners of these one year concept grants focusing on fibrosis and myelofibrosis are:
• John Varga and Jonathan Licht (Northwestern University)
• Golam Mohi (State University of New York)
• Emmanuelle Passegue (University of California at San Francisco )
• Xiaoli Wang (Mt. Sinai School of Medicine)
As in the first round of MF Challenge grants, each researcher will receive $100,000 over one year to test his/her hypothesis for these grants, the goal of which is to provide a proof of concept for ideas on how to stop or reverse fibrosis. The grant review was conducted by a multi-disciplinary group overseen by the MPN Research Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Board Chair Dr. Andrew Schafer from Weil Cornell.
The first round of MF Challenge concept grants were funded in July 2012. Progress on these four projects will be reviewed in late 2013. Projects with potential to go further will be candidates for longer term funding. A “concept grant” is used to identify innovative and novel approaches to an issue.
Fibrosis is the formation of excessive fibrous connective tissue in place of healthy tissue. The disease myelofibrosis (one of the myeloproliferative neoplasms) is characterized by fibrosis in the bone marrow. Prognosis for sufferers of myelofibrosis varies. A small proportion of MF patients can transform to acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a type of blood and bone marrow cancer that progresses rapidly.
The potential of the MF Challenge is its ability to stimulate research in areas that are currently untested in fibrosis and myelofibrosis, offering hope to patients struggling with a relative lack of treatment options and understanding about their disease. More information about the MF Challenge can be found at http://www.mfchallenge.org.
About The MPN Research Foundation
The MPN Research Foundation was started in 2000. Founded by patients, for patients, terms on every research grant are negotiated to maximize the dollars invested in actual research. The Foundation’s esteemed Scientific Advisory Board utilizes a rigorous selection process to ensure donations are allocated to the most innovative research projects. To date, the Foundation has awarded nine million dollars for MPN research. While the priority remains on funding innovative and accountable MPN research, the mission also includes educating and empowering the MPN community. To get up to date news on PV, ET, and MF visit http://www.mpnresearchfoundation.org or contact us at mwoehrle(at)mpnresearchfoundation(dot)org / 312-683-7243 or MPN Research Foundation, 180 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 1870, Chicago, IL 60601. http://www.mpnresearchfoundation.org
About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society® (LLS) is the world’s largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer. The LLS mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. LLS funds lifesaving blood cancer research around the world and provides free information and support services. Founded in 1949 and headquartered in White Plains, NY, LLS has chapters throughout the United States and Canada. To learn more, visit http://www.LLS.org. Patients should contact the Information Resource Center at (800) 955-4572, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET. Media contact: Andrea Greif, (914) 821-8958, andrea.greif(at)lls(dot)org.
Michelle Woehrle, MPN Research Foundation, 312-683-7243, [email protected]
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