News
A project on a specific form of pediatric leukemia receives a substantial grant
Published on September 22, 2016
Trang Hoang, Principal Investigator, Hematopoiesis and Leukemia research unit at IRIC, received a substantial grant from the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) for a research project on a specific form of pediatric leukemia, in the “Innovation to Impact” category. In total, the CCS awarded nine grants in this category across Canada.
A grants program for forward-looking projects
This funding program is intended “to support the further development of successful findings of a promising research funded by an innovation grant” (source: CCS). Thanks to this first grant obtained two years ago, the team of Trang Hoang developed a new high-throughput screening cell-base assay to target preleukemic stem cells in their microenvironment. This innovative approach allowed them to isolate a new inhibitor acting both on the target cell and its interaction with the microenvironment. This teamwork was led by Bastien Gerby, postdoctoral researcher in the Laboratory of Trang Hoang, who also received a fellowship from the Cole Foundation.
Preventing the development or recurrence of leukemia by targeting stem cells
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is most common in childhood with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) representing 20% of all childhood leukemias. Despite its great effectiveness in children, the current chemotherapy regimen causes severe side effects, placing a high burden on patients and their loved ones during treatment, in addition to long-term adverse effects. Moreover, recurrences caused by preleukemic stem cells become resistant to the drugs.
Thanks to this grant, Professor Hoang will pursue this study and target preleukemic stem cells specifically to prevent the development of this form of leukemia and eradicate potential recurrence. This multidisciplinary project benefits from the complementary expertise of the research teams led by Vincent Archambault and Philippe Roux, both principal investigators at IRIC, of the medicinal chemistry team led by Anne Marinier and the technology platforms available at IRIC.
Please click here to see the full results of the CCS’s competition (CCS’s website)