Spotlight on New Investigators

MPD Foundation's staff and board are constantly revisiting what it means to fund research that produces results.  We look at the various ways the work we fund affects patients - from available treatments to increasing their understanding of the scientific underpinnings of their disorder.

We also happen to be impacting the lives of those in the research community, including a group we've focused on through our last two grant cycles: new investigators.  

This is a group we define as being new to the field of MPN or simply new to independent research and desiring to work in MPN.  Although we've funded up and coming researchers in the past, since 2008 it has been a goal of ours to target this group for funding along with our grants to more experienced investigators.  Both types of investigators are working towards the goal of finding the causes of and potential cures for the myeloproliferative neoplasms.  

On that note we'd like to introduce some of our newest grant recipients:

Wei Tong, PhD, Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania

Dr. Tong will be working on a project titled "K63 Ubiquitination in JAK2 Signaling and Myeloproliferative Neoplasms".  The bottom line is that Dr. Tong is trying to determine how LNK affects JAK2 signaling.  JAK2 is basically an on-off switch whose malfunction is present in many MPNs.  LNK normally regulates the JAK2 switch to prevent myeloproliferation; mutated versions fail to turn off the signaling.  

Toshiaki Kawakami, MD PhD, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology.

Dr. Kawakami's project is titled "SPS Complex in MPD".  In this project he will be studying a series of genes whose absence in mice is known to cause tumors and myeloproliferative neoplasms.  His hypothesis is that the same thing happens in humans, and if correct, the discovery could lead directly to new therapeutic targets for MPN drug development.

Saghi Ghaffari, MD PhD, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine

Dr. Ghaffari's project is titled "Understanding Molecular Mechanisms of Regulation of Myeloproliferative Disorders in Mouse and Human".  With this project Dr. Ghaffari will be investigating a different signaling mechanism altogether whose failure may be responsible for myeloproliferation.  This is important because the JAK2 mutation is not present in all MPN patients; there must be at least one other mutation to account for those cases.


We will monitor their progress and report back as their work develops.  As one of the only organizations serving the needs of patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms we are committed to not only funding such projects but also to providing information and support for MPN patients.    

MPD Patient Symposia Educate and Empower

By Ann Brazeau

The MPD Foundation believes that an educated patient is an empowered patient who can share what they know with their health care professionals to optimize treatment protocols and be able to fully participate in important decisions for their future care. To that end, in May 2010, the MPD Foundation hosted a patient education symposium in San Mateo, CA. Guest speakers included Drs. Ayalew Tefferi and Ruben Mesa from the Mayo Clinic, Dr. Jason Gotlib from Stanford, Dr. Ann Mullally from Harvard, Dr. David Leibowitz from the Palo Alto Cancer Center and author Joy Selak. For those who couldn't make it, a video of the event is available here.

Patients, family members and physicians are encouraged to attend these programs where they will hear from leading experts in the field of myeloproliferative disorders / neoplasms. Research updates, information on current clinical trials and day to day maintenance of these rare blood cancers are discussed. Open forums are provided for questions and one on one opportunities to speak with the researchers and clinicians. Attendees enjoy meeting other patients in a safe and warm environment.

This fall, the MPD Foundation will host a symposium in San Diego, California. Dr. Catriona Jamieson will be our keynote speaker and will be joined by other leading MPD researchers and clinicians. Dr. Jamieson, MD, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Medicine/Division of Hematology-Oncology and Director for Stem Cell Research at Moores Universtiy of California San Diego Cancer Center. Dr. Jamieson studies the mutant stem cells and progenitor cells in myeloproliferative disorders / neoplasms. Her studies have run the gamut from identifying a promising treatment in the laboratory, to opening and completing the first clinical trial, to target cancer stem cells in humans. Please continue to check our Events page for updates on the next MPD symposium.

www.mpdfoundation.org