Category Archives: News

This national funding initiative expands the Foundation’s investments in support of cutting-edge MDS research and related programs that will lead to the future standards of care and ultimately cure, by facilitating the advancement of innovative basic science, translational or clinical research.

A total of three new grants, two Early Career Awards and one Established Investigator Award, will be awarded. Early Career Awards will provide funding of up to $125,000 per year for two years and Established Investigator Awards will provide funding of up to $250,000 per year for two years.

Letters of Inquiry (LOI) from 501(c)3 institutions must be received no later than Friday, March 19, 2021 (3 pm EDT). The LOI must be submitted via the online MDS grant application on the Vera and Joseph Dresner Foundation website MDS Research Fund. Full proposals are by invitation only.

The Vera and Joseph Dresner Foundation is pleased to announce its fourth annual Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) Research Fund grant recipients. Grants were awarded to Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Johns Hopkins University and Yale University. These grants totaling $1,000,000 support the research of two early career investigators and one established career investigator. The principle goal of the research fund is to support cutting-edge MDS research and related programs that will lead to the future standards of care and ultimately, a cure.

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center received a grant to support the early career work of Dr. Stanley C. Lee. Dr. Lee will work closely with his mentor, Dr. Joachim Deeg. The aim of this research is to identify, validate and translate novel therapeutic targets with the goal of expanding treatment options for patients with MDS.

The second early career grant was awarded to Dr. Kristen E. Schratz, through Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Schratz, working closely with her mentor Dr. Mary Armanios, will examine the role of telomere shortening in the evolution of myelodysplastic syndromes. She will study the genetic mechanisms underpinning progression from clonal hematopoiesis to overt malignancy and has the potential to both change the standard of care and uncover novel mechanisms of clonal evolution underlying MDS biology.

Yale University was awarded a grant to support Dr. Stephanie Halene, an established investigator. The goal of this research project is to develop combination therapies that exploit DNA damage repair defects in IDH mutant MDS and to take the most effective therapies to the clinic.

The Vera and Joseph Dresner Foundation Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Maria Figueroa, MD, as the Chair of the Foundation’s Myelodysplastic Syndromes Research Fund (MDSRF) Scientific Advisory Board. This national initiative provides grant support for innovative MDS basic science, clinical and translational research.

In this planned leadership transition, Dr. Figueroa will assume the Chair position that was held by Dr. Mikkael Sekeres since the fund’s 2017 inception. Dr. Figueroa will formally assume this role on January 1, 2021.

Read the full announcement here.

This national funding initiative expands the Foundation’s investments in support of cutting-edge MDS research and related programs that will lead to the future standards of care and ultimately cure, by facilitating the advancement of innovative basic science, translational or clinical research.

A total of three new grants, two Early Career Awards and one Established Investigator Award, will be awarded. Early Career Awards will provide funding of up to $125,000 per year for two years and Established Investigator Awards will provide funding of up to $250,000 per year for two years.

Letters of Inquiry (LOI) from 501(c)3 institutions must be received no later than Friday, March 20, 2020 (5 pm EDT). The LOI must be submitted via the online MDS grant application on the Vera and Joseph Dresner Foundation website MDS Research Fund. Full proposals are by invitation only.

The Vera and Joseph Dresner Foundation is pleased to announce its third annual Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) Research Fund grant recipients. Grants were awarded to The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and the University of Miami. These grants totaling $1,000,000 support the research of two early career investigators and one established career investigator. The principle goal of the research fund is to support cutting-edge MDS research and related programs that will lead to the future standards of care and ultimately, a cure.

“These grants from the Vera and Joseph Dresner Foundation will advance exciting research into the biology of MDS as well as optimize treatment strategies, particularly within older adults. Our goal continues to be eliminating these diseases and improving the lives of MDS patients,” said Dr. Mikkael A. Sekeres of Cleveland Clinic and Chair, MDS Research Fund Scientific Advisory Board. Virginia Romano, the Foundation’s Chief Executive Officer said, “The Foundation is pleased to continue to support nationwide institutions that seek to develop improved MDS treatment modalities.”

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center received a grant to support the early career work of Dr. Richard J. Lin. Dr. Lin will be working closely with his mentor, Dr. Sergio A. Giralt. The goal of the research is to evaluate the efficacy of an adopted strategy based on geriatric vulnerabilities and geriatric management to reduce non-relapse mortality for older MDS patients receiving curative intent allogeneic hematopoietic transplantation.

The second early career grant was awarded to Dr. Luisa Cimmino, through the University of Miami. Dr. Cimmino, working closely with her mentor Dr. Stephen Nimer, will assess the role of vitamin C in the maintenance of TET enzymatic activity during MDS progression and treatment.

The Cleveland Clinic Foundation was awarded a grant to support
Dr. Richard A. Padgett, an established investigator. This research will attempt to show the use of the characterization of DDX41 perturbed cells and animals provide rational targets for therapeutic approaches to treat splicing factor mutated MDS.

The Vera and Joseph Dresner Foundation introduces Erin Marie McDonald as the Grant and Program Associate. In this position, Ms. McDonald will support all aspects of grantmaking including partnering with grantees and sourcing new opportunities.

Erin Marie most recently served as a senior grant coordinator with Henry Ford Health System. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI.

The Dresner Foundation is proud to announce its second annual Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) Research Fund grant recipients. Grants were awarded to H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, the Cleveland Clinic, and the University of Rochester. These grants totaling $1,074,469 support the research of two early career investigators and one established career investigator. The principle goal of the research fund is to support cutting-edge MDS research and related programs that will lead to the future standards of care and ultimately, a cure.

“These grants will support research into how MDS arises, and the development of new, innovative treatment strategies that target genetic abnormalities common in MDS, with a goal of eliminating these debilitating diseases” said Dr. Mikkael A. Sekeres of Cleveland Clinic and Chair, MDS Research Fund Scientific Advisory Board. Virginia Romano, the Foundation’s Executive Director said, “we are pleased to continue to support national, leading-edge MDS research.”

H. Lee Moffitt Cancer and Research Center received a grant to support the early career work of Dr. David A. Sallman. Dr. Sallman will be working closely with his mentor Dr. Alan List. The goal of the research project is to (1) establish TP53 gene as a predictor of outcomes for patients with this mutation; and (2) to identify the underlying reasons why TP53 mutant patients frequently have poor responses to treatments.

The second grant was awarded to Dr. Valeria Visconte, Ph.D., through The Cleveland Clinic. She will be conducting her research with her mentor Dr. Jaroslaw P. Maciejewski. The researchers believe that repairing the defective function caused by mutations will be the strategy of the future to treat MDS. The goal of their project is to further improve a novel chemical they have identified as a potential drug and test whether it will be effective as a future therapy for MDS patients with SF3B1 mutations.

The University of Rochester was awarded a grant to support Dr. Michael Becker, an established investigator. New research indicates that the bone marrow microenvironment (BMME), exerts a powerful influence on how normal blood cell formation occurs as well as on how blood cancers develop and progress. Dr. Becker’s research will attempt to confirm the role of the interleukin-1 gene in the BMME as a predictor for development and progression of MDS.

The Vera and Joseph Dresner Foundation congratulates the grantees and looks forward to seeing important progress in the fight against MDS.