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 18, 2022 (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.

In January 2022, the Foundation will reopen its grant portal for Letters of Inquiry for all program areas. However, please visit Application Guidelines for more information before submitting.

Please contact the Foundation to determine a potential fit before submitting a Letter of Inquiry, especially those related to capital requests.

The Vera and Joseph Dresner Foundation is pleased to announce its fifth annual Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) Research Fund grant recipients. Grants were awarded to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Texas – MD Anderson. These grants totaling more than $975,000 will 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.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital received a grant to support the early career work of Dr. Marcin Wlodarski. Dr. Wlodarski will be working closely with his mentor, Dr. John Crispino. The major goal of this research is to dissect the mechanisms of genetic rescue encountered in SAMD9/9L syndromes and use this information to develop new therapeutic approaches.

The second early career grant was awarded to Dr. Koichi Takahashi, through University of Texas – MD Anderson. Dr. Takahashi, working closely with his mentor Dr. Andrew Futreal, will aim to understand the pathogenesis of therapy-related MDS with deletion 7q by investigating the role of HIPK2 in cellular fitness and differentiation of hematopoietic cells.

The University of Pennsylvania was awarded a grant to support Dr. Saar Gill, an established investigator. The goal of this project is to probe the impact of the interactions between MDS cells and immune cells in the marrow in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to adversely affect communities, the Vera and Joseph Dresner Foundation will extend its realigned grantmaking strategy into 2021. Supported programs will address basic needs, such as food access, housing insecurity, and financial assistance for essential needs and services. Additionally, the Foundation will partner with nonprofits that provide programming for vulnerable youth and families.

At this time, the grant portal will remain closed. Invitations will be extended to nonprofits within our geographic focus areas who fit the Foundation’s funding profile. Unsolicited requests will not be considered at this time.

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.