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I am glad that advocacy
groups for lymphoma patients and charities such as Lymphoma Foundation of
America exist to support lymphoma research.
It is an honor to receive this grant award, and I sincerely thank all the
volunteers and donors who have contributed so much to this effort.
The money will be used solely for research in lymphoma.
I hope that our research will significantly improve the survival and
quality of life of all lymphoma patients.
My main interest is in the
pathobiology and pathogenesis of lymphomas.
In collaboration with the National Cancer Institute, Stanford University,
British Columbia Cancer Agency, SWOG, and a number of European institutions, we
are examining the gene expression profiles of B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
(NHL). Our data have shown that it
is possible to delineate clinicopathologic subtypes of NHL by gene expression
profiling. These early data also
indicate that it is possible to define molecular prognosticators that are
independent of the current clinical predictors for survival.
Our long-term goal is to
identify genes that are critical in determining the clinical and biologic
behavior of the different subtypes of lymphoma. We will continue to build and refine molecular
prognosticators based on our findings. Some
of these genes may be important targets for the development of novel therapy for
lymphoma. My laboratory is also
developing RNAi technologies to screen for targets that are important for tumor
cell growth and survival in MCL. This
effort will complement the expression profiling studies in identifying targets
for therapy.
I am also actively engaged
in the development and refinement of molecular assays in the diagnosis of
lymphomas and leukemias, in the detection of minimal residual disease after
treatment, and in delineating the relationship between various types of
malignant lymphomas.
We are entering an era when
scientific investigation has tremendous potential to improve our understanding
and treatment of lymphoma. However,
funding for research is very tight and only one out of six applications from
highly qualified investigators will receive funding from the NIH. Many excellent
research projects will not be carried out because of shortfall in research
funds. Private donations now play a critical role in ensuring that innovative
ideas will be pursued for the benefit of our patients.
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