“Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) is an aggressive and fatal T-cell malignancy caused by the retrovirus HTLV-1. These OCR funds will support research that allows us to better understand the disease process and unlock new approaches for the treatment of ATL.”

Amanda Panfil, PhD, Assistant Professor in Veterinary Biosciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine at The Ohio State University was awarded $60,000 for her research project, The Effects of m⁶A RNA Modifications on the Oncogenic Retrovirus HTLV-1.

“This award provides my lab the funds necessary to pursue novel approaches to better understand and treat blood disorders. Support from OCR gives us the freedom to think outside the box, which is essential to push science forward.”

Amar Desai, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Immune Oncology Program in the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Case Western Reserve University was awarded $60,000 for his research project, Identifying Novel Effectors of 15-PGDH Mediated Regeneration.

“Funding from OCR will allow us to explore the exciting idea that the body’s circadian rhythm can be therapeutically modified to both prevent cancer development and improve the effectiveness of existing anti-cancer therapeutics.”

Michael Kemp, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine was awarded $60,000 for his research proposal, Circadian Clock Modulating Drugs in Cancer Prevention and Treatment.

“Our hearts and our efforts go out to the families struggling with a leukemia diagnosis. This grant from OCR is the first major award for our independent research group, and we are incredibly grateful to the organization and its donors for their critical support while we are establishing our research program. We will use these funds to probe the molecular drivers of the leukemias that affect children with Down syndrome, and we hope that our research can improve the quality of care that they, and by extension all leukemia patients, receive as they battle this disease.”

Andrew Volk, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Division of Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center within the UC Department of Pediatrics was awarded $60,000 for his research project, The Role of Chromatin Assembly in Down Syndrome-related Acute Megakaryoblastic Leukemia.