Timeframe: 2016 – 2017 Goals: Determine if T cells can be generated that react to FLC’s characteristic fusion protein Principal Investigator: Ephraim Fuchs, MD Study overview: In FLC, the characteristic DNAJB1-PRKACA fusion creates a novel protein with a unique amino acid sequence occurring at the junction of these two proteins. This unique amino acid sequence …
Timeframe: 2020 – 2024 Goal: Develop and fund a series of three-year FLC research fellowships Overview: This grant extended FCF’s successful partnership with the prestigious Cancer Research Institute (CRI) to identify and staff three-year research fellowships for young researchers focusing on immunotherapy-related research for fibrolamellar. CRI has been promoting immunotherapy research for 65 years, long …
Timeframe: 2022 – 2024 Goals: Advance immunotherapy for FLC by defining promising immunological targets that can be translated into effective cell-based immunotherapies Principal Investigators: Praveen Sethupathy, PhD (Cornell University); Mark Yarchoan, MD (Johns Hopkins University); Paul G. Thomas, PhD (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital) Study overview: Like tumors of other cancer types, the microenvironment of …
Timeframe: 2023 – 2025 Goals: Identifying factors in the tumor environment that impair immune responses to FLC and defining potentially effective immunotherapy strategies Principal Investigators: Venu Pillarisetty, MD (University of Washington); and Kevin Barry, PhD (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center) Study overview: Immunotherapy – harnessing patients’ immune systems to attack tumor cells – has become established …
Timeframe: 2022 – 2024 Goal: Defining the most promising immunological targets that can be translated into effective cell-based immunotherapies Principal Investigators: Paul G. Thomas, PhD Study overview: New immunotherapeutic approaches have produced spectacular outcomes for a small subset of tumors, including certain melanomas, lung cancers, and leukemias, but these dramatic cures have not been broadly …
Timeframe: 2016 – 2019 Goal: Develop and fund a series of three-year FLC research fellowships Overview: With this grant, FCF partnered with the prestigious Cancer Research Institute (CRI) to specifically focus on the role immunotherapy could have in creating curative therapies for fibrolamellar. CRI has been promoting immunotherapy research for 65 years, long before the …
Timeframe: 2016 – 2019 Goal: Study the interactions between the immune system and FLC in a mouse model Principal Investigator: Kevin Barry, PhD Study overview: Cancer immunotherapies harness the power of the immune system to kill tumors. Checkpoint blockade immunotherapies are an exciting class of cancer immunotherapies that remove the brakes from the immune system …
Timeframe: 2016 – 2019 Goal: Define the dominant immune checkpoint pathway in FLC Principal investigator: Amy K. Kim, MD Study overview: Tumor cells produce immune checkpoint molecules that suppress host immune response and allow evasion from immune responses. The discovery of drugs that block these immune checkpoints have revolutionized current cancer treatment. Anti-PD1 (programmed cell …
Timeframe: 2016 – 2019 Goal: Characterize T-cells in the FLC tumor microenvironment Principal Investigator: Kevin M. Sullivan, MD Study Overview: Immunotherapy is a form of cancer treatment that harnesses the patient’s own immune system to fight the disease. The immune system can precisely target cancer cells, while also minimizing damage to the remainder of the …