Yana Pikman, MD

Funded by the Dick Vitale Pediatric Cancer Research Fund

Despite significant advances in the treatment of pediatric cancer, leukemia remains the second leading cause of cancer related death in children. T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is an aggressive cancer that affects both children and adults. When T-ALL does not respond to chemotherapy or returns after initial treatment (relapses), there are few treatment options. New treatments are needed for T-ALL. The way cancer cells use energy or develop building blocks for growth is different from normal cells. We are working to understand how these energy and building processes within T-ALL cells are altered, with the hope that we can use this as a vulnerability for developing new therapies. We are particularly interested in drugs that alter how the cells produce a building block called methionine, and we are testing how these drugs work in T-ALL. Our ultimate goal is to find effective and non-toxic treatments for T-ALL.

Location: Boston Children's Hospital - Boston
Proposal: Targeting protein methylation for novel T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia therapy
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