The National Blood Foundation (NBF) Announces
Recipients of the 2006 NBF Scientific Research Grants
Call for 2007 Nominations is Under Way
Bethesda, Md. - The National Blood Foundation (NBF) Board of Trustees recently announced the recipients of the 2006 NBF Scientific Research Grants. Each grant recipient will receive up to $65,000 to pursue either a one- or two-year research project in the field of blood banking, transfusion medicine and cellular therapies. This year’s recipients are: Kent W. Christopherson II, PhD; Jeanne Hendrickson, MD; Lana Kaiser, MD, DVM; Marcus Muench, PhD; Eric M. Ostertag, MD, PhD; Robert Paulson, PhD; Jill Storry, PhD, FIBMS; Leon L. Su, MD; Lan Zhou, PhD; and Xianzheng Zhou, MD, PhD.
“This year, the NBF Grants Review Committee received a record number of innovative research proposals from professionals in the United States and six other countries,” said John D. Roback, MD, PhD, chair of NBF's Grants Review Committee. “The funding from NBF’s research grant program will help support the 2006 grant recipients as they explore diverse, cutting edge topics that will greatly contribute to the further advancement of transfusion medicine and cellular therapies worldwide.”
Proposals for NBF grants are evaluated on the basis of their scientific merit; relevance to and impact on transfusion medicine and science; focus and appropriateness to the scope of funding; and likelihood of yielding meaningful data. NBF scientific research grants are made possible by contributions from NBF's Council on Research and Development (CORD) members and its NBF Partners, along with gifts from individuals, institutions and foundations.
The following are synopses of the ten winning proposals:
Kent W. Christopherson II, PhD
CD26 Inhibition as a Method of Improving Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Efficiency
Dr. Christopherson’s project will evaluate the effectiveness of manipulating CD26 function for improving hematopoietic transplantation and will establish protocols to improve transplant efficiency using CD26 inhibition. The studies will include dose response to CD26 inhibitors and examine whether inhibition of CD26 in transplant recipients can improve engraftment.
Jeanne Hendrickson, MD
Effect of Host Inflammation on Alloimmunization to RBC Transfusion
Dr. Hendrickson will test the hypothesis that host inflammation enhances humoral immunization to Red Blood Cell (RBC) transfusion through an effect on the stimulation of CD4+ helper T cells by antigen presenting cells (APC). The study will explore the post-inflammatory effect on the phagocytosis of RBCs, antigen processing and presentation and stimulation of the CD4+ helper T cells by APCs. The results of the study are expected to help improve the understanding of both responders and non-responders to allogeneic RBC transfusion.
Lana Kaiser, MD, DVM
Transfusion Iron Overload and Cardiac Arrhythmias
Dr. Kaiser will investigate the effect of iron overload on cardiac rhythm and toxicity using a gerbil model. The unique aspects of the study are the use of telemetry to follow animals several times a day for months, eliminating the effects of anaesthetics and stress in analyzing the results. The findings have direct translational applications for evaluation of iron chelators and hereditary hemoglobinopathies. The effect of iron on cardiac rhythms also has implications for any patient receiving chronic transfusion support.
Marcus Muench, PhD
In Utero Transplantation of the Hematopoietic Microenvironment
Dr. Muench’s project will measure the survival of hematopoietic cells in the peritoneum and test if the duration of peritoneal hematopoiesis can be increased by transplantation of hematopoietic organoids. To test his hypothesis, he will transplant hematopoietic progenitor cells into murine fetuses to study their fate in the peritoneum and their effect on immune tolerance. Human bone marrow organoids will be created and transplanted into non-obese diabetic/severe combined immodeficiency (NOD/scid) mice to test if co-transplantation of the hematopoietic environment can increase the duration of peritoneal hematopoiesis.
Eric M. Ostertag, MD, PhD
Cloning and Characterization of Monoclonal Anti-ADAMTS13 Auto-antibodies from Patients with Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (TTP)
Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia Purpura (TTP) is a multi-system disorder characterized by microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, neurologic abnormalities, fever, and renal dysfunction. Dr. Ostertag will use a molecular phage display approach to clone and characterize human autoantibodies against ADAMTS13 autoantibodies, which are believed to play a central role in the pathophysiology of TTP.
Robert Paulson, PhD
Rode of BMP-4 On Short-term Radioprotection
Dr. Paulson will examine the role of BMP-4 dependent stress erythropoiesis in short-term engraftment and the ability of megakaryocyte-erythroid progenitor cells, known to respond to BMP-4, to reconstitute lethally irradiated mice. Understanding more about stress erythropoiesis following irradiation may lead to improved clinical therapies in bone marrow transplants.
Jill Storry, PhD, FIBMS
Characterization of the Vel Blood Group System
In her project, Dr. Storry will attempt to characterize the Vel antigen. Structural studies of the antigen will include amino acid sequence analysis of papain-derived peptides by matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry and/or Edman degradation. To identify the glycan component of the Vel antigen, polyclonal anti-Vel will be screened against a 300-glycan array. Amino acid sequence data will be screened against genomic databases to identify candidate genes for Vel, followed by cloning, population and tissue studies.
Leon L. Su, MD
Recipient Kinetics and the Role of Host Factors in Transfusion-Transmitted Cytomegalovirus (TTCMV) Infection
The role of the recipient’s immune system in the development of transfusion-transmitted cytomegalovirus (CMV) remains unknown. Dr. Su’s hypothesis is that allogeneic stimulation (or systemic inflammation) after transfusion of CMV latently infected blood into a donor results in reactivation of latently infected cells. This stimulation results in a productive CMV infection. His study will use a mouse model of transfusion-transmitted CMV (TT-CMV) to study the role of specific cells and cytokines in the development of TT-CMV.
Lan Zhou, PhD
Regulation of Granulopoiesis by Fucosylated Glycans Through Selectin-Mediated Adhesion and Fringe-Modified Notch Signaling Pathways
Dr. Zhou will build upon her previous work on the role that fucosylation plays in regulating granulopoiesis, or the formation of granulocytes in the bone marrow, specifically focusing on pathways mediated by Selectin and Notch signaling. The study will take advantage of two existing strains of knockout mice, which are missing the genes for a(1,3)fucosyltransferases IV and VII or the FX gene involved in synthesis of GDP-fucose, respectively. These two animals each have defects in signaling through receptors that require fucosylation, and give similar but distinct phenotypes.
Xianzheng Zhou, MD, PhD
Adoptive Cord Blood T Cell Therapy of Leukemia by the Sleeping Beauty Transposon
Dr. Zhou will apply a new vector technology, the Sleeping Beauty (SB) Transposon, to Umbilical Cord Blood (UCB) mononuclear cells to generate and test genetically modified UCB-derived T cells. The cells will be expanded in culture and then assessed for their ability to kill B cell lymphoma cells. This investigation combines a new and potentially important transposon-based gene therapy approach with umbilical cord banking for the development of cellular immune therapy in B cell leukemia.
About 2007 Scientific Research Grant Applications
NBF is currently accepting scientific research grant applications, with a maximum award per grant of $65,000. Grant applications are available on the NBF Web page (www.aabb.org/nbf), or by contacting NBF at +1.301.215.6552 or nbf@aabb.org. Applications must be received by December 15, 2006. Grants will be announced in June 2007. NBF, a program of AABB that was established in 1983, is dedicated to advancing transfusion medicine and blood banking by funding scientific research that benefits patients and donors.
About AABB
Established in 1947, AABB (formerly known as the American Association of Blood Banks) is an international, not-for-profit association dedicated to the advancement of science and the practice of transfusion medicine and related biological therapies. The association is committed to improving health by developing and delivering standards, accreditation and educational programs and services to optimize patient and donor care and safety. AABB membership consists of approximately 1,800 institutions and 8,000 individuals, including physicians, scientists, administrators, medical technologists, nurses, researchers, blood donor recruiters and public relations personnel. Members are located in all 50 states and 80 countries.
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