Duke Hematopathology Division Director Ken H. Young, MD, PhD, collaborated with colleagues at other institutions to identify mutational cancer drivers and microenvironment factors for the progression of myeloma and lymphoma and to generate innovative and effective agents for cancer prevention and treatment.
Their work resulted in the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Cancer Institute (NCI) awarding them a CAP-MGUS U54 Center Award. Cancer Prevention-Interception-Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance (CAP-MGUS) is a consortium center that fosters research collaboration between its members, which include Baylor College of Medicine, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and Duke University School of Medicine.
The award, totaling $4.65 million, is being disbursed over four years to the institutions, who will share the funds, beginning in Sept. 2023. This funding reflects the strength of the Duke Pathology Department and its robust collaboration with other institutions, which places it at the forefront of blood cancer pathologic and translational research.
Young will be responsible for the pathological analyses of the Center and will participate in the development of chemical and immune prevention and interception agents against lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphoid system involving immune cells, and myeloma, a cancer that develops from plasma cells in the bone marrow.
It is one of the three Cancer Prevention-Interception (CAP-IT) centers funded by the NCI Cancer Prevention Program. CAP-IT is a collaborative research network, to establish a new discovery research paradigm in cancer prevention. Its overarching goal is to discover molecularly or immunologically targeted agents designed to prevent or intercept the oncogenic process in higher-risk populations.
Read more about the Cancer Prevention-Interception Targeted Agent Discovery Program (CAP-IT).