2019 Research Grant Recipients Announced by the VHL Alliance

BOSTON, Oct. 31, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The VHL Alliance (VHLA) today announced the 2019 recipients of the VHLA Competitive Research Grant Program.  This year, three grantees were chosen.  Scientists are increasingly aware that curing von Hippel-Lindau disease, a genetic form of cancer – is a key step to curing cancer, leading to a significant increase in the quality of research grant applicants in the program year after year. 

Nearly 40 top VHLA researchers from across the US, Canada, and Europe were involved in reviewing and selecting those projects which have the greatest potential to make advances toward Curing Cancer through VHL. In response to the increase in quality applications, the VHLA Board of Directors voted to expand next year's research grant budget to $325,000. 

VHL Alliance Grant Recipients
As a research grant recipient, Anna Matynia, PhD, at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), will utilize the lab's unique mouse model to explore the role of microglia, a specialized type of immune cell in neuronal tissue, in creating a conducive environment for hemangioblastoma formation.

"Retinal and CNS hemangioblastomas are the earliest and most frequent manifestations of VHL. Yet, our understanding of these tumors greatly lags behind our knowledge of other tumor types, such as those found in the kidney. This makes it critical to invest research dollars to prevent what can often lead to the most catastrophic outcomes of VHL," said Eric Jonasch, MD, board member and chair of the VHLA Research Council, and professor, Department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. "There are currently 8 drugs being used to effectively treat cancer, mainly kidney cancers, which are direct results of VHL research."   

Augusta University's Barbara Mysona, PhD, will utilize her pilot grant to study how the cells that make up hemangioblastomas alter blood vessel formation and why the blood vessels in hemangioblastomas behave in abnormal fashion. While hemangioblastomas are not malignant, they allow fluid to leak into surrounding tissue.  Pressure from either the tumor itself or the surrounding fluid can cause life-changing and life-threatening damage.

Betty Gardie, PhD, at the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale in France, is also a research grant recipient. Research by Dr. Gardie and her colleagues will use inducible pluripotent cells (a special cell type that replicates early human development) with novel VHL mutations to help further our understanding of how VHL related manifestations develop.

"We are delighted at the number and quality of grant applications we received.  Even before William G. Kaelin Jr., MD was awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Medicine for his research in VHL, we have seen growing recognition among researchers that understanding the VHL gene's function is an important key to unlocking the mechanisms of cancer," said Ilene Sussman, PhD, Executive Director of the VHL Alliance.  "VHL disease affects 1 in 36,000 people around the world regardless of gender, race, socioeconomic, or geographic circumstances."

For more information about the VHL Alliance or the 2019 VHLA Competitive Research Grant Program, please visit vhl.org.

About VHL
VHL or von Hippel-Lindau disease is a genetic form of cancer. VHL patients battle a series of tumors throughout their lives. The VHL gene controls the major feeding pipeline of every tumor. Curing VHL is one step closer to curing many other forms of cancer. 

About the VHL Alliance
The VHL Alliance (VHLA) is the preeminent resource and clearinghouse for those affected by von Hippel-Lindau disease, including patients, caregivers, researchers, and the medical community. VHLA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1993, which is dedicated to research, education, and support to improve awareness, diagnosis, treatment, and quality of life for those affected by VHL. VHLA is the leading funder of VHL research, funding over $2.3 million in grants to support studies designed to find a cure.  The VHL Alliance's vision is Curing Cancer through VHL.

Contact:
Heidi Leone, Director of Advancement
VHL Alliance
617.277.5667 x 4
[email protected]

SOURCE VHL Alliance