VHLA Announces 2018 Research Grant Recipients

BOSTON, Nov. 29, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Von Hippel-Lindau Alliance (VHLA), a national non-profit committed to research, education, and awareness of VHL, today announced it awarded three research grants totaling nearly $300,000 as part of the 2018 VHLA Research Grant Program. Since its inception in 1998, the VHLA Research Grant program has awarded more than $2 million toward research. 

VHLA's competitive research program is designed to fund projects that increase the understanding of the VHL gene and contribute to improved screening and treatment approaches for people living with VHL. The 2018 research grants include:

• Targeting Hemangioblastoma Heterogenity – Othon Iliopoulos, MD, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and Harvard Medical School
• Identification of potential actionable oncogenic pathways that can be targeted for effective treatment and prevention of VHL brain and spine tumors.
• VISION (Part 2):  VHL Information Sharing International Consortium – Raymond Kim, MD, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
• Analysis of VHL patient data to optimize care plans, improve patient monitoring and create resources to improve diagnosis. Research will also include application of artificial intelligence (AI) to better predict cancer.
• Investigate whether drugs that activates ISGF3 impede tumor growth by VHL-defective ccRCC cancer cells – Haifeng Yang, PhD, Jefferson (Philadelphia University + Thomas Jefferson University) and Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center – Jefferson Health
• Exploration of a systematic treatment to slow down or stop tumor growth with little side effects.

VHL disease is a genetic condition characterized by blood vessel tumors in up to ten areas of the body. The tumors can be benign or cancerous. Since the VHL gene is involved in tumor growth, understanding VHL disease is also becoming of a critical component in the study of cancer. Advancing the scientific understanding of VHL disease and related cancers is a top priority for VHLA.

"The VHLA is committed to improving diagnosis and treatment of VHL disease, and research is a critical component of our efforts," said Ilene Sussman, Executive Director, VHLA. "This research will help contribute to the growing body of knowledge that not only helps us better predict, diagnose and treat VHL, but also many related forms of cancer." 

In addition to the VHLA Research Grant Program, VHLA also co-developed MyVHL: The Patient Natural History Study, which collects key patient data to help researchers better understand VHL and other types of cancers. For more information on VHLA and its research programs and initiatives, visit vhl.org.

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 $2 million in grant to support studies designed to find a cure.  The VHL Alliance's vision is Curing Cancer through VHL.

Contact:
Heidi Leone
617.277.5667 x 4
[email protected]

SOURCE VHL Alliance