Pilot grant award for plasma cell genomics
Great news – we’ve been awarded a pilot grant to study gene expression in AL amyloidosis patient-derived plasma cells, and to sequence circulating tumor DNA from these patients’ blood. The funding comes from the American Cancer Society via an institutional grant to BU.
Our long-term goal is to ask how genetic changes in plasma cells lead to disease, and whether we can identify specific changes that could help select the most effective drugs for individual patients. The first step is to set up the lab to carry out these experiments and test out the procedures, looking for ways to get the best data from patient samples. We will be sequencing mRNA from plasma cells to measure gene expression, and cell-free DNA from blood to ask whether we can measure the number of cancerous cells in the bone marrow. We can make use of methods developed for studying multiple myeloma, a more aggressive plasma cell cancer – and maybe help to understand more about that disease, too.
This is a great opportunity to establish some complex experimental systems in the lab. We don’t yet know exactly what will work, so this pilot grant allows us to test out some approaches and acquire some preliminary data before we look for funding for a bigger project.
I’m really grateful to the Cancer Center and the ACS for this opportunity. I’m confident that we’ll be able to turn their generosity into some important insights into the biology of amyloidosis.