FARF Research Grants - Cancer Preclinical Models

FARF Research Grants - Cancer Preclinical Models

Status: Active, ongoing

Award Amounts: $100,000 - $500,000 (varies by project)

Geographic Scope: United States and international

Focus Areas:

Example Projects Funded:

Development and Characterization of FA-HNSCC PDX Models

• Amount: $100,000
• Year Funded: 2022
• Principal Investigators: Jenny Grandis and Daniel Johnson (University of California San Francisco)
• Focus: Develop patient-derived xenograft models from FA head and neck squamous cell carcinoma tumors; characterize tumor-specific genetic alterations; perform drug screening studies
• Rationale: Young adults with FA face limitations in treatment due to DNA repair defects; need for non-DNA damaging FA cancer therapies

Modeling the Role of Environmental Responses in Fanconi Anemia Epithelial Stem and Progenitor Cells in FA Squamous Cell Carcinoma

• Amount: $500,000
• Year Funded: 2022 (via Joel Walker Cancer Ideas Lab competition)
• Principal Investigators: Ken Weinberg (Stanford University), Hiro Nakagawa (Columbia University), Frank Ondrey (University of Minnesota), Daria Mochly-Rosen (Stanford University), Craig Elmets (University of Alabama at Birmingham)
• Collaborators: Markus Grompe (Oregon Health and Science University)
• Focus: Develop models using non-primate animal models and organoids from FA patient cancer cells to understand squamous cell carcinoma; test cancer prevention strategies targeting aldehyde/retinoid metabolism and immune factors

Contact: Isis Sroka, Scientific Director, isis@fanconi.org