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Jordan Kohlmeyer receives Iowa Sarcoma MOG pilot award

Photo of Jordan KohlmeyerJordan Kohlmeyer, a graduate student in Dr. Dawn Quelle’s lab, was recently awarded a pilot grant for $20,000 from the Iowa Sarcoma Multidisciplinary Oncology Group for a study entitled “Developing novel combination therapy targeting the RABL6A-RB1 pathway in malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs).” Current therapy options for MPNSTs are limited and do not improve patient survival. Jordan and colleagues recently discovered that the RABL6A oncoprotein drives MPNST pathogenesis through its control of many druggable cancer pathways, including inhibition of the tumor suppressive retinoblastoma (RB1) pathway (Clinical Cancer Research, 2020). Those findings suggest that RB1 re-activating drugs, such as FDA-approved cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitors, may effectively treat MPNSTs. Since anticancer monotherapies (those using a single drug) are more likely to result in unwanted drug resistance in the tumors, the current study aims to develop novel combination therapies that pair CDK inhibitors with drugs targeting other RABL6A regulated pathways. The goal is to improve treatment options and survival for patients with MPNSTs and other sarcomas.

Date: 
Tuesday, April 7, 2020