A research project investigating stem cell expansion at the University Oxford has been awarded a £25,000 grant by Merseyside charity Leukaemia and Myeloma Research UK (LMRUK).
The research, entitled ‘Establishing the pharmacological mechanism of cord blood stem cell expansion agonists’, is led by Senior Scientist Zhuoyao Chen and aims to help address a limitation in transplantation therapies, which are widely used to treat blood cancer.
Successful transplantation therapy requires a source of stem cells that can be used to regenerate the patient’s immune system. One such source is umbilical cord blood, which has several advantages, including that it can tolerate Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) mismatches – meaning there is a wider range of potential donors.
However, umbilical cord blood contains fewer stem cells than other sources. As a result, when a perfect donor is found for a patient, there are often not enough stem cells to proceed with transplantation therapy.
To address this, stem cells would need to be expanded outside of the patient’s body, and it was this that inspired Chen to begin her research. Her work will involve testing the impact of existing drugs on stem cell expansion, with the hope that findings from the project can be used to inform a decision on whether to invest more into formally developing a drug for stem cell expansion.
Chen’s application for the grant drew particular interest from our Research Review Committee because of its focus on the potential of umbilical cord blood and stem cell therapies – areas that strongly align with our mission. The Committee suggested that this project may have a translational impact on the use of cells stored within Public and Private Cord Blood Banks.
This connection was especially relevant given LMRUK’s own cord blood banking service, the Model Cell Biobank, which offers funding support to families who might otherwise be unable to access cord blood banking.
Chen praised LMRUK for offering grant opportunities specifically tailored to those early on in their careers:
“Without an independent position in academia, acquiring funding is hard, so Leukaemia and Myeloma Research UK’s Early Careers Grant is very unique.”
The team’s research initially began with a separate project funded by Cancer Research UK (CRUK), investigating how specific mutations can cause childhood brain tumours. Throughout the research, they found an unexpected converging mechanism between brain cancer and hematopoietic stem cells, which enabled a quick transfer into blood cancer research using their existing resources and knowledge.
Chen emphasises how unique the research is because of this, allowing her to tie structural biology and hematopoietic stem cell research together with the help of collaborators Professor Alex Bullock, Dr Adam Wilkinson and Dr Elizabeth Brown, creating a multi-faceted project spanning multiple specialisms:
“I hope this can be an example to encourage more collaborative research for accelerated discoveries in the field.”
LMRUK’s Operations Director, Dr Joanna Tilley, said:
“This project was chosen for funding based on its scientific excellence and alignment with LMRUK’s goals and ambitions. We are excited to see the outcome of it.”
To find out more about LMRUK’s annual research grants, visit: https://lmruk.org/research/.
