The AACR-John and Elizabeth Leonard Family Foundation Basic Cancer Research Fellowship encourages and supports a postdoctoral or clinical research fellow to conduct basic cancer research and establish a successful career path in this field.

2025 Grantee

Scientific Statement of Research

A distinguishing feature of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells is their prominent nucleoli, which are foci of active ribosomal RNA (rRNA) synthesis. rRNAs are specialized non-coding RNAs that form the ribosomal catalytic sites, and their transcription by RNA polymerase 1 (Pol1) is an essential step in ribosome biogenesis. However, the mechanisms that control rRNA production under homeostatic and oncogenic settings remain poorly defined. Based on preliminary data that rRNA levels are aberrantly elevated in primary AML cells, Dr. Hung’s project will explore (1) how oncogene signaling pathways regulate Pol1 activity and rRNA synthesis, and (2) whether targeting rRNA output can uncover a novel vulnerability in AML cells.

Biography

Dr. Hung received his undergraduate degree in biochemistry from Brown University and his MD/PhD degrees from Washington University in St. Louis, where he studied the mechanisms of DNA double-strand break repair. He then completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Pennsylvania and is currently a clinical fellow in the Division of Hematology/Oncology. His research focuses on the role of ribosome biogenesis in leukemia biology.

Acknowledgment of Support

“Thanks to the generous support provided by the AACR-John and Elizabeth Leonard Family Foundation Basic Cancer Research Fellowship, I will be able to take my project towards a deeper and more exploratory direction that I can hopefully develop into an independent research program.”

2023 Grantee

Research

Leptomeningeal metastasis (LM), or spread of cancer cells into the tissues surrounding the brain and spinal cord, is an increasingly common, fatal complication of cancer. Despite aggressive treatment, neurologic deficits accumulate rapidly, and patients generally succumb to LM within months. Under homeostatic conditions, choroid plexus (ChP), highly vascularized structures within the brain ventricles, restrict the entry of macromolecules and cells into the leptomeninges; however, select cancer cells can cross this barrier and grow within this space suggesting that interactions between cancer and ChP niche cells alter both the niche and the cancer cells, ultimately supporting LM. The use of clinically-annotated human cancer samples and mouse models of LM, and the integration of transcriptomics and proteomics can enable Dr. Nobre to identify novel therapeutic targets in both LM cells and their microenvironment prior to the accumulation of neurologic deficits, enabling both prevention and treatment of LM.

Biography

Dr. Nobre performed her PhD studies at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, in breast cancer early dissemination and cancer dormancy. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering, where she is integrating the use of human samples, mouse models, and cutting-edge techniques to uncover the crosstalk between the microenvironment and metastatic cancer cells in the leptomeningeal space.

Acknowledgment of Support

I am honored and grateful to have been selected to receive the AACR-John and Elizabeth Leonard Family Foundation Basic Cancer Research Fellowship. This invaluable support will provide me with an opportunity to better understand and address a devastating disease, and it is a great recognition in my scientific career.