Anderson receives St. Baldrick's research grant
Research led by Dr. Nicole Anderson, assistant professor of cell and molecular biology, on bone metastasis in children with neuroblastomas has received a $330,000 Scholar Grant from the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.
The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is the largest charity funder of childhood cancer research grants.
The Cancer Center and Research Institute and the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology - University of Mississippi Medical Center at UMMC are home to the three-year project.
“This project is new but builds on previous findings that our zebrafish model of neuroblastoma efficiently models the process of metastasis,” she said. “We hope that by improving our understanding of metastatic disease in neuroblastoma, we can identify new therapeutic targets.”
An IRSP grant from UMMC helped provide the preliminary data needed to secure the funding from the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.
Metastatic disease is the primary cause of death for children with neuroblastomas.
“Despite improvements in therapy, the overall survival rate for neuroblastoma patients is only 60%, and for children who achieve long-term survival, most are left with health issues due to treatment toxicity," she said. “Our research will define why bone marrow is so advantageous for metastasis formation – 90% of metastatic patient have bone marrow metastases – and how cell dormancy helps neuroblastomas evade conventional treatment strategies.”
Researchers are studying whether cells in the bone marrow microenvironment send signals to metastatic cells that promote survival and growth, Anderson said.
“Our goal is to understand what cells in the bone marrow are important for metastasis and the signals they provide,” she said. “We also believe that some metastatic cells enter a state of tumor dormancy to evade treatment and are a common cause of relapse.”
Anderson’s research in pediatric cancer, spanning 12 years, is inspired by improving patient care.
“I am passionate about developing innovative ways to solve long-standing questions about neuroblastomas and improving the outcomes for this vulnerable patient population.”
The Scholar Award from the St. Baldrick’s Foundation is an honor as well as a source of needed funding, Anderson said.
“This career development award is playing an important role in the success of this research program,” she said. “I want to thank the staff and volunteers who work hard at the St. Baldrick’s Foundation to raise funds for pediatric cancer research as well as the donors who generously support pediatric cancer research.”
Earlier this year, Anderson was named co-chair of the Early Career Investigator committee within the Zebrafish Disease Models Society.
Progress in this research would not have been possible without her team, Anderson said.
“My entire lab has played an important role in generating critical preliminary data for this award: graduate students in Cell and Molecular Biology Kyle Woodward and Farah Hamdad, Base Pair and SURE student Perla Luna-Camacho, technicians Borum Ryu, Brian Tran (now a medical student at UMMC) and Jackson Boone,” she said. “I am really lucky to work with a fantastic team.”