COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC - James) has awarded two Pelotonia-funded Idea Grants totaling $400,000 to help teams of Ohio State faculty researchers gather early data for innovative studies that could later receive funding from such sources as the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Each Idea Grant is for $200,000 entirely funded by Pelotonia. One will help researchers further develop a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy for patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, and the other will help researchers discover treatment options for patients with rare and aggressive sinonasal malignancies.&#x2028&#x2028The IRP also has awarded a $200,000 Clinical Trials Grant, partially funded by Pelotonia, that will help investigators test the effectiveness of an FDA-approved anti-inflammatory drug in preventing blood cancers.  &#x2028&#x2028 Since 2010, the IRP has awarded 227 Idea Grants, including 210 that have been funded by Pelotonia, the annual cycling event that raises millions of dollars for cancer research at Ohio State. These grants enable faculty researchers to pursue creative studies that would have difficulty gaining NCI grants without preliminary data that show the promise of the work. &#x2028&#x2028Grant titles, names of awardees (an asterisk beside a name indicates principal investigator) and brief descriptions of the three grant projects are shown below. The projects involve members of two OSUCCC – James research programs – Leukemia Research and Translational Therapeutics. Developing a novel chimeric antigen receptor therapy for CTCL Investigators: Wing Chan, PhD; Walter Hanel, MD, PhD; Ian Hout; Pushpa Lata; John Reneau, MD, PhD, co-investigator; Anna Vilgelm, MD, PhD Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) is a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) generally localized to the skin. In chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, a patient’s T cells are removed from the body and engineered in a lab to attack cancer cells before being returned to the patient. Scientists in this study will further develop a CAR T-cell therapy specific for patients with CTCL in hopes of better treating them for this devastating disease, which often involves persistent itching and pain, life-threatening infections and spread to vital organs. Discovering Novel Therapeutics and Immune Checkpoints for Rare Aggressive Sinonasal Malignancies Investigators: Dukagjin Blakaj, MD, PhD; Esmerina Tili, PhD; Priya Dedhia, MD, PhD; Ricardo Carrau, MD; Daniel Prevedello, MD, co-investigator Sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma (SNUC) and olfactory neuroblastoma (ONB) are rare and aggressive cancers found in the nose and in the soft tissue and bone near the nose. Many of these tumors have a poor prognosis despite treatment with chemotherapy, surgery and radiation, so new therapeutic options are needed to improve the outlook for these patients. In this study, scientists will work to uncover the biologic origins of these cancers and develop therapies that target the underlying causes.      &#x2028&#x2028 “Targeting the Inflammasome Via IL-1b to Prevent Leukemic Progression of High-Risk Clonal Cytopenias” (Clinical Trials Grant)&#x2028(Uma Borate, MBBS* [LR]) – Clonal hematopoiesis (CH) is a precancerous condition caused by blood cells with specific genetic mutations. A type of CH that carries particularly high risk for progressing to blood cancers is called clonal cytopenias of undetermined significance (CCUS). Studies have shown that progression of CCUS to cancer is driven by inflammation via the interleukin 1b (IL-1b) protein. In this study, scientists will target this inflammatory pathway with the drug canakinumab and study its effectiveness in preventing advanced blood cancers.  ### Media Contact: Amanda Harper Associate Director, Media Relations Amanda.Harper2@osucmc.edu | 614-685-5420