A University of Texas at Dallas researcher has received more than $1 million in grants from the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to develop treatments for solitary fibrous tumor, or SFT.
“I am very grateful to CPRIT for supporting my research to develop therapies for solitary fibrous tumor,” said Dr. Yi Li MS’18, assistant professor of bioengineering . “As a new faculty member, this funding is transformative in helping me establish my lab and jump-start research on cancers driven by gene fusions.”
SFT is a rare cancer that develops when two genes, NAB2 and STAT6 , become fused together, resulting in signals that initiate cancer-cell growth. The cause is unknown. While no medications have been developed specifically for SFT, treatment typically involves surgery to remove the tumor and/or radiation.
Li began researching solitary fibrous tumor at UT Dallas six years ago as a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Dr. Leonidas Bleris , professor of bioengineering and the Texas Instruments Bioengineering Chair.
Biomedical engineering doctoral student Maliha Mehjabin works in Dr. Yi Li’s lab. The researchers are developing treatments for solitary fibrous tumor.
Li and Bleris first became involved with the research to help their colleague Dr. Heather Hayenga, an associate professor of bioengineering who was diagnosed with SFT. Hayenga , who led SFT research at UT Dallas, died on April 5 from the disease. The research funded by the CPRIT grants is the latest effort by Li and other UT Dallas researchers to carry on her legacy to find effective treatments.
In recent years, researchers in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science used gene-editing techniques to create experimental models that made the disease easier to study and to open new paths for novel therapies. The research has developed into a large interdisciplinary collaboration.
“We’ve received a lot of help from the school and from the whole campus community,” Li said.
The CPRIT funding makes it possible for researchers to build on their previous work.
In May, CPRIT awarded Li a $249,000 high impact/high risk grant ( RP260816 ) to develop a potential immunotherapy treatment for SFT.
Last fall, Li received an $899,216 individual investigator award ( RP260461 ) to develop another approach that would switch off the cancer-causing signal. The project involves creating antisense oligonucleotides, which are short synthetic strands of genetic material designed to block the activity of the cancer-driving gene fusion.
The research could pave the way for more effective treatments for SFT and other cancers caused by gene fusions.
The team has demonstrated in laboratory-grown tumor cells and in animal models that their experimental approaches can reduce gene-fusion activity. Li said the research also could benefit people with other cancers driven by similar gene fusions.
One of the challenges involves delivering the potential therapy molecules to dense cancerous tissue. Li is working with Dr. Jeremiah Gassensmith , professor of chemistry and biochemistry in the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics , to develop an effective way to get the medication through the outer tissue, which acts as a shield.
Dr. Shalini Prasad , professor and department head of bioengineering, said the state funding to develop treatments for solitary fibrous tumor is especially meaningful.
“CPRIT funding gives rare-cancer research the momentum it deserves by uniting UT Dallas faculty in a powerful effort to not only honor Dr. Hayenga, but also to advance Dr. Li’s important work on SFT,” said Prasad, the Cecil H. and Ida Green Professor in Systems Biology Science. “We’re hopeful this work will create discoveries whose impact may extend far beyond one disease to improve many lives.”