Division of Hematology, Oncology and Transplantation
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Committed to providing the highest quality care based on cutting edge research to patients with cancer or non-malignant hematologic diseases such as sickle cell disease
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Dedicated to advancing research on the biological underpinnings of cancer, stem cell biology, sickle cell anemia, endothelial cell biology, and tumor immunology
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Over 50 full-time academic investigators involved in interdisciplinary research and patient care are devoted to training the next generation of academic leaders
Announcements
Kalpna Gupta, PhD, received a Pioneer Award from the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America at their 46th Annual National Convention in Baltimore, MD, on October 12, 2018. This award recognizes Dr. Gupta's efforts in advancing pain research and advocating for improving pain treatment outcomes for sickle cell disease globally. October 2018
Hillhurst Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. received a $1.3 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. With the support of this grant, Hillhurst Biopharmaceuticals will lead efforts to develop a new drug to prevent vaso-occlusive crises in sickle cell disease. The new drug, HBI-002, is an oral carbon monoxide (CO) therapeutic designed to inhibit hemoglobin polymerization and vascular inflammation and augment the protective cellular heme oxygenase metabolic pathway. As part of the SBIR-funded project, Drs. John Belcher and Greg Vercellotti will lead preclinical studies to evaluate the protective mechanisms of HBI-002. Other SBIR-funded researchers will evaluate the clinical safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of HBI-002 in normal healthy volunteers. If successful, this research will provide critical safety, dosing, mechanistic, and clinical proof-of-concept evidence for advancing HBI-002 into a phase 2 clinical trial in patients with sickle cell disease. Please join us in congratulating Drs. Belcher and Vercellotti for their dedicated efforts to develop new therapies for sickle cell disease. October 2018