JCVI wins $200,000 grant for childhood leukemia research

The J. Craig Venter Institute received a two-year, $200,000 St. Baldrick’s Foundation grant to study a new dual-action approach for MLL-rearranged leukemias in children. The work could help build a future therapy for a hard-to-treat form of pediatric blood cancer.

Why it matters: - MLL-rearranged leukemias are among the most common childhood leukemias and still carry a poor to intermediate prognosis. - Current treatments remain inadequate, leaving a clear need for new options for young patients. - JCVI’s project aims to test a strategy that could both attack leukemia cells directly and strengthen the immune response against them.

What happened: - The J. Craig Venter Institute announced a two-year, $200,000 Emily Beazley Kures for Kids Fund St. Baldrick’s Research Grant. - St. Baldrick’s Childhood Cancer Research Foundation awarded the grant as part of its 2026 grant cycle. - Associate Professor Nan Zhu, Ph.D., at JCVI will lead the research. - The grant supports work on new therapies for MLL-rearranged leukemias in children.

The details: - Zhu’s research centers on the BAF chromatin remodeling complex, which helps regulate gene activity inside cells and supports the survival of MLL-rearranged leukemia cells. - The team is building on pilot study findings and prior published research showing that loss of the BAF complex can boost anti-tumor immunity. - The hypothesis is that targeting the BAF complex could create a dual effect: killing leukemia cells and improving the body’s immune response. - The research will use laboratory models that better reflect leukemia in the body, including models built from human patient samples. - JCVI said the work is intended to lay the groundwork for a potential novel therapy. - Zhu has spent nearly 20 years on leukemia research. - St. Baldrick’s has invested more than $380 million in grants since its founding.

Between the lines: - The project is aimed at pediatric MLL-rearranged AML, signaling interest in moving from lab findings toward a therapy that could eventually reach clinical development. - The dual-action approach reflects a broader strategy in cancer research: combine direct tumor targeting with immune activation. - JCVI described the grant as part of a shared push to back high-risk, high-reward science for childhood cancer. - Zhu said the award gives the team resources to move from preliminary findings toward a potential novel therapy.

What's next: - JCVI and Zhu’s team will test the approach in preclinical models. - If the data support the idea, the institute hopes to build the scientific case for future clinical development. - JCVI and St. Baldrick’s plan to continue collaborating as the research advances. - The team also plans to share findings with the pediatric oncology community.

The bottom line: - The grant gives JCVI a shot to translate early science into a new treatment concept for one of the toughest childhood leukemias.