A team of Mayo Clinic Cancer Center scientists has been awarded a Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant in multiple myeloma from the National Cancer Institute. The Center is one of only three cancer centers to receive a SPORE grant for multiple myeloma cancer research.
“With project leaders from Mayo campuses in Arizona, Rochester, and Florida, our SPORE team will study the genetic basis for myeloma, develop novel viral and immunologic therapies, and optimize the use of existing therapies with a goal of controlling and eventually curing this deadly disease,” said lead investigator Leif Bergsagel, MD. “Starting from the pioneering work of Robert Kyle, MD, over the past half-century, the myeloma group at Mayo Clinic is one of the strongest in the world.”
Renowned journalist and Mayo Clinic Trustee Tom Brokaw, diagnosed with multiple myeloma at Mayo Clinic in 2013, will serve as a patient advocate to the SPORE to represent the interests of patients and increase awareness of, and support for, myeloma research. ■
