JCVI wins $200,000 grant to study childhood leukemia therapy

The J. Craig Venter Institute received a two-year, $200,000 St. Baldrick’s Foundation grant to advance research on MLL-rearranged leukemias in children. The project aims to test a dual-action approach that could both kill leukemia cells and strengthen the immune response, laying groundwork for future clinical development.

Why it matters: - MLL-rearranged leukemias are among the most common childhood leukemias and still carry poor to intermediate outcomes. - JCVI’s project is designed to support a potential therapy for children whose current treatment options remain inadequate. - The work could offer a dual strategy: direct leukemia cell targeting and immune system activation.

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

The details: - Zhu’s research centers on the BAF chromatin remodeling complex, which helps control gene activity and supports the survival of MLL-rearranged leukemia cells. - The team is building on pilot findings and earlier published research showing that loss of the BAF complex can boost anti-tumor immunity. - The hypothesis is that targeting the BAF complex could both eradicate leukemia cells and enhance the body’s immune response against the disease. - The research will use laboratory models that more closely reflect leukemia in the body, including models derived from human patient samples. - The goal is to generate the scientific evidence needed for a novel dual-action therapy targeting the BAF complex in pediatric MLL-rearranged AML. - JCVI said St. Baldrick’s has invested more than $380 million in childhood cancer research grants since its founding. - JCVI and Zhu said the work could also serve as a model for combining immune activation with direct cellular targeting in blood cancers.

Between the lines: - The funding reflects a bet on basic science with a clear translational path, rather than an immediate clinical result. - The emphasis on patient-sample-based models suggests the team wants evidence that is stronger than standard cell-culture studies. - The project also fits a broader push in cancer research to pair immune effects with targeted killing. - Zhu said the grant provides resources and community support to move from preliminary findings toward a potential novel therapy.

What’s next: - JCVI will test the BAF-targeting approach in lab models over the two-year grant period. - If the data support the approach, JCVI and Zhu hope to advance the therapy concept toward future clinical development. - JCVI plans to share findings with the pediatric oncology community as the research progresses. - The institute said it will continue working with St. Baldrick’s Foundation on the project.

The bottom line: - The grant gives JCVI a funded path to test whether one target can both weaken pediatric leukemia cells and help the immune system fight back.