Dr. Fandy Awarded Supplemental Grant

Project to Test Novel Therapy for Multiple Myeloma

Charleston, WV – September 21, 2021 – Dr. Tamer Fandy, Chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical and Administrative Sciences at the UC School of Pharmacy, has been awarded a supplemental grant of $100,00 from the West Virginia IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (WV-INBRE) for a collaborative project with Dr. Michael Hu from WVU School of Medicine.

The project tests a novel therapy for a type of blood cancer known as multiple myeloma (MM), which affects approximately 33,000 Americans every year.

Chemotherapy is an effective treatment however, MM cells develop resistance to chemotherapy by changing their gene transcription program. Drs. Fandy and Hu are trying to stop and reverse the changes in gene transcription using a novel therapeutic approach known as “epigenetic therapy” to restore sensitivity to chemotherapy.

WV-INBRE is part of the NIH Institutional Development Award (IDeA) Program, whose mission is to establish a consortium among selected institutions of higher education in the state of West Virginia to enhance their capacity for education and training their faculty and students in biomedical research.