Kyle Vining, an assistant professor of preventive and restorative sciences in Penn Dental Medicine and in materials science and engineering in Penn Engineering, has received an individual Biomedical Research Award from the Hartwell Foundation to explore a novel approach to improving treatment for childhood leukemia. Dr. Vining, a member of the Center for Innovation & Precision Dentistry (CiPD), is among ten researchers representing eight institutions selected as 2023 Hartwell Foundation awardees.

Each year, the Hartwell Foundation invites a select group of biomedical research institutions to nominate faculty for its highly competitive awards, which provide significant financial support for three years, specifically for early-stage, innovative, and cutting-edge biomedical research that has not yet received outside funding. Research proposals must focus on improving the lives of children in the United States.

To date, cellular immunotherapy has shown great promise in treating childhood leukemia by engineering immune cells to target cancerous tissue. However, many patients suffer relapses and require additional treatments, risking serious side effects. One reason that some children do not respond to immunotherapy or relapse after treatment may be changes in their bone marrow itself. Dr. Vining’s team recently identified fibrotic tissue—that is, tissue that has hardened or scarred—in the bone marrow of such children. With the support of the Hartwell Foundation, Dr. Vining’s lab will undertake two research projects to investigate whether structural changes in these children’s bone marrow is suppressing the effectiveness of immunotherapies.