The IWMF Board of Trustees has approved $1,198,000 in new research support for three research projects from the IWMF-Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) Strategic Research Roadmap initiative.
The Research Roadmap initiative uses an NIH scoring system to find the best projects. It began in May 2015 and identifies four research priority areas focused on advancing our understanding and treatment of WM. Dr. Lee Greenberger, Chief Scientific Officer of LLS, moderated the conference, and the Scientific Co-Chairs were Dr. Steven Treon of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Dr. Stephen Ansell of Mayo Clinic. You can find more information about the IWMF-LLS Strategic Research Roadmap and its importance to the WM community at research strategy.
IWMF President Carl Harrington said, “This $1.2 million in new funding further exemplifies the IWMF’s continued commitment to basic research on Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia. It brings our total research spending to over $15 million in our search for a cure for Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia. We wish to thank our individual donors, the LLS, and the volunteers serving on the IWMF Scientific Advisory Committee and Research Committee who have made these grants possible. And we thank the global researchers who are dedicated to finding better treatments and a cure for our orphan disease.”
“Each year the IWMF solicits requests for proposals from the research community, and each year, we receive many high-quality proposals from researchers around the world,” says IWMF Vice President for Research, Dr. Tom Hoffmann. “The quality of the proposals and the potential for impact on the lives of those affected by WM is astounding, making it a difficult process to choose among them. In a way, this is a good position to be in for the IWMF – with many top-quality proposals to select from, but naturally, we wish we could fund them all!”
The commitment of $1,200,000 over two years to support these groundbreaking research initiatives was made possible by donations from IWMF patients, caregivers, and their friends and families. The IWMF remains committed to ensuring that 100% of all research donations go directly to fund research initiatives!