Johannes Zakrzewski, M.D., has a new grant to explore ways to harness the power of the thymus for CAR T cell therapies of the future.
Newswise — Nutley, NJ, April 12, 2022 – A new grant from the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute will fund a physician-scientist from the Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI) to investigate ways to harness the body’s natural ability to create CAR (Chimeric antigen receptor) T cells for long-term treatment of pediatric blood cancers.
The $2.78 million grant will run over five years and will support the work of Johannes Zakrzewski, M.D., who is an associate member of the CDI and a pediatric stem cell transplant attending physician at Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital at Hackensack University Medical Center and the John Theurer Cancer Center, which is part of the NCI-designated Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The grant, entitled "Harnessing the Thymus for Long-term Tumor Control with Hematopoietic Stem Cell- derived Naive CAR T Cells," seeks to educate the thymus to manufacture tailored immune cells to continue to keep blood cancers in check for years after remission.
“This is translational science. We are hoping to help patients in new critical ways in the future using the latest lab discoveries,” said Zakrzewski, who is also an associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics and in the Department of Medical Sciences at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine and in the Department of Oncology at Georgetown University.
“The work Johannes is doing is at the cutting edge of next-generation, cell-based immunotherapies, and this embodies the CDI’s mission to accelerate life-saving science from the bench to the bedside,” said David Perlin, Ph.D., the chief scientific officer and senior vice president of the CDI.
"This important funding from the NIH/National Cancer Institute will accelerate Johannes's innovative and groundbreaking research to discover novel therapeutic approaches to achieve long-term remission in childhood cancers,” said Judy Aschner, M.D., physician-in-chief, Hackensack Meridian Children’s Health. “His success in this competitive funding environment is a reflection of the promise and novelty of his work and advances the national reputation of the Children's Cancer Institute at the Joseph M Sanzari Children's Hospital.”
Chimeric receptor antigen (CAR) T cells are transforming cancer treatment by providing tumor-specific, molecularly targeted therapies. But while the therapies can induce remission in most cases, long-term disease control remains a major clinical challenge - especially in pediatric and young adult cancer patients with high-risk malignancies.
Zakrzewski and his team plan on implementing a novel platform for long-lasting tumor immunosurveillance based on continuous in-vivo generation of naïve CAR T cells.
Their hypothesis: after the completion of the initial course of intensive chemotherapy, long-lasting T-cell immunity to cancer antigens can be established by using hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) engineered to express a tumor cell-targeting CAR and delivered into the patient’s thymus.
The minimally invasive procedure would thus harness the thymus of cancer patients as an in-vivo bioreactor, offering an innovative and also relatively simple and low-toxic clinical method for sustainable production of highly potent naïve designer T cells from genetically-manipulated HSPCs.
The work is based on the laboratory’s years of published and unpublished data, all of which has been supported by various grants and groups, most recently the Tackle Kids Cancer program of the Hackensack Meridian Health Foundation.
“Physician-scientists harnessing their expertise to drive innovation forward is our mission,” said Ihor Sawczuk, M.D., FACS, Hackensack Meridian Health’s president of Academics, Research and Innovation, and also associate dean of Clinical Integration and professor and chair emeritus of Urology at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. “This grant will support work which has the potential to change lives in our hospitals in years to come.”
ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH
Hackensack Meridian Health is a leading not-for-profit health care organization that is the largest, most comprehensive and truly integrated health care network in New Jersey, offering a complete range of medical services, innovative research and life-enhancing care.
Hackensack Meridian Health comprises 17 hospitals from Bergen to Ocean counties, which includes three academic medical centers – Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, JFK Medical Center in Edison; two children’s hospitals - Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital in Hackensack, K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital in Neptune; nine community hospitals – Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel, Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair, Ocean Medical Center in Brick, Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, Pascack Valley Medical Center in Westwood, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Old Bridge, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, and Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin; a behavioral health hospital – Carrier Clinic in Belle Mead; and two rehabilitation hospitals - JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute in Edison and Johnson Rehabilitation Institute in Brick.
Additionally, the network has more than 500 patient care locations throughout the state which include ambulatory care centers, surgery centers, home health services, long-term care and assisted living communities, ambulance services, lifesaving air medical transportation, fitness and wellness center, rehabilitation centers, urgent care centers and physician practice locations. Hackensack Meridian Health has more than 36,000 team members, and 7,000 physicians and is a distinguished leader in health care philanthropy, committed to the health and well-being of the communities it serves.
The network’s notable distinctions include having more top-ranked hospitals than anyone in New Jersey, as recognized by U.S. News & World Report, 2021-22. Hackensack University Medical Center is the only hospital in New Jersey with the #1 adult and children’s hospital rankings.
John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center is New Jersey's best cancer center, as recognized by U.S. News & World Report, 2021-22. This premier cancer center is also the largest and most comprehensive center dedicated to the diagnosis, treatment, management, research, screenings, and preventive care as well as survivorship of patients with all types of cancers. John Theurer Cancer Center is part of Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, an NCI designated comprehensive cancer center.
Additionally, the network partnered with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to ensure that patients have access to the highest quality, most individualized cancer care when and where they need it.
The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, the first private medical school in New Jersey in more than 50 years, welcomed its first class of students in 2018 to its campus in Nutley and Clifton. The Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI), housed in a fully renovated state-of-the-art facility, seeks to translate current innovations in science to improve clinical outcomes for patients with cancer, infectious diseases and other life-threatening and disabling conditions.
Hackensack Meridian Health is a member of AllSpire Health Partners, an interstate consortium of leading health systems, to focus on the sharing of best practices in clinical care and achieving efficiencies. To learn more, visit www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org.
ABOUT THE CENTER FOR DISCOVERY AND INNOVATION
The Center for Discovery and Innovation, a member of Hackensack Meridian Health, translates current innovations in science to improve clinical outcomes for patients. More than 21 laboratories, 155 professional researchers and physician-scientists at the CDI have set their sights on cancer, infectious diseases, autoimmune disorders, and other acute and chronic diseases. Clinical need drives the scientific insights, and their application, for these researchers, as shown in the real-time response to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in new diagnostics, therapies, and surveillance abilities. The CDI leverages a new wave of scientific advances involving genetics, cell engineering of the human immune system, and imaging to better diagnose, treat and prevent disease through personalized medicine approaches. For additional information, please visit www.hmh-cdi.org.
ABOUT TACKLE KIDS CANCER
Tackle Kids Cancer is a philanthropic initiative of Hackensack Meridian Children’s Health to raise money for pediatric cancer research and patient care programs at Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital and K. Hovnanian Children's Hospital. Donations made to Tackle Kids Cancer directly benefit the essential clinical care, unique support services and groundbreaking cancer research needed to find a cure. Since its launch in September 2015, Tackle Kids Cancer has raised more than $10 million in funds. Visit www.tacklekidscancer.org for more information about Tackle Kids Cancer.
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