Our Initiatives
The First Steps to target a treatment for NUT carcinoma.
The Max Vincze Foundation has partnered with Geoffrey Shapiro, M.D., Ph.D. and Christopher A. French, M.D. at the prestigious Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston who have dedicated their careers to exploring NUT carcinoma and who have identified research models that will allow them to work better and faster on finding treatments. These models will require private funding to bear fruit.
Geoffrey Shapiro, M.D., Ph.D. specializes in clinical trials for adult patients with NUT carcinoma. Dr. Shapiro's practice is focused in the Center for Cancer Therapeutic Innovation, where he develops and leads early phase clinical trials and provides mentoring to early career investigators. As Senior Vice President, Developmental Therapeutics, he also works integrally with multiple disease groups within the Institute.
Christopher A. French, M.D. Associate Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, is the primary investigator working on NUT carcinoma. In 2003, Dr. French first mapped the location of the genetic rearrangement found in a patient seen at Boston’s Children’s Hospital, thus putting NUT carcinoma on the map. He is a leader in the field of pathology and is involved in much of the research surrounding NUT carcinoma.
Dr. French and Dr. Shapiro’s team have identified the following steps needed to achieve success:
Developing more models of these diseases so new treatments can be tested.
Examining large data sets to learn more about the cancer-causing effects of fusion oncoproteins.
Doing the essential work of determining the 3D structure of fusion oncoproteins to enable the development of highly targeted drug therapies.
Photo credit: Bryce Vickmark | Dana-Farber Cancer Institute