Dr. Irina Pateva’s Research Update

Update from Irina on Funds granted in 2015.

We will be using the money for two projects: One is to study the role of platelets in pediatric patients with tumors as a potential factor in tumor progression and if high platelet counts impact survival. This is the first study in pediatric patients. We have an IRB approved protocol and a database created, with the information entered, we have to verify it, to make sure it is accurate before we analyze it. We will need a help from statistician for the statistical analyses, once it is done, we will write up a manuscript. The template for the manuscript is done, it is a matter of summarizing the information once we have the statistical part done. I will use ~ $ 1,000 of the money for support for the work of the statistician, which is planned to occur ~ mid-August. Then we will finish the manuscript.

The other project is to study the role of Cdk5 as a marker of disease activity in pediatric patients with ALL. We have 30 samples from COG and ~ 10 samples from patients from UH from patients with leukemia at diagnosis and at remission. I have and IRB approved protocol to allow me for collection of more specimens from patients with leukemia. I plan to analyze those specimen and I will use the money from the grant to buy lab supplies – antibodies and reagents for protein and RNA analyses. We will look at Cdk5 expression and also at some other proteins that are substrates of Cdk5 and have been known to be involved in cancer cell replication and survival. I have a draft of a manuscript with my preliminary data from 5 patients studies so far, the goal will be to do the lab analyzes of all the other samples and add on the information in the manuscript. I will set aside ~ 1000 for publication fees.