MERIT Award Advances Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Research

Matt Witkowski, PhD, pediatric cancer researcher at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, received an R37 Method to Extend Research in Time (MERIT) grant to continue his groundbreaking research on B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Dr. Witkowski works closely with Children’s Hospital Colorado to provide valuable findings from pediatric research.

Originally funded through a five-year R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Dr. Witkowski’s work proved its competence and extraordinary productivity to earn an extra two years of research. The R37 grant, designed to provide longer-term stability to exceptional researchers, will allow Witkowski’s lab to dig deeper into why some pediatric leukemia patients stop responding to even the most advanced therapies.

As the most common pediatric cancer, most children respond well to chemotherapy and other treatments for leukemia. However, Dr. Witkowski’s lab focuses on the most complicated cases of kids who have already undergone multiple therapies and cannot maintain remission. His goal is to uncover why their cancer cells are so resistant and how to improve the effectiveness of treatments.

“That’s why the seven years of funding and research are really important,” Dr.Witkowski says. “It basically gives us a chance to just keep hammering away at our goal — it’s critical for us. We need the time because these are such complex cases.”  

Dr. Witkowski’s recent research suggests that leukemia cells may survive by absorbing fat from their environment, helping them resist treatment. With the extended seven-year timeline, Dr. Witkowski and his team hope to target the fat uptake to make therapies more effective and move promising findings closer to clinical relevance.

Beyond the lab, Dr. Witkowski looks forward to mentorship and building a future of collaboration in leukemia research. He hopes that this extended time will allow him to assist future generations of investigators.

“We have to figure out ways to breed good scientists who know how to do research in a collaborative way,” he says. “It’s not just the adventure of finishing the checklist of the grant. It’s a venture to propagate better people and better scientists.” With the support from the NIH MERIT award, Dr. Witkowski pushes science forward and prepares the next generation of researchers to take on pediatric cancer’s toughest challenges.