Aaron Viny, MD Awarded R37 MERIT Grant
Dr. Aaron Viny, MD MS, assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, has been awarded the prestigious R37 MERIT (Method to Extend Research in Time) grant by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Early-stage investigators that receive an R01 score within the NCI payline for experienced investigators are eligible for the MERIT award which provides two additional years of funding. This seven-year award, totaling $3.7 million, will fuel Dr. Viny's research project entitled "The Role of the Cohesin Complex in Hematopoietic Transformation and Leukemia Maintenance."
Dr. Viny is a physician scientist who specializes in blood cancers, particularly myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). These cancers of bone marrow stem cells lead to a failure of normal blood cell production, resulting in life-threatening infections, anemia, and bleeding. Early mutations in MDS and AML often affect the “epigenome” that controls the organization and structure of the DNA in bone marrow stem cells and disrupt normal gene expression. Dr. Viny's project focuses on mutations in the gene Stag2, which is frequently found in various types of cancers and is part of the cohesin complex—a protein ring that organizes the six feet of DNA present in every cell. Mutations in Stag2 and other cohesin complex members disrupt the structure of DNA and interfere with the way genes are turned on and off within cells.
Dr. Viny’s research strives to identify how this altered DNA structure affects the binding of cancer-driving oncogenes and aims to rewire the epigenome in hopes of restoring normal blood formation. The researchers plan to investigate this issue using advanced techniques for studying and engineering the epigenome, the set of chemical modifications to DNA and proteins that regulate gene expression.
"Receiving the R37 MERIT grant is an immense honor, and I am profoundly thankful for the support of the NIH to advance this critical research,” says Dr. Viny, a member of both the Cancer Genomics and Epigenomics program at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC) and the Columbia Stem Cell Initiative (CSCI).
“Our study holds the potential to provide a window into the biological mechanism behind some of our most challenging leukemia patients and open a new paradigm in our approach to MDS and AML. When DNA structure is changed in bone marrow stem cells, it changes gene expression control. When combined with tumor-driving oncogene mutations, the result is often a very chemotherapy-resistant disease. Learning how to rewire the epigenome with the goal of restoring blood formation rather than simply killing cancer cells, we hope will lead to more effective and less toxic treatments for leukemia patients."