For 2012, the BLY Foundation supported Dr. Teena Bhatla and NYU’s Children’s Cancer Program in Hematologic Malignancies in their continuing efforts to battle childhood cancers.

Teena Bhatla, MD

Dr. Teena Bhatla is a faculty member in the Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology at NYU caring for children with hematologic malignancies in the inpatient unit and outpatient clinic. Dr. Bhatla completed her Residency Training at Maimonides Medical Center and recently finished her Clinical Fellowship at the NYU School of Medicine in the Pediatric Hematology-Oncology department, where she continues to pursue her promising research. Under the mentorship of Dr. Bill Carroll, Director of the NYU Cancer Institute, Dr. Bhatla and her colleagues in the Pediatric Leukemia Research Laboratory are studying the underlying biological pathways that mediate leukemia recurrences utilizing comprehensive genomic approaches to analyze the expression of genes and surrounding “epigenetic” structures during the evolution of acute lymphoblastic leukemia ALL from diagnosis to relapse.

As part of her research efforts, Dr. Bhatla used Connectivity Map methodology to identify compounds that can potentially reverse the relapse signature in childhood ALL to restore sensitivity to chemotherapy. Dr. Bhatla and her colleagues have identified a signature of genes that are uniquely expressed at relapse a clinical trial to target these genes has just opened within the Therapeutic Advances in Childhood Leukemia and Lymphoma Consortium.

Additionally, Dr. Bhatla is analyzing bone marrow and blood samples from children enrolled on the clinical trial described above to better understand how epigenetic drugs, such as Vorinostat, work to restore sensitivity to chemotherapy. This information offers promise for furthering the understanding of other childhood tumors as well.

For more information on the NYU Children’s Cancer Program in Hematologic Malignancies visit the link below
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