Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust supports Iowa State University research related to blood disorders such as leukemia
AMES, Iowa – The Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust of Muscatine, Iowa, has committed $381,385 over three years to support research at Iowa State University that could contribute to fundamental knowledge and treatment of blood disorders, including leukemia, anemia and hemoglobinopathies.
“I feel extremely grateful to the Carver Trust for supporting my research,” said Raquel Espin Palazon, assistant professor in the department of genetics, development and cell biology at Iowa State. “This gift will provide me with the necessary resources needed to identify new genes essential for the generation of blood stem cells. I feel that this knowledge will one day make it possible to generate patient-specific blood stem cells for the cure of many blood diseases.”
According to Espin Palazon, blood stem cells must replenish the blood system throughout life because of the short lifespan of mature blood cells. There are 300 billion blood cells produced every day in bone marrow, a process called hematopoiesis. Any impairment in this process leads to devastating diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma, thrombocytopenia and anemia. More than 1 million people in the United States are either living with or are in remission from leukemia or lymphoma. While significant progress has been made in the treatment of these disorders, the overall cure rate is only 40 percent.
The goal of the research project is to uncover a previously unappreciated anti-inflammatory mechanism that drives proper blood stem cell development and cell differentiation into the right amount of blood cell types needed. The role that anti-inflammatory signals exert over the development of these cells to counterbalance proinflammatory signaling for proper cell development has never been explored.
The knowledge generated through Espin Palazon’s research will have the potential to advance current protocols to generate patient-derived cells. In addition, having a more complete understanding of the signals and molecular pathways required to specify blood stem cells in their native environment could lead to more robust protocols and the development of novel therapeutics.
The funds provided for the research project will include support for an Iowa State postdoctoral research associate and a graduate research assistant, as well as salary support and more.
The Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust of Muscatine, Iowa, is one of the largest private philanthropic foundations in the state of Iowa, with assets of $400 million and annual grant distributions of $16 million. It was created through the will of Roy J. Carver, a Muscatine industrialist and philanthropist, who died in 1981.
The Carver Trust made its gift commitment through the Iowa State University Foundation. The foundation is a private, nonprofit organization committed to securing and managing gifts that benefit Iowa State University. The Forever True, For Iowa State campaign, with a historic goal to raise $1.5 billion, will help support Iowa State in becoming the premier land-grant university for the 21st century and beyond.
Contact:
Raquel Espin Palazon, assistant professor, Iowa State University, 515-294-4628, espin@iastate.edu
Elaine Watkins-Miller, communications, Iowa State University Foundation, 515.294.1005, ewmiller@foundation.iastate.edu
May 27,2021