The Keystone Program in Blood Cell Development and Cancer

The Plan

“We have powerful new tools for gene discovery at hand and a team of researchers committed to systematically assembling, gene by gene, the required steps for blood cell development.” – Richard R. Hardy, Ph.D.

This Keystone Program integrates the skills of leading experts in laboratory science and medicine in order to identify genes that are vital for blood cell development and then assess their importance in cancer. The program is designed around a model that will allow emerging discoveries in both the laboratory and the clinic to drive the interactions between gene-based science and medicine.

The process begins by identifying genes critical for blood cell development through the study of zebrafish, an animal in which researchers can literally see the blood cells develop in real time through the use of fluorescently tagged blood cells. When genes that are indispensable in the developmental process are deleted, certain types of blood cells will not be produced, which the researchers will be able to detect as disappearing fluorescent cells. The researchers will then test if one of these essential genes can also accelerate cancer development when mutated.

Once these potentially cancer-causing mutations are identified, medical experts will determine if similar mutations exist in human counterpart genes in patient blood samples. The manner in which this program integrates gene-discovery in fish with analysis in patient cancer cells is a novel and uncommonly powerful strategy that will both accelerate the pace of cancer research and set Fox Chase Cancer Center apart from other cancer centers in the nation in this vital area.