The Kaiya Foundation has announced funding for leukaemia research at the University of Oxford, timed to coincide with both Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and Blood Cancer Awareness Month in September. The announcement also marks what would have been Kaiya Patel’s 13th birthday on September 2nd. Kaiya was diagnosed at age five with a rare and aggressive form of leukaemia and died in January 2019. Her parents established the foundation in her memory to support research aimed at improving outcomes for children with similar diagnoses.
The funded research will be led by Dr Emily Neil and Professor Anindita Roy, experts in paediatric leukaemia and stem cell biology. Their work focuses on understanding why normal blood cells transform into aggressive forms of leukaemia, specifically TCF3-HLF ALL. The goal is to identify biological triggers and molecular changes that could lead to new targeted therapies for children affected by high-risk subtypes of the disease.
"This research is a vital step forward in understanding how leukaemia originates and evolves at the cellular level," said Professor Anindita Roy, whose group is based at the Department of Paediatrics and the MRC Molecular Haematology Unit at the University of Oxford. "Our goal is not only to detect these changes earlier, but to predict and eventually prevent them - offering new hope to families facing the most aggressive forms of leukaemia."
Dr Emily Neil stated: "With the support of The Kaiya Foundation, we have a unique opportunity to move beyond standard treatments and create therapies that are tailored to the genetic and molecular profile of each patient's disease."
The grant from The Kaiya Foundation marks an important step toward advancing cures for high-risk blood cancers. Ruchit Patel, Director of The Kaiya Foundation, commented: "We are honoured to support the exceptional work of Dr Neil and Professor Roy. Their research aligns perfectly with our vision - to change the future of very high-risk leukaemia treatment, an under-funded area, through precision medicine and compassionate innovation. And it is really personal for us, as Dr. Neil and Professor Roy propose to study the cancer that afflicted Kaiya."
The collaboration between The Kaiya Foundation and the University of Oxford aims to advance understanding and treatment options for childhood leukaemia.