Stavroula Kousteni Receives Discovery Research Grant for MDS
IHN training faculty member receives prestigious Evans Foundation grant.
Stavroula Kousteni, PhD, a training faculty member at Columbia University’s Institute of Human Nutrition (IHN), received a 2022 Discovery Research Grant from the Edward P. Evans Foundation to investigate inflammatory signaling in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).
MDS are blood cancers in which the bone marrow does not produce healthy blood cells effectively. The funded project examines how age-related changes in the bone marrow environment may contribute to the disease.
Investigating inflammation in the bone marrow
Kousteni’s project focuses on serum amyloid A1 (SAA1), an inflammatory molecule involved in communication between MDS cells and osteoblasts, the cells that form bone.
According to the grant’s project summary, the team identified a signaling cycle in which MDS cells prompt osteoblasts to release SAA1, which in turn supports MDS cell growth. The research aims to investigate whether interrupting this signal could offer a potential therapeutic approach.
The project also explores whether SAA1 could help detect or monitor MDS and its progression. These are research questions, rather than established clinical applications.
Understanding how the bone marrow environment influences disease
Kousteni’s laboratory studies how surrounding cells in the bone marrow influence blood-forming stem cells, including their role in MDS and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). This work examines how interactions within that environment may contribute to cancer development and progression.
Read the full research project summary from the Edward P. Evans Foundation.