Research summary
Acute myeloid leukemia is the most common type of leukemia in adults. It is an aggressive disease that leads to anemia, leaving patients weak, fatigued and susceptible to infections. Although many patients respond initially to conventional therapies, leukemia stem cells will eventually escape treatment, causing patients to relapse. As Canada Research Chair in Leukemia Stem Cell Metabolism, Dr. Courtney Jones is looking for a better treatment for this devastating disease.
She and her research team are designing strategies to target disease-initiating leukemia stem cells and exploring the unique metabolic features of these cells to find new treatments. They are also using state-of-the art techniques, including mass spectrometry-based metabolomics analysis, to analyze the metabolic properties of leukemia stem cells. Ultimately, they hope to find a long-term cure for acute myeloid leukemia.