A Look At Dr.

Fatih Uckuns Discovery of SYK-STAT3

On the staff of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, Dr. Fatih Uckun dedicates his career to researching numerous medical conditions. One such disease includes B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common and one of the deadliest cancers among youths. Almost all patients with ALL undergo intensive chemotherapy, but this treatment sometimes fails to produce satisfactory results, as relapses often occur. Subsequent procedures, including more intensive chemotherapy, hematopoietic stem cell transplants, and total-body irradiation, are associated with unsatisfactory survival rates . While determining why ALL presents a strong resistance to radiation, Dr. Fatih Uckun and his team found the unknown resistance machinery, namely the SYK-STAT3 signaling complex in leukemia cells. This remarkable discovery earned coverage from Science Daily, eScience News, and CNBC. With this information, doctors created new forms of leukemia treatments that target this cause behind radiation resistance. In 2011, the National Cancer Institute awarded $1.7 million to Dr. Fatih Uckun and his team to continue their analysis of SYK-STAT3 and childhood leukemia over the next five years.