David Bartlett, PhD, assistant professor of medicine (Medical Oncology), has been selected to receive a $150,000 clinical-junior-faculty-level 2020 ASH Scholar Award by the American Society of Hematology (ASH) for his research into the underlying mechanisms and clinical usefulness of exercise training on the immune system of older patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Bartlett is one of five clinical junior faculty to receive an ASH Scholar Award.
One of ASH’s most prestigious research award programs, the ASH Scholar Award, over a two-to-three year period, financially supports fellows, faculty scholars and junior faculty in the U.S. and Canada who have dedicated themselves to careers in hematology research as they transition from training programs to careers as independent investigators. These scholars conduct basic, translational, and clinical research that furthers the understanding and treatment of blood disorders.
“This study will provide new insights into the underlying mechanisms and clinical usefulness of exercise training on the immune system of patients with CLL,” said Bartlett, a Duke Cancer Institute and Duke Molecular Physiology Institute member. “If successful, the results can lead to new and improved approaches for care of patients with CLL, potentially increasing time-to-treatment or therapeutic tolerability. Our biomarkers and CT-scan components have the potential to identify key predictors of immune responses, and to provide important insights into the mechanisms of exercise benefits in cancer patients.”
Bartlett’s study collaborators on the ASH award are physician-scientists Danielle Brander MD, assistant professor of medicine (Hematologic Malignancies and Cellular Therapy) and Andrea Sitlinger, MD, medical instructor (Hematologic Malignancies and Cellular Therapy). Brander specializes in the research and treatment of CLL. Sitlinger’s research focus is on improving clinical outcomes for cancer patients through interventions in physical fitness, survivorship care, and financial toxicity.