Spring 2025
By Brittany Flaherty
Photography by Capehart Photography
Like many people, cancer has touched the lives of Michele and Howard Kessler more than once. After tragically losing her sister to cancer 25 years ago and later her niece, Michele began to raise funds for Dana-Farber in appreciation of the compassionate care her family received. Michele became a Trustee in 2000 and the Kesslers soon became leaders in the Dana-Farber philanthropy community—fundraising for, organizing, and chairing events in Palm Beach and recently, advancing The Dana-Farber Campaign as Campaign Cabinet members. Then in 2024, Howard was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
“Fortunately, up until now, we’ve never had to use Dana-Farber personally,” said Michele. “But when we did, it was gratifying to see just how good these doctors really are. There’s no place like Dana-Farber. It’s the gold standard of care.”
Howard had previously been diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS)—a group of hematologic syndromes that can lead to AML—and was being monitored by Daniel DeAngelo, MD, PhD, chief of the Division of Leukemia. When Howard’s disease progressed to AML, DeAngelo and his team were able to take immediate action. The Kesslers traveled from Florida to Boston, and Howard began treatment in a matter of days under DeAngelo and Robert Soiffer, MD, chief of the Division of Hematologic Malignancies. Fortunately, Howard’s disease responded well to treatment and he was back on the tennis court eight months later.
Inspired by their care and the remarkable research advances taking place at Dana-Farber, the Kesslers recently made a $1 million gift to expedite AML research by Andrew Lane, MD, PhD, a clinician-scientist in the Adult Leukemia Program. Despite important progress, AML can become resistant to treatment, necessitating the development of new, more effective therapeutic options. Lane and his team recently discovered that certain leukemias depend on a molecular complex called PI3Kgamma for survival—a particularly promising breakthrough given there is already an existing drug called eganelisib that can inhibit PI3Kgamma’s function. While this drug has proven useful for patients with solid tumors, it has never been used for patients with AML.
With the crucial infusion of funds from the Kesslers, Lane and his team are initiating a new clinical trial and laboratory work to test eganelisib alone and in combination with the most common current AML drugs. Lane’s team has identified a subset of patients who are most likely to benefit from eganelisib, and their preclinical studies suggest that the drug combinations may work synergistically and hold great promise for patients. “This generous support from Howard and Michele came at a crucial time and is expediting our ability to build on this important discovery,” said Lane. “Thanks to their gift, we are much closer to expanding treatment options for patients with AML.”