Fall 2026
By Hannah White Hannah
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is advancing through two grants from the CLL Society totaling $600,000. These awards are supporting innovative clinical research led by Matthew S. Davids, MD, MMSc, and Jennifer R. Brown, MD, PhD. Both investigators can further their efforts to develop more effective treatment options for patients whose disease has relapsed or become resistant to existing therapies.
Treatment advances have significantly improved outcomes for many patients with CLL—the most common type of adult leukemia. But for some patients, the disease eventually stops responding to therapy or transforms into more aggressive forms of blood cancer, creating an urgent need for new treatment strategies and clinical trials.
Davids, chief of Dana-Farber’s Division of Lymphoma and chair of the CLL Society Medical Advisory Board, received a three-year Clinical Scholar in CLL Award to evaluate new glofitamab-based treatment strategies for patients with Richter transformation, an aggressive complication of CLL. His research includes a clinical trial designed to assess the safety and effectiveness of glofitamab combination therapies, while also studying in the laboratory how the immune system responds to treatment.
“Advancing new treatment strategies for patients with CLL requires close collaboration between researchers, clinicians, and patient advocates,” said Davids. “Support from CLL Society will help drive innovative clinical research focused on improving outcomes for patients whose disease has become resistant to prior therapies. We are proud to partner with an organization so deeply committed to accelerating progress for the CLL community.”
Brown also received a three-year Clinical Scholar Award. Her work is in supporting a phase 2 clinical trial studying the addition of roginolisib to sequential obinutuzumab then venetoclax in patients whose CLL has relapsed after prior BTK inhibitor therapy. Brown’s research team will conduct correlative analyses to better understand the biologic impact of the treatment combination and identify approaches that may improve patient outcomes over time.
Together, the grants reflect a shared commitment between Dana-Farber and the CLL Society to accelerate research and expand treatment possibilities for patients facing complex blood cancers.
