Uplifting Athletes, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the rare disease community, has announced that Dr. Jithma Abeykoon will receive a $20,000 research grant as a member of Uplifting Athletes’ 2023 Young Investigator Draft Class. Dr. Abeykoon was nominated for the grant by the Erdheim Chester Disease Global Alliance.

Dr. Abeykoon is Assistant Professor in Hematology and Medical Oncology at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and is actively involved in Erdheim-Chester Disease (ECD) research and care. ECD is a rare type of blood cancer that results in the accumulation of histocytes, cells that typically fight infections in organs throughout the body

Dr. Abeykoon’s grant will support research to uncover a new prognostic marker and a novel therapeutic strategy for patients with ECD, a rare form of blood cancer. He will specifically look at how the medical community can target the trafficking of molecules from the nucleus to the cytoplasm in cancer cells for therapeutic benefit. His research has the potential to discover new treatment strategies with novel mechanisms of action for patients with ECD.

“The ECD Global Alliance is excited and grateful to be partnering with Uplifting Athletes to support this research conducted by Dr. Abeykoon.  As someone living with ECD, I know firsthand the importance of expanding research that could lead to better treatment and monitoring, with fewer side effects,” said Mohammad Chowdhury, ECD Global Alliance Board Member. “We are excited that Dr. Abeykoon is taking the patient-centered approach to work toward this goal.”

Dr. Abeykoon is among a group of 10 researchers who will each receive unrestricted grants for medical research at
Uplifting Athletes’ sixth annual Young Investigator Draft on February 4, 2023, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

“I am honored to receive this grant. I have devoted my career to improving care for patients with rare cancers,” said Dr. Jithma Abeykoon.  “My goal is to make discoveries at the bench and deliver to patients at the bedside with the hope that the work
we will do will uplift the wellbeing of our patients. together as a team, we succeed, like football!”

For more information on the ECD Global Alliance Grants and Research click here.