Duck & Dodge in support of NF1

RANKINE FAMILY FELLOWSHIP IN NF1

The generous community support of Duck & Dodge has established the Rankine Family Fellowship in NF1.

To date, the Fellowship has enabled Drs. Philippos Peidis and Connor Yanchus to join the research team at Sinai Health's Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute (LTRI) and push the boundaries of genetic investigation.

While other centres specialize in the treatment of NF1, the LTRI is at the forefront of discovery research that will transform outcomes for patients at Sinai Health and across the globe.

Working alongside research giants Dr. Rod Bremner and Dr. Daniel Schramek, fellows have contributed to several groundbreaking discoveries about NF1, including: 

  • Generating new murine models that recapitulate the many cancers that affect people with NF1 mutations, which in turn can be leveraged to discover and test new therapeutic strategies.
  • Researchers are now diving deeper to better understand these cancers and how to treat them.
  • Discovering that NF1 contributes to drug resistance in cancer. The team is working on methods to overcome that resistance and save lives.

Donor support will accelerate further trailblazing research, such as:

  • Harnessing innovative gene disruption methods to discover how to treat NF1-mutated cancers most effectively.
  • Searching for optimal drug combinations that overcome resistance to current therapies for NF1-mutated cancers.

The Rankine Family Fellowship in NF1 is training the next generation of trailblazing NF1 researchers.

In 2023, your support of Duck & Dodge will help Dr. Bremner and Dr. Schramek secure a new talented fellow to continue their extraordinary progress.