Blood chemical exposures and B‑cell blood cancer risk
Official title: Mapping the blood cancer exposome for environmental risk profiles of mature B-cell neoplasms
Funded at Emory University · NIH-11233248 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers will use advanced blood chemical testing and AI to find environmental exposures linked to B‑cell blood cancers like non‑Hodgkin lymphoma and multiple myeloma.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Emory University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Atlanta, United States) |
| Project start | February 25, 2022 |
| Project end | November 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $501,374 |
| NIH project number | 5R01ES032831-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11233248 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are adults with available pre‑diagnosis blood samples or those willing to provide blood and exposure history, especially people at higher risk for B‑cell cancers.
✕Less likely to help
People seeking immediate treatment benefits or those without available blood samples or exposure information are unlikely to get direct clinical benefit from this research.
What this research studies
If you take part, researchers will analyze stored or new blood samples taken before diagnosis using high‑resolution mass spectrometry to measure thousands of chemicals in your blood. They will compare people who later developed mature B‑cell cancers to matched controls in a nested case–control design to identify exposure patterns that occur before disease. Advanced algorithms and big‑data methods will be used to pick out chemical signatures and mixtures tied to specific B‑cell cancer subtypes. The team aims to discover previously unknown environmental risk factors that could help guide prevention or earlier detection.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could reveal environmental chemicals or exposure patterns that help prevent B‑cell cancers or allow earlier detection for people at risk.
How similar studies have gone: High‑resolution exposome profiling is a new approach with promising technical progress but has not yet been widely applied to mature B‑cell cancers, so findings would be largely novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Emory University
Atlanta, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Walker, Douglas Ian — Emory University
- Study coordinator: Walker, Douglas Ian
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Understanding environmental risks for blood cancers
This study is looking at how things in our environment might increase the risk of developing certain blood cancers, like non-Hodgkin lymphoma and multiple myeloma, by analyzing blood samples from patients to find clues that could help us understand this connection better.
-
Biomarker clues to catch pancreatic cancer early in cysts
A study from UC San Diego is testing blood and cyst-fluid markers to help tell high-risk pancreatic cysts from low-risk ones so that people with pancreatic cysts can get the right care sooner.
-
Myeloproliferative Neoplasm Research Consortium
A large research collaboration across multiple centers aims to improve survival for patients with myelofibrosis and related myeloproliferative neoplasms through coordinated laboratory, translational, and clinical work.
-
Understanding how different CALR mutations drive certain blood cancers
This grant explores how two CALR mutation types cause myeloproliferative neoplasms and could lead to better treatments for people with these blood cancers.
-
Cell Competition in Myeloproliferative Neoplasms
This NIH grant explores how healthy and mutant blood stem cells interact in certain blood cancers to understand why some patients progress and how future therapies might help.
-
Targeting ERK’s brake pedals to slow cancer progression
Aims to block the parts of ERK signaling that speed up cancer progression, by guiding drugs to the substrate-binding domains that act like accelerator pedals in myeloproliferative neoplasms and related cancers.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.