Preventing chemo-related heart damage in African American children
Official title: Predicting and Preventing Chemotherapy-Induced Cardiotoxicity in African American Children
Funded at Northwestern University · NIH-11146712 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses patients' own lab-grown heart cells to find genetic risks and ways to stop heart damage from the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin in African American children treated for cancer.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Northwestern University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chicago, United States) |
| Project start | August 5, 2021 |
| Project end | July 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $678,833 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA261898-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11146712 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are African American children or adolescents who have received or will receive doxorubicin-containing chemotherapy, or survivors concerned about anthracycline-related heart risk.
✕Less likely to help
Patients whose heart problems are not related to anthracycline chemotherapy or those with advanced, irreversible heart failure may not benefit directly from this research.
What this research studies
As a patient, your skin or blood cells can be turned into heart cells in the lab to see how your heart would respond to doxorubicin. The researchers compare these lab-grown heart cells from African American survivors who did and did not develop heart damage and look for genetic and gene-regulation differences using tools such as ATAC-seq. They will test candidate genes and protective strategies in the patient-specific heart cells to identify mechanisms and potential interventions. The aim is to create lab-based risk predictions and identify approaches that could be used to prevent heart damage in children like you.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could allow doctors to identify children at higher risk for chemo-related heart damage and offer protections or alternative plans to prevent permanent heart injury.
How similar studies have gone: Earlier work from this team showed patient-derived heart cells can predict sensitivity to doxorubicin, so the approach is promising though still novel for studying racial differences in risk.
Where this research is happening
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Northwestern University
Chicago, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Burridge, Paul W. — Northwestern University
- Study coordinator: Burridge, Paul W.
Related research
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PPAR-alpha and sex differences in chemotherapy-related heart injury
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This study is looking to help older adults with lymphoma by finding ways to prevent heart damage from chemotherapy, figuring out who might be at risk, and understanding what patients and doctors prefer when it comes to treatment options.
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.