Research

A major component of Rein in Sarcoma’s mission is to fund research directed toward developing new treatments and finding cures for sarcoma cancers. Since our inception in 2001 RIS has funded nearly $2 million to sarcoma research projects, primarily at the University of Minnesota, with an expansion to the Mayo Clinic, Children’s Hospitals, and Clinics of Minnesota in 2017. These research dollars in turn have resulted in additional grants totaling over $13 million in public and private funding to date.

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Research Grants

Click to learn about the research we have funded at top research institutions such as the University of Minnesota, Mayo Clinic, Children’s Hospitals, and Clinics of Minnesota.

2021

Project Title	Principal Investigator	Institution	Amount
Identifying and Characterizing the Cells that Create the Primary and Metastatic Sarcoma Niche	Jaime Modiano	UMN	$50,000
DICER1-related sarcomas	Kris Ann Schultz Damon Olson	Childrens	$20,000
Clinical and laboratory tools to evaluate treatment tolerability in older patients with soft tissue sarcoma	Thanh Ho	Mayo Clinic	$20,000

2021 RIS Research Grant for UMN

2021 RIS Research Grants Awarded to Children’s Minnesota and Mayo Clinic

2020

Project Title	Principal Investigator	Institution	Amount
eBAT as a Modulator of the Myeloid Immune Checkpoint in Cancer	Dr. Jaime Modiano	UMN	$50,000
Using Propranolol to Generate an Anti-Tumor Microenvironment	Dr. Erin Dickerson	UMN	$50,000
Computationally Deciphering the Paths of Genomic Catastropohe in Osteosarcoma	Dr. Ruping Sun	UMN	$50,000
DICER1-related Genitourinary Sarcomas	Dr. Kris Ann P. Schultz	Children’s Minnesota	$15,000
Targeting the Immune Checkpoint B7-H3 for the Treatment of Rhabdomyosarcoma.	Dr. Fabrice Lucien-Matteoni	Mayo Clinic	$25,000

2020 RIS Research Grants for UMN

2020 RIS Research Grants Awarded to Mayo Clinic and Children’s Minnesota

2019

Project Title	Principal Investigator	Institution	Amount
MYOG: Promoter-Controlled Oncolytic Adenovirus to Treat PAX3-FOXO1-Positive Rhabdomyosarcoma	Dr. Masato Yamamoto / Hideki Yoshida	UMN	$50,000
SHH signaling genetic alterations: A relevant and targetable trait in peripheral nerve sheath sarcomas	Dr. David Largaespada	UMN	$50,000
Registry-based analysis of risk and survival for young-onset sarcomas	Dr. Logan Spector	UMN	$50,000
2019 Integrated Proteomic and Transcriptomic Profiling of Rhabdomyosarcoma Reveals Target Antigens for Immune-Based Therapies	Dr. Patricio Gargollo	Mayo	$25,000
Expanding Opportunities For Early Detection of Sarcoma	Dr. Megan Hilgers and Dr. Kris Ann P. Schultz	Children’s Minnesota	$20,000

2019 RIS Research Grants-Mayo Clinic and Children’s Minnesota

2019 RIS Research Grants for UMN

2018

Project Title	Principal Investigator	Institution	Amount
Predicting relapse and response to chemotherapy in sarcoma	Dr. Amy Skubitz	UMN	$49,000
Retrospective and Prospective Comparison of Prognostic Transcriptional Biomarkers in Osteosarcoma using NanoString RNA profiling	Dr. Aaron Sarver / Dr. Edward Cheng	UMN	$49,000
Reprogramming cholesterol metabolism in sarcomas using adrenergic receptor antagonists	Dr. Erin Dickerson	UMN	$25,000
Identification of novel drivers of Ewing Sarcoma through engineered transformation of cells with differing levels of African admixture	Dr. Beau Weber	UMN	$25,000
Pilot Study of Circulating Cell Free Tumor DNA as a Biomarket in Sarcoma	Dr. Brittany Siontis / Dr. Steven Robinson	Mayo	$30,000
Identifying Gene Fusions in Pleuropulmonary Blastoma	Dr. Kris Ann Schultz	Children’s Minnesota	$15,000

2018 RIS Research Grants for Mayo Clinic and Children’s Minnesota

2018 RIS Research Grants for UMN

2017

Project Title	Principal Investigator	Institution	Amount
Engaging the Immune system as a strategy for sarcoma therapy	Dr. Antonella Borgatti	UMN	$40,000
Effects of beta-adrenergic receptor antagonists on sarcoma radiosensitivity	Dr. Jessica Lawrence	UMN	$35,000
Enhancement of the Response of Sarcoma to SBRT by Targeting HIF-1a	Dr. L. Chinsoo Cho	UMN	$25,000
Defining the Immunologic Landscape of Spontaneous Canine Osteosarcoma	Dr. Jaime Modiano	UMN	$25,000
Targeting Autophagy as a Therapeutic Strategy in Osteosarcoma	Dr. Avudaiappan Maran	Mayo Clinic	$25,000
Identifying Blood-Based Biomarkers to Improve Outcome in Pleuropulmonary Blastoma	Dr. Kris Ann Schultz	Children’s Minnesota	$15,000
In Support of the SARC Specialized program in Research Excellence (SPORE) application	Laurence Baker	SARC	$ 5,000

2017 RIS Research Grants for Mayo and Children’s

2017 RIS Research Grants for UMN

2016

Project Title	Principal Investigator	Institution	Amount
The impact of Beta Adrenergic receptors	Dr. Erin Dickerson	UMN	$50,000
A better process for predicting GIST reoccurrence and other soft tissue sarcomas	Dr. Amy Skubitz	UMN	$23,000
Improving the survival rate of Osteosarcoma patients	Dr. Subbaya Subramanian	UMN	$49,450

2015

Project Title	Principal Investigator	Institution	Amount
The use of FDG-PET CT metabolic response to increase the therapeutic ratio of treatment for high grade, large soft tissue sarcomas	Dr. Edward Cheng	UMN	$29,000
The Role of ATRX and ALT in sarcoma	Eric Hendrickson	UMN	$24,000
Mechanism-Based Expansion of the Tumor Repertoire for an Effective Sarcoma Therapy	Dr. Jaime Modiano	UMN	$24,000
The Role of NFIB in Metastatic Pediatric Osteosarcoma	Dr. Branden Moriarity	UMN	$24,000
Enhancement of the response of sarcoma to SBRT	Dr. Kathryn Dusenbery	UMN	$24,000

2014

Project Title	Principal Investigator	Institution	Amount
Targeting Semaphorin-4D for Osteosarcoma Therapy	Dr. David Largaespada	UMN	$40,000
MicroRNAs in the Progression of Osteosarcoma	Dr. Subbaya Subramanian	UMN	$35,000
Correlation of Macrophage Infiltration and Microvessel Density to Clinical Outcome in Sarcoma Patients	Dr. Amy Skubitz		$30,000

2013

Project Title	Principal Investigator	Institution	Amount
Preclinical evaluation of Minnelide in the treatment of osteosacoma	Dr. Subbaya Subramanian	UMN	$40,000
Quantification of macrophage infiltration and microvessel density	Dr. Amy Skubitz	UMN	$40,000
Treatment of sarcoma with metformin in combination with radiotherapy	Dr. Chang Song	UMN	$20,000
Targeting Semaphorin-4D for Osteosarcoma Therapy	Dr. David Largaespada	UMN	$40,000
MicroRNAs in the Progression of Osteosarcoma	Dr. Subbaya Subramanian	UMN	$35,000
Correlation of Macrophage Infiltration and Microvessel Density to Clinical Outcome in Sarcoma Patients	Dr. Amy Skubitz		$30,000

2012

Project Title	Principal Investigator	Institution	Amount
Tunneling Nanotubes as Novel targets in Osteosarcoma	Dr. Emil Lou	UMN	$5,310
Treatment of sarcoma with metformin in combination with radiotherapy	Dr. Chang Song	UMN	$30,640
Functional Analysis of Low Copy Number Gain of Human 8q24 in Osteosarcoma	Anindya Bagchi	UMN	$24,460
The role of tumor cell multipotency and the microenvironment as determinants in sarcoma development and progression	Dr. Erin Dickerson	UMN	$33,230
Isolation of human osteoblasts for functional evaluation of osteosarcoma susceptibility alleles	Dr. Logan Spector	UMN	$23,130
Identification of Potential Therapeutic Targets for Sarcomas	Dr. Amy Skubitz	UMN	$33,230

2011

Project Title	Principal Investigator	Institution	Amount
Significance of Rb inactivation in clinical behavior of osteosarcoma	Dr. Jaime Modiano	UMN	$49,918
T-cell Targeting of Sarcomas	Dr. Xianzheng Zhou	UMN	$50,000
Allogeneic, Haploidentical NK cell Infusions for High Sarcoma Patients	Michael Verneris	UMN	$48,300
Quantification of four biomarkers that demonstrate clinical correlations in aggressive fibromatosis	Dr. Amy Skubitz	UMN	$21,366
Translational Award-Complete Genome Sequencing and Analysis of Human osteosarcoma	Dr. Subbaya Subramanian	UMN	$25,000
Translational Award-Exploring intratumoral genetic heterogeneity in rhabdomyosarcoma and osteosarcoma	Dr. David Largaespada	UMN	$25,000

2010

Project Title	Principal Investigator	Institution	Amount
Characterization of sarcoma stem cells and their role in chemoresistance and relapse	Dr. Amy Skubitz	UMN	$45,000
Establishment of a miRNA Serum Biomakers in Well and De-differenciated liposarcomas	Dr. Christian Ogilvie	UMN	$36,900
Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptors as Gtargets for Rhabdomyosarcoma Therapy	Dr. David Largaespada	UMN	$42,902
Patient Education video series: Amputation in pediatric sarcoma patients	Dr. Edward Cheng	UMN	$18,000
2010-2011 RIS Sarcoma Scholarship Award	Dr. Kathryn Dusenbery	UMN	$4,000

2009

Project Title	Principal Investigator	Institution	Amount
Clinical Correlations Associated with Genes Upregulated in Fibromatosis	Dr. Amy Skubitz	UMN	$34,500
MicroRNA Regulatory Networks in Synovial Sarcoma	Dr. Subbaya Subramanian	UMN	$34,500
Scholarship for a 2nd or 3rd year medical student with an interest in cancer and cancer education	Dr. Kathryn Dusenbery	UMN	$1,000
Therapeutic implications of P13K inhibition of E2F1 apoptotic function in osteosaracoma	Dr. Timothy Hallstrom	UMN	$24,000
Somatic mutations in Nijmegen Breakage Syndrome Gene (NBS1) in Rhabdomyosarcomas	Dr. Simona Ognjanovic	UMN	$16,000
Evaluation of PET as a Predictor of Response to Preoperative Treatment for Soft Tissue Sarcoma, a Phase II Trial	Dr. Edward Cheng	UMN	$20,000

2008

Project Title	Principal Investigator	Institution	Amount
Heritable Influence on VEGF Receptor Function in a Canine Endothelial STS	Dr. Jaime Modiano	UMN	$20,850
The role of p53 mutations in pediatric alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS) and embryonal rhabdomyosarcona (ERMS)	Dr. Simona Ognjanovic	UMN	$36,936
MicroRNA Expression Profile of Synovial Sarcoma	Dr. Subbaya Subramanian	UMN	$39,020
Patient education video series: amputation, rotationplasty and limb salvage	Dr. Edward Cheng	UMN	$7,200

2006-2007

Project Title	Principal Investigator	Institution	Amount
Association of Leptin Expression with Malignant Progression in soft tissue sarcomas	Dr. Sagarika Kanjilal	UMN	$10,000
Premature artherosclerotic vascular disease in survivors of childhood and adolescent osteosarcoma	Dr. Mulroney	UMN	$10,000
Renewal – evaluation of PET/CT Imaging as a predictor of disease free survival following neoadjuvant chemotherapy for soft tissue sarcoma	Dr. Edward Cheng	UMN	$15,000

2005-2006

Project Title	Principal Investigator	Institution	Amount
Clinical assessment function and quality of life of lower extremity bone survivors	Dr. Rajaram Nagarajan	UMN	$ 9,813
Novel Treatment of giant cell tumor of bone using depot administration of zoledrnic acid in polymethylmethacrylate carrier	Dr. Pawel Zwolak	UMN	$14,900
Genetic epidemiology of osteosarcoma- feasibility study – phase 2	Dr. Logan Spector	UMN	$ 8,778
Evaluation of PET as predictor of response to pre-operative treatment for soft tissue sarcoma – phase 2 trial	Dr. Edward Cheng	UMN	$42,809

2004-2005

Project Title	Principal Investigator	Institution	Amount
Undergraduate medical student sarcoma education day	Dr. Kathryn Dusenbery	UMN	$1,500
Musculoskeletal tumor database	Dr. Edward Cheng	UMN	$3,000
Genetic epidemiology of osteosarcoma-feasibility study	Dr. Logan Spector	UMN	$7,200
Clinical Assessment, function and quality of life of lower extremity bone tumor survivors	Dr. Rajaram Nagarajan	UMN	$9,500
Evaluation of PET imaging as a predictor of response to pre-operative treatment for soft tissue sarcoma	Dr. Edward Cheng	UMN	$40,000

Research News

Save the Date: 2022 Minnesota Sarcoma Research Conference – Progress and Promise 

Rein in Sarcoma and Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota are excited to sponsor the 2022

RIS’ Humble Start Turned $10K Grant into Millions

Back in 2004 when Rein in Sarcoma awarded its first $10,000 research grant, it felt like a

2021 RIS Research Grants Awarded to Children’s Minnesota and Mayo Clinic

Rein in Sarcoma has awarded $40,000 in new sarcoma research grants to Children’s Minnesota and

CDMRP Moment of Silence Presenter Miranda Mead

Sarcoma survivor and Rein in Sarcoma volunteer, Miranda Mead, has served for the past three

PEComa Study

KJT Group is conducting a study and looking for PEComa patients to share their experiences.

$2 Million Research Funding Milestone

Rein in Sarcoma reached $2 million in sarcoma cancer research funding with its recent award

Sarcoma Doctors & Researchers

Meet the regional doctors and researchers involved in treating and researching sarcoma cancers. Click to read their profile.

Dr. Ed Cheng, MD

Department of Orthopedic Surgery

University of Minnesota

Dr. Chinsoo Cho, MD

Department of Radiation Oncology

University of Minnesota

Dr. Julie Chu, MD

Hematology-Oncology physician

Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota

Dr. Denis Clohisy, MD

Department of Orthopedic Surgery

University of Minnesota

Dr. Katie Dusenbery, MD

Department of Radiation Oncology

University Minnesota

Dr. Emily Greengard, MD

Department of Pediatrics

University of Minnesota

Dr. David Largaespada, PhD

Department of Pediatrics

University of Minnesota

Dr. Nancy McAllister, MD

Pediatric Oncology

Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota

Dr. Jaime Modiano V.M.D, PhD

Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences

University of Minnesota

Dr. Scott Okuno MD

Medical Oncologist

Mayo Clinic

Dr. Christian Ogilvie, MD

Department of Orthopedic Surgery

University of Minnesota

Dr. Amy Skubitz, PhD

Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology

University of Minnesota

Dr. Keith Skubitz, MD

Hematology, Oncology and Transplantation

University of Minnesota

Logan Spector, PhD

Department of Pediatrics

University of Minnesota

Dr. Subbaya Subramanian, MS PhD

Department of Surgery

University of Minnesota

Dr. Brenda Weigel, MD, MSC

Department of Pediatrics

University of Minnesota

Dr. Felasfa Wodajo, MD

Musculoskeletal Tumor Surgery

Virginia Cancer Specialists

Dr. Randy Hurley

Oncology and Hematology

Regions Hospital, HealthPartners

Progress and Promise: Minnesota Sarcoma Research Conference

The Progress and Promise Sarcoma Research Conference is a forum for researchers to share their findings to RIS stakeholders and students and further the collaboration among RIS-sponsored researchers. The event is sponsored by Rein in Sarcoma and the University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Center.

Upcoming event:

Minnesota Sarcoma Research Conference 2022: Progress and Promise

Past events:

Minnesota Sarcoma Research Virtual Conference 2020: Progress and Promise