PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT:
Michael Binkley, MD, MS is an Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at Stanford
University School of Medicine. His long-term career goal is to combine his expertise in managing
patients with hematologic malignancies with his research expertise in statistics, genomics, and
cancer biology to develop improved treatment approaches for patients. He aims to develop a
translational research program analyzing human tumor and blood samples to identify genomic and
microenvironmental factors predictive of clinical outcomes to optimize therapy.
This career development award will provide Dr. Binkley with the necessary training, support,
and mentorship to develop his research program and gain independence. The proposal will be
completed under the primary mentorship of Maximilian Diehn, MD, PhD, and Ash Alizadeh, MD,
PhD who are both experts in identifying genomic biomarkers and clinically meaningful
microenvironmental factors. The career development plan includes formal coursework, seminars,
conferences, and hands-on approaches to allow Dr. Binkley to acquire critical knowledge and
expertise in (1) cancer biology and immunology, (2) biostatistics, data management, and predictive
modeling, and (3) design of prospective clinical protocols and grantsmanship.
Nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma (NLPHL) is a rare subtype of Hodgkin
lymphoma that is most commonly treated with intensive chemotherapy with or without radiotherapy.
The majority of patients have excellent outcomes but their survival can be threatened by secondary
toxicities including cardiotoxicities. To reduce therapy associated morbidity and mortality through
de-escalation of therapy by identifying low risk patients and those at high risk of cardiotoxicity, this
proposal seeks to (1) describe cell state ecosystems predictive of outcome, (2) use circulating tumor
DNA to genotype NLPHL and establish its utility as a surveillance tool for those with advanced
stage disease, and (3) establish noninvasive testing of inherited coronary artery disease risk. This
proposal will lay the foundation for future prospective clinical trials employing microenvironmental
factors to select patients suitable for therapy de-escalation.