RUNX1 Research Program 7th Annual Scientific Conference and Patient Meeting - PROJECT SUMMARY
The main goal of the RUNX1 Research Program 7th Annual Scientific Conference and Patient Meeting is to
create a dynamic convening in order to foster collaboration and provide opportunities for knowledge and data
sharing among a diverse set of researchers, clinicians, and patients and their families for a rare disease called
RUNX1 familial platelet disorder with predisposition to hematologic malignancies (RUNX1-FPD or FPDMM).
Individuals with the disorder have a 35-50% lifetime risk of developing a hematologic malignancy. Of those who
develop a malignancy, over 50% are diagnosed with AML. It is the only convening of its kind and continues to
be an important part of discovery and future therapies for the disorder as well as an opportunity for early career
investigators, posts and graduate students to present their research.
Conference participation has grown each year. We had over 182 attendees for the virtual conference in 2021.
In 2022, we had 130 individuals - 40 patients and 90 scientists, clinicians and genetic counselors - who
attended. We were able to award five deserving young investigators with travel scholarships to attend the
conference and present at the poster sessions due to NCATS funding. Furthermore, we held two important
workshops with patients and scientists to drive future patient-centered research and patient involvement in the
research continuum. This was due to a grant we received from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research
Institute (PCORI). We will continue to hold the poster session virtually in 2023.
In previous years, 50% of research attendees were women, 30% of attendees were post-docs or graduate
students, and 15% of independent investigators were 5 years or less in their first faculty position. We plan to
continue to engage a diverse audience of investigators. RRP is committed to engaging patients, clinicians
and/or researchers from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups to broaden participation from these
communities at our conference and beyond.
The agenda includes research-specific sessions open to all stakeholders as well as a track dedicated to
RUNX1-FPD patients and family members. There are some overlapping sessions designed to encourage
engagement between the two communities. The objective is to promote and drive patient-engaged research
forward, with direct patient input in the development and planning of the sessions via our 23-member Research
Guided by Patients Committee (RGPC).
The research focused portion of the meeting will bring together experts from the fields of hematology,
immunology, oncology, cell therapy and basic science who are committed to uncovering the mechanisms
underlying the pathogenesis of RUNX1-FPD with the goal of developing therapeutic interventions that impact
both the bleeding issues and most importantly the predisposition to malignancy. The audience will include
investigators devoted to studying RUNX1, leukemia progression, clonal hematopoiesis, gene editing, and
hematopoietic stem cell transplants. It has become increasingly clear through the NHGRI-sponsored natural
history study of RUNX1-FPD that immune dysfunction and inflammatory disorders are common. RUNX1-FPD
includes a unique patient population where there may be a nexus between immunology and oncology based
entirely on activity of a single master regulator, RUNX1.