Photo by Clay Eals Dr. Brenda Sandmaier's research in the
Clinical Research Division takes on one of the most daunting
hurdles of bone- marrow transplantation - the challenge of
outwitting the immune system. Her laboratory's research is
crucial, since a patient's immune system can perceive incoming
marrow cells as invaders and prevent them from grafting, thereby
blocking a cure. Sandmaier is studying new ways to suppress the
immune system by targeting molecules on immune cells. The goal
is to achieve engraftment, the process by which the graft takes
hold, while reducing the need to give patients massive doses of
total-body irradiation prior to transplantation, part of the
current practice for immunosuppression. An option for more
people High doses of total-body irradiation currently limit
stem-cell transplantation to younger patients with more
aggressive diseases - leukemias, for example. Achieving
immunosuppression with lower radiation doses would make stem-
cell transplantation an option for more people who