Dr. David Ulmert, associate professor of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, has been selected to receive the Hero Award from MIB Agents, a pediatric osteosarcoma nonprofit. The award, part of the organization’s OutSmarting Osteosarcoma grant program, will support his work to develop and refine a novel targeted therapy for osteosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of bone cancer that primarily affects children, adolescents and young adults.
The $100,000 grant, which is the highest level of funding awarded through the program, will help advance Ulmert’s preclinical studies of a radioimmunotherapy that targets LRRC15, a protein commonly expressed in high-risk osteosarcoma tumors. This approach uses a radioactive antibody, known as DUNP19, to selectively bind to LRRC15-expressing cancer cells and surrounding tumor-supporting structures, delivering a therapeutic dose of radiation while minimizing damage to healthy tissue. The therapy has shown strong potential in preclinical models to not only destroy tumor cells but also reprogram the tumor environment and improve response to immunotherapy.
Building on these promising early results, Ulmert and his team are working to launch a first-in-human clinical trial evaluating the safety and distribution of this therapy in patients. The trial, expected to begin in late 2025, will be led by Dr. Noah Federman, the Glaser Family Endowed Chair and director of the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Pediatric Bone and Soft Tissue Sarcoma Program.
"Despite recent advances in immunotherapies and targeted therapies for other cancers, patients with metastatic or treatment-resistant osteosarcoma still face very limited options," said Dr. Ulmert, who is also director of the Preclinical Theranostics Program at UCLA and an investigator at the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. "This grant provides essential support to clarify the mechanism of LRRC15 therapy, advance it toward clinical translation, and explore co-treatment strategies."
