February 03 2022

Minneapolis, Minn. — (February 3, 2022): The National Marrow Donor Program^®(NMDP)/Be The Match^®, a global leader in cellular therapy, awarded this year’s Amy Strelzer Manasevit Research Program grant to Dan Peltier, MD, PhD. The grant underscores NMDP’s commitment to research to advance the future of care and improve patient outcomes for patients diagnosed with life-threatening blood cancer or blood diseases.

Dr. Peltier is an Assistant Professor of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at the University of Michigan specializing in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and cellular therapies. His research interests focus on translational immunology with a particular focus on the role of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). GVHD is a post-transplant complication in which donor T cells attack tissues in the recipient’s body. Dr. Peltier’s research will contribute to increased understanding about how to regulate immune responses to help prevent GVHD, ultimately improving patient outcomes and transplant safety.

“The NMDP/Be The Match remains committed to investing in research that makes transformative, impactful differences in the lives of transplant and cell therapy recipients,” said Jeffery Auletta, MD, Senior Vice President of Patient Outcomes and Experience and Co-Scientific Director of the Center for International Blood and Marrow Research (CIBMTR) at NMDP/Be The Match. “We are very excited for Dr. Peltier and his team, and we look forward to continuing our support of all cutting-edge research supported through the Amy Strelzer Manasevit Research Program, which focuses on improving patient outcomes.”

The Amy Strelzer Manasevit Research Program, among the largest and most coveted grants in the transplant and cellular therapy field, supports the research efforts of scientists and clinicians early in their careers. Celebrating its 24^th year, the award is funded through generous donations to the Be The Match Foundation and focuses on launching young investigators on a lifelong journey of discovery to prevent or treat life-threatening complications following all forms of cellular therapy. The grant will support Dr. Peltier’s research through its 5-year provision of a total $400,000.

Dr. Peltier holds a B.S. in Microbiology and Immunology from Michigan State University. He completed the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Michigan where he attained an M.D. and a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology. For clinical training, Dr. Peltier completed a Pediatric Residency and Hematology/Oncology Fellowship at the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. After fellowship, he joined the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Division at the University of Michigan and completed post-doctoral training in transplantation biology in Dr. Pavan Reddy’s lab.

“I am honored to be named among the prestigious list of previous Amy Scholars, and I want to thank Be The Match and its supporters for making this possible,” said Dr. Peltier, Pediatric Hematologist and Oncologist at the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. “This generous grant will support a team of researchers and scientists dedicated to finding ways to limit complications for transplant recipients, particularly graft-versus-host disease. My passion is helping children overcome cancer, and I know this research will give hope to patients and their families by making transplant safer.”

NMDP/Be The Match established the research program in 1997 to honor the memory of Amy Strelzer Manasevit, a young mother of two children who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 1993 and succumbed from pneumonia following a successful bone marrow transplant.

Amy Manasevit’s family and friends partnered with NMDP/Be The Match^® to establish a research program to help prevent other families from losing loved ones due to complications from hematopoietic cell transplantation. To date, the Amy Strelzer Manasevit Research Program has supported 46 scholars and 13 post-doctoral fellows with financial investments of more than $9 million since 1998. The Amy Scholars have leveraged this funding to develop their research portfolios and win more than $110 million in additional grant funding to support the discoveries that improve survival rates and quality of life for transplant patients.

Dr. Peltier will be honored at a reception during this year’s Tandem Meetings, the combined annual meetings of the AmericanSociety for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (ASTCT) and the Center for International Blood & Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR), being held in April Salt Lake City.

Visit our website to learn more about the Amy Strelzer Manasevit Research Program and the many ways NMDP/Be The Match^® supports transplant and cellular therapy research.

About the National Marrow Donor Program® (NMDP)/Be The Match®

The National Marrow Donor Program®(NMDP)/Be The Match® is the leading global partner working to save lives through cellular therapy. With more than 30 years of experience managing the most diverse registry of potential unrelated blood stem cell donors and cord blood units in the world, NMDP/Be The Match is a proven partner in providing cures to patients with life-threatening blood and marrow cancers and diseases. Through their global network, they connect centers and patients to their best cell therapy option—from blood stem cell transplant to a next-generation therapy—and collaborate with cell and gene therapy companies to support therapy development and delivery through Be The Match BioTherapies®. NMDP/Be The Match is a tireless advocate for the cell therapy community, working with hematologists/oncologists to remove barriers to consultation and treatment, and supporting patients through no-cost programs to eliminate non-medical obstacles to cell therapy. In addition, they are a global leader in research through the CIBMTR®(Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research®)—a collaboration with Medical College of Wisconsin, investing in and managing research studies that improve patient outcomes and advance the future of care.