Dr. Keith Humphries and researchers from the BC Cancer Agency’s Terry Fox Lab pinpoint a previously unknown gene —MEISI— as a susceptible target for combating many forms of leukemia. Dr. Humphries discovered that MEIS1 allows normal cells in the bone marrow to transform into cancerous cells. When the researchers remove MEIS1 from leukemic cells in the lab, they are able to stop very aggressive leukemia in its tracks. The findings were published in the international science journal Cancer Cell.