Our Science – Hardy Website

Nancy M. Hardy, M.D., M.A.

Experimental Transplantation and Immunology Branch Head, Prevention and Treatment of Cancer Relapse Section Staff Clinician Center for Cancer Research National Cancer Institute Building 10 - CRC, Room 3E-3330 Bethesda, MD 20892-1203 Phone:   301-451-1406 Fax:   301-480-0045 E-Mail:   hardyn@mail.nih.gov

Biography

Dr. Hardy received her M.D. from the University of Washington in 1995. She completed clinical training in internal medicine at Duke University Medical Center in 1998 and fellowships in hematology and oncology at Duke University Medical Center and infectious diseases at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in 2002. From 2000 -2003, Dr. Hardy trained in cellular immunology in the laboratory of Dr. Ronald Gress in the Experimental Immunology Branch. Using murine models, her research foci included study of the chemokine system in thymopoiesis and recovery of T-lymphopenia and examination of sites and mechanisms of extrathymic T-cell ontogeny in the context of severe T-lymphopenia. She was awarded a Senior Fellowship in Transplantation in the CCR's Experimental Transplantation and Immunology Branch in 2003 and joined the senior clinical faculty in 2005.

Research

Clinical Research

Dr. Hardy currently serves as Head of the Prevention and Treatment of Cancer Relapse Section, which is committed to developing interventions based on an emerging understanding of the immunologic bases of graft-versus-tumor (GVT). Under NCI-11-C-0125, NCT01326728 - Relapsed Hematologic Malignancy After Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation: Screening, Disease Characterization and Natural History, Dr. Hardy studies clinical and laboratory parameters of immune function in recipients of allogeneic stem cell transplantation, comparing individuals with sustained remission with those who have cancer progression in order to identify potential predictors of GVT potency. This study also provides a platform for comprehensive screening of individuals with cancer progression after AlloSCT, evaluation of the clinical features of post-AlloSCT cancer progression, and prospective clinical and immunologic assessment of individuals who are treated for cancer after AlloSCT with investigational or conventional regimens.

Under NCI-09-C-0224, NCT00984165 - Pilot Study of Radiation-Enhanced Allogeneic Cell Therapy for Progressive Hematologic Malignancy After Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation, Dr. Hardy is studying whether single-fraction tumor-targeted radiation can rekindle or redirect a systemic anti-tumor response through the 'abscopal effect'. Preliminary results suggest that this is indeed the case, with systemic responses observed in DLI-refractory tumors and in individuals with concurrent cancer progression and chronic GVHD (with simultaneous cGHVD remissions).

Translational Research

Tissue donations from study participants permit exploration of biologic determinants of cancer responses to post-alloSCT interventions. Active collaborations include identification of antigen-specific T-cell and antibody responses after AlloSCT, after progression and following establishment of GVT responses. Hodgkins lymphoma GVT responses are of particular interest, with investigation into the basis of GVT in the setting of recurrent HL's unique chimeric tumor microenvironment after AlloSCT.

This page was last updated on 2/26/2013.