Creating human bone marrow models to understand treatment-resistant blood cancer

Ali Abid Fazil

London South Bank University

Awarded: £4,445.56

Ali Fazil is a 3rd year BSc BiomedicalScience (Hons) Student at London South Bank University, and he will be awarded £4,445.56 to do his project “Developing a Human 2D and 3D Bone Marrow Model to Study Microenvironment-Driven Therapy Resistance in Multiple Myeloma”, supervised by Dr Valentina Caputo Galarce.

The Problem

Multiple myeloma is a type of blood cancer that develops in the bone marrow. There are over 33,000 people living with myeloma in the UK, and it accounts for 15 per cent of blood cancers, and two per cent of all cancers. Although treatments have improved, many patients eventually stop responding to them. The cancer cells evolve into more aggressive and treatment-resistant forms, as neighbouring stromal cells and immune cells in the bone marrow send signals that help the cancer survive and adapt.

Thousands of animals are used to study this process. Mice with weakened immune systems are often used, which does not properly mimic how human patients respond to treatments, especially newer therapies that depend on the immune system.

There is therefore a clear need for better, human-relevant models to understand how the bone marrow environment contributes to treatment resistance in multiple myeloma.

The Project

Ali’s project aims to create a more realistic model of multiple myeloma using human cells to recreate key features of the bone marrow environment so that cancer cell behaviour can be studied more accurately.

First, he will develop a simple 2D model by growing myeloma cells together with stromal cells, allowing him to observe how the two cell types interact. He will use techniques, including fluorescent labelling and gene analysis, to see how cancer cell growth, gene activity, and markers linked to treatment response are affected.

Alongside this, he will also begin constructing a 3D model by growing the cells within a supportive structure that better mimics the microenvironment of bone marrow. While relatively simple, it will enable Ali to see how cell interactions change under more realistic conditions.

If time allows, he may also test the model with treatments or stress conditions (such as low oxygen) to see how these factors influence resistance. Ali also plans to further this research in his postdoc where he can test this hypothesis in further research.

The Potential

By using human cell lines instead of animals, Ali’s project provides a more accurate approach to studying multiple myeloma. The system is also flexible, more controlled, and can be adapted to test different treatments or environmental conditions.

In the short term, the project will provide insight into how the bone marrow environment contributes to treatment resistance. He hopes it will also generate early data to support future research and the development of more advanced models.

In the longer term, this approach could contribute to technologies such as organ-on-chip systems, which aim to replace animal testing altogether. By better reflecting how cancer behaves in patients, these models could help identify more effective treatments and improve outcomes for people with multiple myeloma. This is a relatively new, and developing, approach with potential to support future studies into treatment resistance and relapse in multiple myeloma.

Creating human bone marrow models to understand treatment-resistant blood cancer

“I am passionate about Replacing Animal Research’s mission because I believe research should be both scientifically strong and ethically responsible. Animal models have been used for many years, but they do not always accurately reflect human disease, especially in complex conditions such as cancer…

For me, replacing animal research is not just about removing animals from experiments; it is about developing better science.”

Ali Abid Fazil