WashU Medicine physician-researcher at Siteman Cancer Center will use grant to expand access to genomic testing for patients with leukemia in Latin America
Samuel Urrutia, MD, MS, a WashU Medicine physician-researcher at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and WashU Medicine, has been awarded a $50,000 early-career grant from global oncology nonprofit Binaytara.
He and four other early-career researchers from across the U.S. and Peru each received a Shaji Kumar Hematology Research Award to improve how blood cancers are diagnosed and treated.
They competed for the individual grants during a live pitch session at the 2026 National Summit on Hematologic Cancers in Nashville, Tenn. There, nine finalists had 14 minutes total to present their research proposal and answer questions from judges in front of the conference audience.
Urrutia’s winning proposal is focused on using whole-genome sequencing to choose the most effective treatment option for individual patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Specifically, he will use the grant to work with local labs in Paraguay and Peru to provide comprehensive genetic and genomic testing for patients to guide their treatment earlier in the process.
“With this award we will be able to bring state-of-the-art diagnostics to inform leukemia treatment and prognosis in two countries in Latin America,” Urrutia said. “This funding will serve as the foundation of an international genomics consortium for leukemias in the region.”
Currently, testing must be sent to outside labs, where it can cost more than $3,000, about two-thirds of the average Paraguayan’s annual salary. Results take up to two months to come back. Urrutia aims to replace several separate tests with one and return results within 10 days, early enough to guide treatment during a patient’s first hospital stay. His goal is to build an affordable, sustainable testing program that could serve blood cancer patients across the Andean region.
Awardees will report on their progress at a future Summit.