Childhood Cancer Research Grant Awarded to Hackensack University Medical Center

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Traci Shirk
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Childhood Cancer Research Grant Awarded to Hackensack University Medical Center

St. Baldrick’s Foundation awards $46,900 to help kids with cancer

HACKENSACKH, N.J. (January 23, 2012) – It takes life-saving research and access to clinical trials to help children with cancer. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a volunteer-driven charity dedicated to raising money for childhood cancer research, awarded an infrastructure grant of $46,900 to Hackensack University Medical Center. The Foundation’s infrastructure grants provide institutions with resources to enable them to conduct more research and enroll more kids in ongoing clinical trials – their best hope for a cure.

Worldwide, more than 160,000 children are diagnosed with cancer each year and it remains the leading cause of death by disease among children in the United States. With only 4 percent of all federal cancer research funding dedicated to pediatric cancer research, and more than 70 percent of children receiving treatment through clinical trials, St. Baldrick’s Foundation infrastructure grants are critical to finding cures for all childhood cancers.

“This grant will allow the program to remain at the cutting edge of Pediatric Blood and Marrow (BMT) clinical research and provide state of the art BMT therapy to all New Jersey children,” said Dr. Alfred Gillio, director of Pediatric BMT at Hackensack University Medical Center.

The infrastructure grants, combined with the more than $19.6 million awarded in June, bring the St. Baldrick’s Foundation’s funding total to more than $21 million awarded in 2011. Infrastructure grants were awarded based on the need of the institution and its patients, anticipated results of the grant and local participation in St. Baldrick’s events.

“The first time I participated in a St. Baldrick’s event was an enlightening experience, from the families you meet to actually seeing yourself without hair, it’s incredibly fun,” said Anthony Critelli, volunteer event organizer of the Eisai Inc., Woodcliff Lake, N.J., event. “I believe in St. Baldrick’s because they understand that more needs to be done in pediatric oncology. Today’s treatments can’t be one size fits all. It’s painful to see the kids who are robbed of their childhood because of cancer. The fact that kids are so resilient and continue to fight is encouraging and gives me hope that anything can be accomplished.”

Everyone can do their part to support St. Baldrick’s! To locate or organize an event in your community, sign-up to shave, donate or volunteer, visit www.StBaldricks.org. You can also become a fan on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, join our letsCONQUER movement and visit the Foundation’s YouTube and Vimeo channels.

About the St. Baldrick’s Foundation
The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is a volunteer-driven charity committed to funding the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long and healthy lives. The Foundation funds more in childhood cancer research grants than any organization except the U.S. government. St. Baldrick’s funds are granted to some of the most brilliant childhood cancer research experts in the world and to younger professionals who will be the experts of tomorrow. Funds awarded also enable hundreds of local institutions to participate in national pediatric cancer clinical trials, a child’s best hope for a cure. Since the Foundation’s first grants as an independent charity in 2005, St. Baldrick’s has funded more than $78 million in childhood cancer research. For more information about the St. Baldrick’s Foundation please call 1.888.899.BALD or visit www.StBaldricks.org.