St. Baldrick’s Foundation Announces a Total of $428,318 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Traci Shirk
(626) 792-8247 ext.50
traci@stbaldricks.org

St. Baldrick’s Foundation Announces a Total of $428,318 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Local grants are part of more than $12.8 million awarded for pediatric oncology research in 2010

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (August 30, 2010) – The St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising money for childhood cancer research, awarded a $98,318 research grant to Taosheng Chen, Ph.D., and $330,000 to fund Mari Dallas, M.D., as a St. Baldrick’s Scholar. They are both scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The St. Baldrick’s Foundation currently funds more in grants to childhood cancer research institutions than any organization except the U.S. government. St. Baldrick’s signature head-shaving events are the fastest growing volunteer-driven fundraising opportunity benefitting childhood cancer research. The Foundation’s volunteer event organizers have led the way to raising more than $21 million to date and approximately $90 million since 2000, making the funding of institutions like St. Jude possible.

With only three percent of all federal cancer research funding dedicated to pediatric cancer research, the St. Baldrick’s Foundation grant funds are critical to continue the battle against this devastating disease. Worldwide, more than 160,000 children are diagnosed with cancer each year, and cancer is the leading cause of death by disease among children in the United States.

Dr. Chen is one of 18 to receive funding in the research grant category from the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. His research focuses on rhabdomyosarcoma, the most common cancer that originates in the soft tissue of the body in children. There are two subtypes, embryonal (ERMS) and alveolar (ARMS), and children with ARMS have poorer response to conventional chemotherapy and radiation therapy and much lower survival rates than those with ERMS. This research aims to discover chemical inhibitors of a gene called PAX3-FKHR and how "knocking down" that gene may help patients respond better to chemotherapy. If successful, the project will establish a new approach for developing drugs to effectively treat ARMS. “Our goal is to discover chemical compounds critical for preclinical studies, which we hope will lead to a novel approach to treating ARMS,” Chen said.

Dr. Dallas is one of nine new doctors to be funded as a St. Baldrick’s Scholar, and overseeing her research will be sponsor Ching-Hon Pui, M.D. Her research focuses on improving the outcomes of patients undergoing umbilical cord blood (UCB) transplantation. Approximately one-third of patients who require a hematopoietic transplant do not have a suitable matched donor and will require an alternative donor. UCB transplantation is an increasingly utilized alternative, with over 20,000 performed since 1988. One of the major complications is the increased risk for serious infection due to the prolonged period of time the patient's immune system is suppressed after transplantation. Researchers at St. Jude are developing a novel method to generate facilitating cells that will hasten the time to recovery. Their goal is to translate these findings to pediatric patients and improve their survival.

“Our goal is to improve the overall outcomes of patients who undergo umbilical cord blood transplantation by addressing the increased risk of infection due to the delay in immune recovery. We hope to develop novel methods to enhance the immune recovery after umbilical cord blood transplantation,” Dr. Dallas said.

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 St. Baldrick’s YouTube and Vimeo channels.

About The St. Baldrick’s Foundation
The St. Baldrick’s Foundation makes grants to research institutions to find new cures for childhood cancer, and to find treatments to ensure a better quality of life for patients and survivors. The Foundation funds research projects conducted by established pediatric cancer experts, as well as younger professionals who will be the experts of tomorrow. Funds also enable hundreds of local institutions to participate in national pediatric cancer clinical trials, offering the best available care for every child. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is grateful to its many volunteers (bald or not!), donors and sponsors, including Allied World, Barbicide, Dowling & Partners, elope, Markit, and PartnerRe. For more information about St. Baldrick’s, please call 1-888-899-BALD or visit www.StBaldricks.org.