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Press Release

$427,500 Awarded to Indianapolis Institutions to Help Fight Childhood Cancers


September 3, 2014
    • Press Release
    • For Immediate Release

 

  • Media Contact:
    • Traci Shirk
    • 626.792.8247 ext. 250
    • traci@stbaldricks.org

$427,500 Awarded to Indianapolis Institutions to Help Fight Childhood Cancers

Part of More than $24.7 Million Awarded in New Grants by the St. Baldrick’s Foundation

INDIANAPOLIS (September 2, 2014) – The St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a volunteer-driven and donor-centered charity dedicated to raising money for childhood cancer research, is proud to award $427,500 in grants to Indianapolis institutions to support research that aims to find cures and better treatments for pediatric cancers.

Yan Liu, Ph.D., at Indiana University, received a $330,000 St. Baldrick’s Scholar Grant to continue research on acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common cancer found in children. Despite improvements in treatment outcomes, a considerable number of patients relapse or do not respond to conventional chemotherapy. Dr. Liu’s team recently found that an enzyme, called PRL2, is elevated in T-ALL cells, and that blocking PRL2 activity kills these cancer cells. This research aims to determine the effect of PRL2 inhibitors on T-ALL cells, in hopes it can be a new target in treatment of T-ALL.

“It is my great honor to receive this prestigious award from the St. Baldrick’s Foundation,” said Dr. Liu. “As federal funding for childhood cancer research decreases every year, receiving this funding from the St. Baldrick’s Foundation will help me generate essential preliminary data for NIH grant application and establish me as an independent investigator in the field of pediatric oncology.”

Based on progress to date, Michael Ferguson, M.D., at Riley Hospital for Children, received a $97,500 extended St. Baldrick’s Fellow grant. Neurofibromatosis type I is a rare genetic disorder that affects about 100,000 people in the United States, alone. Of children with this disease, 25-40 percent form slow growing tumors called plexiform neurofibromas. These tumors can cause disfigurement, disability and even death, depending on their location. To date, there is no effective therapy to treat these tumors. This project is testing drugs, already developed by pharmaceutical companies that block growth in other cancers, for plexiform neurofibromas. The purpose of this study is to find a life-saving treatment for children with these tumors.

“As an oncologist, I treat many children with cancer that have no hope for a cure,” said Dr. Ferguson. “I know the St. Baldrick’s Foundation’s money and time has helped fund research that will save children’s lives, and I hope that I can continue to find new therapies to not only treat plexiform neurofibromas, but all refractory pediatric cancers. I cannot begin to thank the Foundation for all the good they do and hope together we can find a way so that all children with cancer will be survivors.”

To learn how you can get involved visit www.StBaldricks.org, and connect with St. Baldrick’s on social media via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Vimeo.

About 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. Since 2005, St. Baldrick’s has awarded more than $152 million to support lifesaving research, making the Foundation the largest private funder of childhood cancer research grants. 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. For more information about the St. Baldrick’s Foundation please call 1.888.899.BALD or visit www.StBaldricks.org.

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