$97,500 Awarded in Childhood Cancer Research Grants to Penn State College of Medicine

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

HERSHEY, Pa. (August 20, 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 a $97,500 extended St. Baldrick’s Fellow grant to support the work of Dr. Chandrika Gowda, a physician-researcher at Penn State College of Medicine.

The grant will fund an optional third year—based on her promising results—of Dr. Gowda’s project focused on the regulation of the function of the Ikaros protein. The loss of function of the Ikaros protein is associated with the development of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that does not respond well to current therapies. Dr. Gowda is studying the way that Ikaros prevents the development of leukemia and to explain why the loss of Ikaros activity leads to the development of leukemia. Thus, the results of this project will give insight into the mechanism of leukemia development. The more researchers learn about the way a normal cell changes to a cancer cell, the easier it will be to find new and more effective treatment options for patients with childhood leukemia.

“The research results we achieve thanks to this additional funding from St. Baldrick’s will lay the foundation for further testing of this novel targeted drug in human clinical trials,” said Dr. Gowda. “I am extremely thankful for the extended support from St. Baldrick’s, and I promise that we will work hard to advance the research to get publishable results and make a worthwhile contribution to the field of childhood leukemia research.”

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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