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Press Release

Nearly $1 Million Awarded in Childhood Cancer Research Grants to Stanford University


September 9, 2014
    • Press Release
    • For Immediate Release

 

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

Nearly $1 Million Awarded in Childhood Cancer Research Grants to Stanford University

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

PALO ALTO, Calif. (September 9, 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 nearly $1 million in pediatric cancer research grants to support the work of five physician-scientists at Stanford University and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford.

Samuel Cheshier M.D., Ph.D., named the “Ty Louis Campbell Foundation St. Baldrick’s Scholar,” was awarded $330,000 to support his research project focused on pediatric brain tumors. Dr. Cheshier and his team have found that a certain protein on all tumors can prevent immune cells from destroying the tumors. From this discovery, the team developed a protein-based therapy that blocks the protein and demonstrates the ability to kill tumor cells in two malignant pediatric brain tumors: pediatric high-grade glioma and medulloblastoma. This research aims to combine this protein-based therapy with other immune system-based anti-tumor proteins to create new targeted therapies for treatment. This grant is named for the Ty Louis Campbell Foundation, a partner of St. Baldrick’s and created in memory of Ty Louis Campbell.

Based on progress to date, Yoon-Jae Cho, M.D., received $230,000 to fund two additional years of his scholar award. Dr. Cho, named the “Miracles for Michael St. Baldrick’s Scholar,” is studying medulloblastoma, the most common brain cancer in children. Standard treatment for children diagnosed with medulloblastoma is surgery and aggressive radiation and chemotherapy, and still, about 35 percent of patients do not survive. The goal of Dr. Cho’s research is to develop new therapies that will effectively treat children diagnosed with this lethal disease. This grant is named for the Miracles for Michael Hero Fund created in memory of Michael Orbany, who fought cancer, and honors his tremendous strength to never ever give up.

Michael Wei M.D., Ph.D., was also granted $230,000 to support two additional years of his St. Baldrick’s Scholar award. This study focuses on acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Dr. Wei and his team are using a genetic screen to study a novel candidate drug molecule’s mechanism of action as an inhibitor of NAMPT, a key protein that regulates cancer cell metabolism. Their findings show that the molecule is effective against patient leukemia cells. Over the next two years, Dr. Wei will work to better understand how this molecule works to kill leukemia cells and identify what are the genes and pathways involved, in hopes that it can be used to treat and cure patients with ALL.

Erin Breese, M.D., Ph.D., and Liora Schultz, M.D., both received St. Baldrick’s Fellow awards totaling $193,425 to support an optional third year of their fellowships. Dr. Breese is working to understand how a normal blood cell can develop into leukemia. Dr. Breese and her team have created a model that mimics this process and will use the additional funding to study the model to identify new ways to treat patients with this disease. Named the Markit St. Baldrick’s Fellow, Dr. Schultz has developed a model to investigate new ways to use the body’s own immune system to fight acute myeloid leukemia, a type of leukemia that despite best current treatments has poor outcomes.

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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