St. Baldrick’s Foundation Hero Fund Created in Honor of Chicago Child Raises Money for Childhood Cancer Research

Additional Grant Also Awarded at The University of Illinois, Chicago for a Total of $300,837 Granted

CHICAGO (September 16, 2014) – The St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a volunteer-driven and donor-centered charity dedicated to raising money for childhood cancer research, is proud to announce that a Hero Fund created in honor of Sara Martorano, from Chicago, Ill., will support research at The University of Chicago. A Hero Fund is an ongoing way for friends, family members or groups to donate or raise funds to honor a loved one. Another St. Baldrick’s research grant was also awarded to the University of Illinois, Chicago, for a total of $300,837.

The “Just Do It…and be done with it” fund was started by Joe and Erin Martorano in honor of their daughter, Sara, who was diagnosed with stage IV Wilms’ tumor, a cancer of the kidney, in November 2008 at the age of 4. Sara endured 33 weeks of chemotherapy, three surgeries and 13 radiation treatments to her lungs, abdomen and pelvis. Now 9 years old, Sara loves to eat crispy bacon, play with her sisters and is celebrating five years cancer free.

“A cancer diagnosis left us feeling scared and victimized,” said Joe and Erin. “St. Baldrick’s provided our family with an opportunity to feel excited and proud. We created the ‘Just Do It…and be done with it’ Hero Fund in celebration of our daughter being cancer free. Fueled by the determination of family, old friends and new friends, the Hero Fund has evolved into an empowering community quest to fund childhood cancer research and scare the pants off cancer!”

Each year, the family attends the annual Chicago First Responders St. Baldrick’s signature head-shaving event as part of team “Just Do It…and be done with it” (formerly Team Sara Beth), where friends, family and supporters shave their heads to stand in solidarity with kids with cancer and raise money for lifesaving research. Since 2009, the team’s efforts have raised nearly $132,000. With this support, St. Baldrick’s is able to fund a consortium grant at The University of Chicago.

The consortium, with $200,837 funded by St. Baldrick’s and named for the “Just Do It…and be done with it” fund, is developing a web-based database that contains clinical information on more than 18,000 children with neuroblastoma from around the world; the interactive International Neuroblastoma Risk Group database (iINRGdb). The iINRGdb was built with technology that allows linkage to genomic and tumor bank databases generated by numerous laboratories around the world. Important data-mining research studies have already been conducted with the clinical data in the iINRGdb. The linkage of this large set of clinical data with genomic information will provide new opportunities to conduct powerful research studies never before possible. It is anticipated that the iINRGdb will lead to new information regarding the genomic factors that drive the development and clinical behavior of neuroblastoma tumors.

Zhijian Qian, Ph.D., a researcher at The University of Illinois at Chicago received a one-year research grant. The $100,000 grant will go toward Dr. Qian’s research project that studies acute myeloid leukemia (AML), which is the most common type of blood cancer. Normal blood stem cells have the capacity to produce all type of blood cells. However, impaired blood stem cells, as a consequence of genetic changes, play a central role in the initiation and progression of AML. Dr. Qian is researching how an alteration of expression of a critical gene, which is required for normal function of blood stem cells, causes AML. This study also aims to identify new therapeutic approaches to cure childhood leukemia by targeting the impaired blood stem cells.

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. St. Baldrick’s coordinates its signature head-shaving events worldwide where participants collect pledges to shave their heads in solidarity with kids with cancer, raising money to fund research. 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, and the new International Scholar grants train researchers to work in developing countries. For more information about the St. Baldrick’s Foundation please call 1.888.899.BALD or visit www.StBaldricks.org.

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