Grants Search Results

Based on progress to date, Dr. Mulama was awarded a new grant in 2020 to fund an additional year of this Scholar grant. Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus is a virus that causes cancer known as Kaposi sarcoma, which is very common in HIV+ children, especially in Africa and sometimes in individuals who get an organ transplant. Dr. Mulama is designing and testing a vaccine that prevents and treats the viral infection, as well as antibodies to detect infection in people. He will also test the vaccine so that one day it can be used as a treatment to prevent Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus infection and Kaposi sarcoma in more than 40,000 patients worldwide each year.

The seeds of many childhood cancers are likely to be laid during human development before a child is born. Therefore, one may view childhood cancer cells as being stuck in development. Dr. Behjati aims to define at what stage tumour cells are stuck and to find ways of stimulating cancer cells to resume development. He envisions that this will provide a way of maturing cancer cells into harmless, non-cancerous cells. The St. Baldrick's Robert J. Arceci International Innovation Award is given in honor of the late Dr. Robert Arceci. A pioneer in the field, this award reflects Dr. Arceci's values including creativity, collaboration, and commitment to early- to mid-career scientists.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Parameswaran was awarded new grants in 2019 and 2020 to fund additional years of this Scholar grant. Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is the second most common acute leukemia in children, and current treatment strategies are inadequate to cure AML. Dr. Parameswaran is developing a new strategy using Natural Killer cells, which are a type of white blood cells with potential to kill cancer cells. Cancer cells often produce a protein that makes Natural Killer cells less active, which helps the cancer cells escape from NK cell-mediated killing. Dr. Parameswaran and her team are developing methods to stop this NK cell inactivation and thereby improve NK cell function to treat pediatric AML.

This grant is generously supported by Rays of Hope, a St. Baldrick's Hero Fund created in memory of Rayanna Marrero. She was a happy 3 year old when she was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. She battled ALL and won but a treatment induced secondary cancer claimed her life at age eight. Rayanna had an amazing attitude and loved life. She, like so many kids facing childhood cancer, did not allow it to define who she was. This Hero Fund aspires to give hope to kids fighting cancer through research.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Sayour was awarded a new grant in 2019 to fund an additional year of this Scholar grant. For children affected by medulloblastoma, the development of more effective and specific therapies that will not add further toxicity to existing treatments is critical in improving clinical outcomes. Dr. Sayour, the Hannah's Heroes St. Baldrick's Scholar, is investigating methods to harness the immune system to destroy these tumors though the use of nanoparticle vaccines. Nanoparticles can deliver messages to the immune system teaching it to kill cancer cells. Dr. Sayour is studying possible immune targets for nanoparticles in medulloblastoma, identifying underlying tumor resistance mechanisms, and establishing an optimum vaccine approach which he will evaluate in medulloblastoma models.

This grant is named for Hannah's Heroes, a St. Baldrick's Hero Fund created in honor of Hannah Meeson and pays tribute to her fight by raising awareness and funding for all childhood cancers.

Pediatric cancer patients that have high-risk solid tumors can be very difficult to treat, particularly when their cancer has come back after previous treatment or has spread to multiple areas of the body. Dr. Stewart is looking for specific mutations in the tumors of these patients, and testing new cancer drugs to customize treatment to give patients with relapsed high-risk solid tumors with better treatment options.

This grant is made with generous support from the Invictus Fund, a St. Baldricks's Hero Fund which was created in memory of Holden Gilkinson. It honors Holden's unconquerable spirit in his battle with bilateral Wilms tumor by funding cures and treatments to mitigate side and late effects of childhood cancer.

Children continue to die from leukemia because malignant cells overcome chemotherapy by turning off normal genetic safety checkpoints. Dr. Nalepa has found that loss of the same checkpoints makes cancer growth dependent on other genes, which represent possible anti-cancer targets. Dr. Nalepa is investigating the weak points of the cancer cells, and testing these precision-medicine strategies in new models of childhood leukemia. Dr. Nalepa will use the results of this testing to generate personalized therapy driven by cancer-specific mutations that will be more effective and less toxic for children who suffer from leukemia.

The human immune system is made up of a complicated network of cells including cells that help fight diseases such as cancer, and cells that prevent the immune system from fighting disease. Key cells that stop immune fighter cells from destroying cancer are called T regulatory cells (Tregs). Dr. Schultz is studying a new way to stop these Tregs and allow the good fighter cells to resume their ability to destroy cancer cells. This therapy will allow immune cells to put up a stronger fight against cancer and lead patients with cancer closer to cure.

Telomeres are special sequences of DNA located at the ends of every chromosome, and are essential to maintaining proper cellular function. If telomeres are damaged or degraded, they may cause healthy cells to transform into cancer cells. Dr. O'Sullivan and his team have discovered a protein called RAD51AP1 that appears at high levels in neuroblastoma tumor cells, and they have determined that having less of this protein stops telomere damage in cells. Dr. O'Sullivan is investigating the consequences and impact of RAD51AP1 inhibition on the proliferation and survival of neuroblastoma tumor cells.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Roberts was awarded a new grant in 2019 to fund an additional year of this Scholar grant. Dr. Roberts is focused on developing new treatments for patients with metastatic bone tumors. These tumors, once they have spread to the lungs, are incredibly difficult to treat. Dr. Roberts and his team will study the pathways that proteins move between osteosarcoma cancer cells and lung tissues. These experiments are helping Dr. Roberts and his team to better understand the biology that lets those tumors grow in the lung and will evaluate treatments which might prevent metastases from growing, and make them treatable when they do.

This consortium is conducting the first multi-institutional, genomics-based precision medicine trial for children with relapsed, refractory, and very high-risk leukemias. They are deploying new technologies to sequence all currently known cancer-promoting genes in an individual child's leukemia. Next, guided by a multi-disciplinary group of leukemia experts, they will make treatment recommendations based upon the genomic findings in the child's leukemia and the availability of a relevant targeted drugs for children. Results from this project will define the types and frequency of specific mutations in children with relapsed/refractory leukemia, and assess the impact of the treatment recommendations on their clinical care. The consortium will also perform laboratory-based studies to determine the response to therapy in lab models derived from the patient's leukemia cells, to identify new drug targets for these children. Data generated in this proposal will inform future genomically-based targeted therapy trials for children with leukemia with the long-term goal of precise, safe, and more efficacious therapies for children with these diseases. Funds administered by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

This grant is named for Hannah’s Heroes, a Hero Fund established to honor Hannah Meeson. At age 6 she was diagnosed with anaplastic medulloblastoma. After a relapse and additional treatment, Hannah currently shows no evidence of disease. Throughout her treatments, Hannah never complained and remained positive and happy. This fund pays tribute to her fight by raising awareness and funding for all childhood cancers because kids like Hannah “are worth fighting for.”

This institution is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: Pediatric LEukemiA Precision-based Therapy (LEAP) Consortium. For a description of this project, see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA.

This institution is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: Pediatric LEukemiA Precision-based Therapy (LEAP) Consortium. For a description of this project, see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA.

This institution is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: Pediatric LEukemiA Precision-based Therapy (LEAP) Consortium. For a description of this project, see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA.

This institution is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: Pediatric LEukemiA Precision-based Therapy (LEAP) Consortium. For a description of this project, see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA.

This institution is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: Pediatric LEukemiA Precision-based Therapy (LEAP) Consortium. For a description of this project, see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA.

This institution is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: Pediatric LEukemiA Precision-based Therapy (LEAP) Consortium. For a description of this project, see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA.

This institution is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: Pediatric LEukemiA Precision-based Therapy (LEAP) Consortium. For a description of this project, see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA.

This institution is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: Pediatric LEukemiA Precision-based Therapy (LEAP) Consortium. For a description of this project, see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Sinha was awarded a new grant in 2018 to fund an additional year of this Fellow award. Myelodysplastic syndrome is a rare disease that affects the stem cells in the bone marrow, which causes decreased blood counts. It is also known to be a precursor to acute myeloid leukemia. Cellular mutations are present in majority of these cases, however the mechanisms of development of these mutations are still not clear. Dr. Sinha is studying these interactions, in order to identify new prognostic factors and therapeutic options for these patients. Awarded at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and transferred to University of Oklahoma Health and Science Center.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Huang was awarded a new grant in 2018 to fund an additional year of this Fellow award. Cure rates for Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are poor and current therapies are toxic. Dr. Huang is using accurate models of AML to test novel agents that target cancer specific dependences. The overall goal of Dr. Huang's research is to develop new therapeutic strategies in AML to enhance efficacy and reduce toxicity. This research will inform efforts to develop novel treatment combinations in children with AML.