Grants Search Results

Based on progress to date, Dr. Wei was awarded a new grant in 2014 to fund an additional two years of this Scholar award. 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. Dr. Wei is working 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 acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

MicroRNAs are small regulatory molecules that play important roles in tumor formation. Retinoblastoma (RB) is the most common malignant tumor of the eye in childhood cancer. The role of microRNAs in RB remains unclear, but a group of microRNAs that are highly expressed in the early embryonic retina and known to promote cellular proliferation and survival and cancer formation, are highly expressed in RB cells. These miRNAs may be novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of RB. If so, this project could define new therapeutic targets for treatment of RB and may also have important implications for other types of pediatric tumors.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Raabe, the Hannah's Heroes St. Baldrick's Scholar, was awarded a new grant in 2014 to fund an additional two years of this Scholar award. Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant pediatric brain cancer, and patients with high-risk medulloblastoma have a poor prognosis. Unfortunately, few models for aggressive medulloblastoma exist, severely limiting our ability to test new treatments for the patients who need them most. The goal of this proposal is to develop accurate models of high-risk medulloblastoma for pre-clinical therapeutic testing. This allows for rapid progress to be made, as researchers can use these models to screen for new drugs, test drug combinations, identify for factors conferring resistance to chemotherapy, and look for pathways that might be an "Achilles heel" for high-risk medulloblastoma.

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

Resistance to chemotherapy is a great challenge in the cure of cancer. A large proportion of such resistance occurs because of p53 mutations in the tumor, the most commonly occurring mutation in cancer. Dr. Kupfer's research involves a virus that appears to cause resistant p53 mutant cells containing a particular protein to become sensitive to chemotherapeutic drugs. A large library of small molecules will be screened to identify a substance that can mimic this effect, with the ultimate goal of developing a drug that can overcome resistance to chemotherapy.  

Lymphoblasts infiltrate the central nervous system (CNS) in about 30% of children and adolescents with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), leading to relapse in the brain and spinal cord. While aggressive CNS therapy involving high-dose chemotherapy with radiation has been successful, many patients have significant problems with long-term effects, including a much higher risk of a second cancer and long-term deficits in cognitive function and development. This research is to discover unique aspects of the biology and pathogenesis of leukemia, with a goal of finding new therapeutic targets that can be tested in future clinical trials.  

Pleuropulmonary blastoma (PPB) is a rare lung cancer of young children. Inherited genetic mutations have been recently identified in a gene known as DICER1 that predisposes children to developing PPB as well as other childhood tumors arising in the muscle, brain, ovary and kidneys. This laboratory research is complimented by the first-ever prospective clinical study of PPB therapy that determines treatments with optimal effectiveness for PPB patients. The goal of these collaborative studies is to identify the critical deregulated signals that promote cancer development in order to develop novel interventions to improve outcomes for children with PPB and the related pediatric cancers. Funds administered by Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

This institution is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: the Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Commitee of the Children's Oncology Group. For a description of this project, "Recurrence testing of new genomic lesions in childhood ALL," see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: the University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.

This institution is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: the Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Commitee of the Children's Oncology Group. For a description of this project, "Recurrence testing of new genomic lesions in childhood ALL," see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: the University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.

This institution is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: the Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Commitee of the Children's Oncology Group. For a description of this project, "Recurrence testing of new genomic lesions in childhood ALL," see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: the University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.

This institution is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: the Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Commitee of the Children's Oncology Group. For a description of this project, "Recurrence testing of new genomic lesions in childhood ALL," see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: the University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.

This institution is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: the Mechanisms Underlying DICER1 Suppression of Pleuropulmomary Blastoma Consortium. For a description of this project, see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH.

This institution's International PPB Registry is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: the Mechanisms Underlying DICER1 Suppression of Pleuropulmomary Blastoma Consortium. For a description of this project, see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH.

This institution is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: the Mechanisms Underlying DICER1 Suppression of Pleuropulmomary Blastoma Consortium. For a description of this project, see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH.

This institution is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: the Mechanisms Underlying DICER1 Suppression of Pleuropulmomary Blastoma Consortium. For a description of this project, see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH.

This is an infrastructure grant to facilitate research involving familial Hodgkin lymphoma.

This grant is to purchase a Fluorescence Upgrade to Nanozoomer HT Scanner- Digital Imaging For Pediatric Oncology.

This grant is to support bioinformatics specialists who will create databases to analyze complex data. The ALL Committee will then be one step closer to achieving the goal of maximizing cure while minimizing toxicity for childhood leukemia. Funds administered by Nationwide Children's Hospital.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common pediatric cancer, and relapsed ALL is the most common cause of death in children with cancer. The goal of this research is to use technical breakthroughs in human genomics to discover the underlying biological pathways involved in relapse. These discoveries will also potentially inform future treatment studies. Dr. Hogan was a St. Baldrick's Fellow and now has a faculty position.

Bone marrow transplantation is a treatment option for children with leukemia. When no bone marrow donor is available, cord blood transplantation is an alternative. This research focuses on two poorly understood aspects of the results of bone marrow transplants: First, the prolonged recovery of the recipient's new immune system. Second, the dominant cord in double cord blood transplantation, in which a patient receives cells from two cords instead of one. Understanding both of these immune processes is key to improving the care and survival of these patients.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Petrosiute was awarded a new grant in 2013 to fund an optional third year of this fellowship. Medulloblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumor of childhood, often exhibits an aggressive growth pattern and causes high morbidity and mortality despite aggressive therapy. This project studies the role of a target protein, CDK5, and related molecules in controlling the invasion and spread of medulloblastoma. These potentially paradigm-shifting investigations promise the development of new biological agents or immune-mediated therapies against medulloblastoma and other devastating brain tumors of childhood.