Grants Search Results

Based on progress to date, Dr. Cimmino was awarded a new grant in 2020 to fund an additional year of this Scholar grant. Vitamin C is essential for maintaining healthy hair, skin, immune system and heart function. In addition to these health benefits, Dr. Cimmino and team propose that vitamin C might be a non-toxic therapeutic for the treatment of patients with pediatric acute myeloid leukemia. Recently, it was discovered that vitamin C enhances the activation of a group of enzymes called TET proteins that are required for normal blood development. A significant fraction of children and young adolescents with acute myeloid leukemia have mutations in TET2, causing impaired TET2 activity and a block in normal blood cell formation. However, only one of the two copies of the TET2 gene is defective in these patients. Dr. Cimmino's team is working to determine if treatment with high-dose vitamin C could enhance the activity of the remaining, non-mutant, TET2 protein, kill leukemia cells and restore normal blood development. Alternative therapies such as treatment with vitamin C might provide a safe and effective strategy to improve outcome for pediatric leukemia patients. Awarded at the New York University School of Medicine, and transferred to University of Miami.

Brain tumors are the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in children, and ependymomas are the third most common kind. Recent studies have shown that educating the patients own immune system to fight cancers immunotherapy can be safe and effective. Dr. Kohanbash's team has identified three peptides that might activate immune cells to specifically fight one of the more lethal types of ependymoma. Dr. Kohanbash is testing these peptides in the lab. He is also looking at how immunotherapy could help fight all six types of ependymoma that affect kids, and thus is studying relevant characteristics in the largest-ever series of pediatric ependymoma tumors as well as in ependymoma patients already participating in a clinical trial of a vaccine based on another peptide.

A portion of this grant is generously co-supported by the Henry Cermak Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research and the Team Campbell Foundation. The Henry Cermak Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research, a St. Baldrick's Hero Fund was created in memory of a brave boy who had an amazing spirit throughout his battle with a brain tumor. This fund is dedicated to Henry’s wish that “no one gets left out.”

The Team Campbell Foundation, a St. Baldrick's partner, was established in memory of Campbell Hoyt, who courageously battled anaplastic ependymoma, a rare cancer of the brain and spine for five years. Its mission is to improve the lives of families facing a childhood cancer diagnosis through raising awareness, funding research and providing psycho-social enrichment opportunities.

A portion of Dr. Kohanbash's grant was also generously supported by the Henry Cermak Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research.

Women who are diagnosed with cancer before 40 are often concerned about whether they will be able to have children in the future. Women can freeze their eggs or embryos (called fertility preservation) to help protect their fertility, but these services may not be widely available. Dr. Nichols has looked at how often women in North Carolina have children after cancer treatment and whether the health of their babies is different from women without cancer. She is further examining the use of fertility preservation after diagnosis and its association with birth rates and outcomes. This research will provide information to improve the long-term health of AYAs with cancer.

While great strides have been made in treating children with acute leukemia, some children continue to do poorly. For example, children of Hispanic ethnicity are at greater risk of both relapse and treatment-related complications. The Reducing Ethnic Disparities in Acute Leukemia (REDIAL) Consortium will expand and enhance an established network of childhood cancer centers, with the goal of tackling ethnic outcome disparities by generating an unmatched resource of clinical information and biological samples. This information will be used to predict those who have the greatest risk of poor outcomes, with a focus on those of Hispanic ethnicity, to improve prevention and treatment strategies.

This grant is generously supported by Micaela's Army Foundation which was established in loving memory of Micaela White who fiercely fought Acute Myeloid Leukemia at the age of 18. Their mission is to raise money to help fund cancer research, education, awareness, and patient support for the cancers that affect children and their families.

This institution is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: Reducing Ethnic Disparities in Acute Leukemia (REDIAL) Consortium. For a description of this project, see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX.

This institution is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: Reducing Ethnic Disparities in Acute Leukemia (REDIAL) Consortium. For a description of this project, see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX.

This institution is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: Reducing Ethnic Disparities in Acute Leukemia (REDIAL) Consortium. For a description of this project, see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX.

This institution is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: Reducing Ethnic Disparities in Acute Leukemia (REDIAL) Consortium. For a description of this project, see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX.

This institution is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: Reducing Ethnic Disparities in Acute Leukemia (REDIAL) Consortium. For a description of this project, see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Wulff was awarded a new grant in 2019 to fund an additional year of this Fellow award. Ewing sarcoma (ES) is the second most common bone cancer in children. Approximately 25% of children with ES have metastasis, which are tumors that have spread to other parts of the body, such as the lungs. It is especially difficult to treat these children and more than 70% die within 5 years. Therefore, it is important to learn about what it is that allows these tumors to spread and hopefully develop new drugs to treat these patients. Certain proteins are expressed at much higher levels in metastatic lung tumors compared to the primary bone tumor, suggesting that these proteins play a role in allowing the tumor to spread. Dr. Wulff is studying the role of these proteins by increasing or decreasing them, and then testing how this affects the cancer's ability to grow and spread. Dr. Wulff's team thinks that the cancer's ability to spread can be decreased by decreasing a particular set of proteins. In addition, she is testing new drugs that inhibit the function of these proteins, with the hope to identify new therapies that will improve overall survival rates for patients with metastatic ES.

This is grant is generously supported by Team Clarkie, a St. Baldrick's Hero Fund. Clarkie Carroll was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma in his upper right femur in 2013. He endured surgery and treatments with strength, positivity and a sense of humor. Today he has no evidence of disease.

A portion of this grant was also funded by this Hero Fund. It was created to honor Clarkie and ensure researchers have the resources to further Ewing’s sarcoma research as well as stimulate greater awareness and inspire others to believe pediatric cancer research can and will lead to a cure.

This institution is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: Reducing Ethnic Disparities in Acute Leukemia (REDIAL) Consortium. For a description of this project, see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX.

Children and adolescents with cancer and their families are at increased risk for psychosocial problems that can contribute to poorer health and quality of life, and it has been recommended that pediatric cancer centers develop programs to screen patients and families for psychosocial risk. The majority of pediatric cancers centers do not have practices in place to effectively and routinely screen all patients and families for psychosocial difficulties, with time and resources being acknowledged as barriers to implementation. Dr. Gilleland Marchak is developing a novel, patient-friendly technology to screen for psychosocial risk and evaluating its use at a large pediatric cancer center. Study outcomes will include data related to feasibility and acceptability of electronic screening, as well as efficacy in identifying families in distress and connecting them with family support team members to address problems in real time. By successfully leveraging technology to reduce barriers to universal psychosocial screening, we can improve communication between oncology providers and families regarding critical mental health, neurocognitive, and social issues that may negatively impact pediatric cancer treatment and health outcomes.

Dr. Deatrick is developing family support and education materials for maternal caregivers of young adult survivors of childhood brain tumors to improve their quality of life and quality of life of the survivors. Training in Problem Solving (TIPS) for Caregivers, leverages past research, eHealth, and Bright IDEAS family problem-solving intervention (an evidence-based intervention for caregivers of children newly diagnosed with cancer) to target challenges identified by maternal caregivers to their family management. TIPS is targeted to caregivers with “condition-focused FM” (family life organized around the special needs of the survivor). Using the prototype session developed in partnership with maternal caregivers, Dr. Deatrick will work with them to design the web-based intervention. She will develop other sessions of TIPS and adapt them to technology, which will be used “live” online with a health care provider and online with interactive homework sheets, videos, and other resources. Future research will involve fathers and other caregivers, survivors, and other family members.

Cancer is a genetic disease in which a cell learns to take advantage of certain processes that allow that cell to grow and survive unchecked. Bone cancer is an aggressive disease in both children and pet dogs that can be painful and often leads to death of the patient even with aggressive surgery and chemotherapy. Most often these patients die because the tumor has spread to other areas of the body, not from the original bone tumor, which is often removed with surgery. Therefore, in order to better battle this disease, new therapies that target the cells that spread are needed. Preliminary work with a new drug that targets this process has shown promise as just such a therapy. The goal of The Ben's Green Drakkoman St. Baldrick's Research Grant is to more thoroughly investigate this drug for its ability to prevent or delay spread of the tumor cells using both human and dog bone tumor cells.

This grant is named for the Ben's Green Drakkoman Fund, a St. Baldrick's Hero Fund created to honor the memory of Ben Stowell who battled osteosarcoma with an inspiring determination to live life fully. The fund is named after a super hero Ben created named the Green Drakkoman who defeats his enemy, the Evil Alien.

Rhabdomyosarcoma is a deadly cancer when spread through the body. With the Aiden's Army Fund St. Baldrick's Research Grant, Dr. Li is combining drugs already FDA approved for adult cancers in a way that stops rhabdomyosarcoma tumor cells from creating new tumors elsewhere in the body. This approach is unique because Dr. Li not only aims to stop the tumor cells from growing, but will try to convert what is left to non-cancerous cells similar to what is found in normal muscle.

This grant is funded by and named for the Aiden's Army Fund, a St. Baldrick's Hero Fund. Aiden Binkley who was diagnosed with Stage IV rhabdomyosarcoma at age 8. This bright, funny and courageous little boy believed he got cancer so he could grow up to find a cure for it. His vision is being carried on by Aiden’s Army through the funding of research. They will march until there is a cure!

Neurons are nerve cells that populate certain regions of the human body and are responsible for transmitting chemical signals back and forth to the brain to regulate critical bodily functions. A deadly form of pediatric cancer, known as neuroblastoma, occurs when a subset of these neurons start to proliferate uncontrollably. These cancer cells can migrate and spread throughout the body, making it very challenging to treat with currently available drugs. This highly aggressive form of neuroblastoma occurs in children who are older than 18 months. At such an early age, this disease can be quite devastating and there is an imperative need to better understand how this form of neuroblastoma develops. Recent work has identified pediatric cancer mutations in distinct specialized proteins that regulate chromatin (the complex of DNA and proteins), known as chromatin remodelers. One such protein, ATRX, was recently found to be mutated frequently in neuroblastoma tumors identified in adolescent and young adults, which have poor overall survival. Dr. Bernstein is exploring a novel therapy for neuroblastoma patients that harbor ATRX mutations thorough innovative and state-of-the-art approaches. Dr. Bernstein's team is comparing the cellular changes that occur in the presence of the drug in models of neuroblastoma.

All proteins in our bodies are made using assembly instructions contained in messenger RNAs, or mRNA. mRNA molecules themselves are constructed from building blocks called exons. When exons are joined together, or 'spliced', out of order, the resulting protein code is scrambled. This is what causes several types of leukemias in older adults. We have discovered that incorrect splicing also occurs with high frequency in childhood leukemias originating in antibody-producing B-cells. Dr. Thomas-Tikhonenko is testing two ideas. The first is that incorrect splicing is needed to sustain uncontrolled multiplication of leukemic cells. The second is that restoring proper exon assembly with specific drugs would slow down or block cancerous growth. If successful, these studies could pave the way to new clinical trials and improved survival of children with leukemia.

Synovial sarcoma is a soft-tissue cancer in adolescents and young adults. More than half of patients develop metastasis, or spread of the cancer to the lungs. Once it has metastasized, synovial sarcoma is fatal in nearly all patients. Dr. Jones' team has developed a model of synovial sarcoma and found that when the tumor spread to the lungs many white blood cells begin to infiltrate the tumors. He is studying whether these particular white blood cells from the immune system are trying to fight the tumor or are helping the tumor grow and spread to the lungs. This team is testing if the presence of these immune cells in a large panel of human synovial sarcomas are associated with the same patients developing clinical spread of disease.

This grant supports research staff who are developing a Transition Clinic for Adolescents and Young Adults. The grant also supports a Nurse Educator who is dedicated to aiding pediatric and teenage cancer survivors in successfully transitioning to adult health care services.

This grant supports an Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Navigator who enrolls adolescents and young adults with pediatric-type tumors on clinical trials, often their best hope for a cure.