Grants Search Results

Based on progress to date, Dr. Feng was awarded new grants in 2017 and 2018 to fund additional years of this Scholar award and has been named the Arden Quinn Bucher Memorial Fund St. Baldrick's Scholar. An amplified gene, MYCN, is found in ~30% of neuroblastomas, and is associated with highly aggressive tumors and extremely poor prognosis. Dr. Feng's work on T-cell leukemia recently showed that when a specific gene is turned off it will prevent tumor growth caused by a close relative of MYCN, C-MYC. This research aims to test if targeting this gene will suppress neuroblastoma development associated with MYCN activity.

This grant is funded by and named for the Arden Quinn Bucher Memorial Fund, a St. Baldrick's Hero Fund. Arden’s intelligence, empathy, and dynamic personality charmed everyone and has now become her legacy. She was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at the age of two and even throughout treatment, bravely managed to keep smiling and learning. This memorial fund supports St. Baldrick’s mission of funding the most promising research with the hope of changing outcomes for children battling cancer.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Li was awarded new grants in 2017 and 2018 to fund additional years of this Scholar award. Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma is one of the most common tumors in children and adolescents. No effective therapy is currently available for advanced staged patients, partly due to poor understanding of the disease. It is still considered mysterious because the exact cells from which the tumors develop (cells of origin) are not clear.  Like fingerprints, there are certain molecular events that are signatures of the tumor. By following these signatures Dr. Li, St. Baldrick's V Scholar, and his team recently started to pick up hints that are potentially the cells of origin for this mysterious tumor. The goal of this study is a better understanding of the disease and to yield important information, which will guide the development of more effective therapeutic approaches. This grant is named for The V Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to saving lives by helping to find a cure for cancer.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Liu was awarded new grants in 2017 and 2018 to fund additional years of this Scholar award. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the leading cause of cancer death in children. Despite improvements in treatment outcomes, a considerable number of patients relapse or do not respond to conventional chemotherapy. Dr. Liu's team recently found that an enzyme, called PRL2, is elevated in T-ALL cells, and that blocking PRL2 activity kills these cancer cells. This research aims to determine the effect of PRL2 inhibitors on T-ALL cells, in hopes it can be a new target in treatment of T-ALL.

Leukemia cells divide extensively, often by hijacking mechanisms that regulate normal stem cells. Dr. Magee is working to characterize genes that potentially regulate the growth of normal stem cells and leukemia cells. By characterizing these genes, Dr. Magee's team hopes that the proteins encoded by these genes will become targets for novel anti-leukemia therapies.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Mar was awarded a new grant in 2017 to fund an additional year of this Scholar award. Although many children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are being cured today, a significant number still relapse. New targeted therapies that specifically attack the biology of ALL have great potential to improve outcomes; however, few specific biological vulnerabilities have been identified so far. Dr. Mar's team recently used a method to find novel biological vulnerabilities specific to ALL. As the Ben's Green Drakkoman Fund St. Baldrick's Scholar, Dr. Mar is studying those novel vulnerabilities in leukemia models, with the goal to understand why they are essential to ALL, and to determine their suitability for therapy.

This grant is named for the Ben's Green Drakkoman 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.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Shand was awarded new grants in 2017 and 2018 to fund additional years of this Scholar award. Leukemia is a blood cancer that kills more children than any other cancer. Dr. Shand's work is based on the belief that leukemia behaves like some infections do, by tricking our body into thinking it's OK to set up shop there. Dr. Shand is studying how leukemia can send these "trick signals" to the part of our body that fights off infections, the immune system. This research aims to understand how these trick signals work, with the goal of turning them off so that the immune system can be used to cure leukemia.

This grant is generously supported by Micaela's Army Foundation, a St. Baldrick's partner which was founded 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.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Gramatges was awarded new grants in 2016 and 2017 to fund additional years of this Scholar award. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is treated with intensive chemotherapy that results in treatment-related toxicities in 80% of patients, some so severe that the patient does not survive therapy. Dr. Gramatges's research investigates genetic markers characterizing the subpopulation of children and young adults with AML who are at risk for severe treatment-related toxicities. Validation of these markers may lead to upfront screening of individuals with newly diagnosed AML, and in cases where these markers are discovered, modifications to the treatment regimen and closer monitoring to reduce treatment-related morbidity and mortality in this disease.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Fabbri was awarded new grants in 2016 and 2017 to fund additional years of this Scholar award. In neuroblastoma, a common childhood solid cancer, immune cells called tumor infiltrating macrophages (TAMs) promote neuroblastoma growth and spread. The mechanism for this process is unknown. Dr. Fabbri has shown in another type of cancer that cancer cells secrete special genes that induce TAMs to release a signal that promotes cancer growth. Dr. Fabbri is investigating how these genes and TAMs affect neuroblastoma growth, and testing what drugs can interrupt this process, with the goal of improving neuroblastoma treatment.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Norris was awarded new grants in 2016 and 2018 to fund additional years of this Scholar award. More than 70% of children diagnosed with cancer are cured of their disease, but today's therapies can have severe and life-long side effects, and too many children die from cancer. Cyclin dependent kinase-5 (Cdk5) inhibitors are a new type of therapy with the potential to treat childhood cancer. Dr. Norris, the Rebecca Alison Meyer Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research St. Baldrick’s Scholar, uses laboratory and computer models to determine how to optimize therapy with Cdk5 inhibitors, and how to combine Cdk5 inhibitors with current cancer treatments. Using this information, Dr. Norris studies Cdk5 inhibitors in adolescents with relapsed cancer, with the goal of developing new treatments for children with cancer.

A portion of this grant is named for The Rebecca Alison Meyer Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research created to honor the memory of the joyful and spunky little girl who courageously battled brain cancer. Rebecca’s legacy lives on in the funding of promising glioblastoma research. Awarded at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital and transferred to Cincinnati Children's Hospital.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Barth was awarded new grants in 2016 and 2017 to fund additional years of this Scholar award. Children with B-cell non-Hodgkins lymphoma (B-NHL) whose disease is resistant to initial therapies have a dismal outcome. As the Do It For Dominic St. Baldrick's Scholar, Dr. Barth and his team have identified alterations in lymphoma cells that contribute to therapy resistance. This study investigates the ability to reverse or overcome resistance by targeting these altered pathways using targeted inhibitors. By inhibiting these pathways, he hopes to kill resistant lymphoma cells or re-sensitize resistant cells to traditional chemotherapy, potentially providing new future treatment options for patients with an otherwise poor prognosis.

This grant is named for the Do It for Dominic Fund which honors the memory of Dominic Cairo who battled non-Hodgkins lymphoma and was a hero to his school and community. His family and friends continue to raise funds and support research in the hopes that no child has to go through what Dominic endured.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Crompton was awarded new grants in 2016 and 2017 to fund additional years of this Scholar award. Ewing sarcoma is an aggressive bone tumor affecting adolescents and young adults. Current treatment regimens fail to improve outcomes for patients with high-risk disease, and new therapeutic approaches are needed. Dr. Crompton's team recently identified a protein that is highly active in Ewing sarcoma and is targeted by drugs in clinical development. Dr. Crompton, the Team Clarkie Fund St. Baldrick’s Scholar, aims to demonstrate that these inhibitors warrant testing in clinical trials for patients with Ewing sarcoma, define the clinical indications for their use, and identify the most effective treatment combinations. Lastly, the project will develop a new screening effort to identify additional drug targets in Ewing sarcoma.

A portion of this grant is named for the Team Clarkie Fund created to honor Clarkie Carroll and fund Ewing’s sarcoma research while stimulating greater awareness and inspiring others to believe pediatric cancer research can and will lead to a cure.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Maude was awarded new grants in 2016 and 2017 to fund additional years of this Scholar award. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a cancer of white blood cells, is the most common childhood cancer. Fortunately, most children with ALL are cured; however, 10-20% of children are not cured with standard chemotherapy. Recently, genetic tests identified abnormalities that may cause two types of ALL with poor survival rates. Dr. Maude's lab developed models of these leukemias to ask if new medicines that work specifically on the abnormal genes can improve the chance for cure. Dr. Maude, the Rally for Ryan Fund St. Baldrick's Scholar, hopes that these studies will find new treatments for these difficult to treat leukemias, giving these children a new chance for cure.

This grant is named for the Rally for Ryan Fund. Ryan was diagnosed with high risk ALL when he was 7 years old. He endured 3 ½ years of often harsh treatments with smiles, laughter and a brave acceptance that this was his fight to win. And Ryan did prevail—he took his last chemo pill in January 2016 but sadly, relapsed later that year. He is currently in treatment and back in the fight. This fund honors Ryan’s commitment to help make a difference for kids with cancer by shaving for St. Baldrick’s and to raise funds for research.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Mizukawa was awarded new grants in 2016 and 2017 to fund additional years of this Scholar award. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) arises from a subset of leukemia stem cells that are responsible for perpetuating the disease. Although most leukemia cells are readily killed by chemotherapy, if the leukemia stem cell escapes therapy, the child will eventually succumb to the disease. The leukemia stem cell has survival and self-renewal advantages provided by its supportive environment. The Cdc42 protein plays a central role in integrating environmental cues and promoting leukemia cell survival. Dr. Mizukawa is working to block Cdc42 and make the leukemia stem cell more sensitive to chemotherapy.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Rainusso was awarded new grants in 2016 and 2017 to fund additional years of this Scholar award. Dr. Rainusso’s work looks to identify and target the most malignant, most aggressive and most difficult-to-treat cancer cells in pediatric sarcomas. Dr. Rainusso, the Alan’s Sarcoma Research Fund St. Baldrick’s Scholar, is also testing if the patients’ body immune system can kill cancer cells in pediatric sarcomas.

A portion of this grant is named for the Alan’s Sarcoma Research Fund that was created in memory of Alan Sanders who was diagnosed with a rare sarcoma in his hip at 17 months. He had an indomitable spirit and through his 4 ½ year battle with cancer, he was joyful, upbeat and pressed on courageously through surgery and treatments. Fighting cancer was all Alan knew from an early age and his rallying cry became “Fight’s on!” Today his family and friends carry on his legacy in the fight against childhood cancer by funding sarcoma research.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Barrett, was awarded a new grant in 2016 to fund an additional year of this Scholar award. While doctors can cure many children with leukemia, a significant number will have cancer that doesn't respond to chemotherapy or comes back (relapses). Dr. Barrett is working on a strategy to take a part of a patient's own immune system, the T cells, and redirect them towards the leukemia with an artificial construct called a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR). Early results indicate this approach works well, but more research about the T cells is necessary to fully harness their power. This therapy has the potential to save the lives of children with leukemia when chemotherapy and stem cell transplant cannot.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Chen, was awarded a new grant in 2016 to fund an additional year of this Scholar award. Dr. Chen's research aims to discover new drugs that would prevent cancer relapse in children with rhabdomyosarcoma, one of the most common childhood cancers. She is testing drugs to see how effective they can be at killing rhabdomyosarcoma tumor cells and keeping kids with rhabdomyosarcoma cancer-free. Awarded at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Inc. and transferred to the University of Washington.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Davis, was awarded a new grant in 2016 to fund an additional year of this Scholar award. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a blood cancer and the most common cancer in children. Although great improvements have been made in curing this cancer, there are still children who die of ALL. Kara Davis, D.O., NetApp St. Baldrick's Scholar, focuses on how these cancer cells are related to normal developing blood cells, and how the ways these cells "communicate" are different from normal cell communication. This project also investigates how the communication in cancer cells is different in children who are are cured of their leukemia from those whose disease comes back.

This grant is named for the NetApp team, whose employees around the world have raised more than $3 million for research through the St. Baldrick's Foundation.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Friedman, was awarded a new grant in 2016 to fund an additional year of this Scholar award. Medulloblastoma, the most common malignant pediatric brain tumor, is a leading cause of cancer-related death. Current treatments are harmful to the developing brain. Brain tumor-initiating cells (BTIC), which give rise to all tumor cells like a queen bee, are likely responsible for cancer recurrence. Genetically-altered herpes simplex virus, which has been used safely and effectively in adult trials, targets and kills tumor cells and BTIC while sparing normal brain cells. This laboratory is studying the use of clinically-ready viruses in difficult-to-treat medulloblastomas, to provide the foundation for future pediatric trials using this cutting-edge therapy to benefit children with these deadly cancers.

A portion of the grant was generously supported by the Miracles for Michael Fund, a St. Baldrick's Hero Fund created in memory of Michael Orbany and honors his tremendous strength to never ever give up.

This research seeks to improve treatment for AML, a childhood leukemia, by studying abnormalities in the leukemia-associated WT1 molecule. Studying changes in WT1 will help researchers better understand what causes leukemia, and how best to treat it. Most AML cancer cells have abnormally high WT levels compared to normal cells. This project studies ways to measure WT1 levels in blood samples after patients have received chemotherapy, in hopes of using WT1 as a marker of low-level disease, which may be difficult to detect, and as a target for treatments, which will directly affect these residual leukemia cells.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Lee, was awarded a new grant in 2016 to fund an additional year of this Scholar award. Immune cells can now be engineered to recognize and kill cancer cells, then administered to patients. Dr. Lee's project is one of the first to bring this promising new therapy to children with cancer. This research aims to discover how these cells work, how to better harness their potential and to determine which cell types are important for effective and persistent anti-tumor activity. Several clinical trials of this breakthrough therapy for children with cancer are scheduled to open at this institution and others in the next few years, and this work will increase the chance that these trials will be effective against childhood cancer. Awarded at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health and transferred to University of Virginia.

A portion of the grant was generously supported by the Hope from Harper Hero Fund created to honor Harper Wehneman who passed away from Wilms tumor when she was 9 years old. This fund continues her legacy of inspiring joy and bringing hope to kids fighting cancer by funding research in the area of stem cell transplant survival.