Grants Search Results

Based on progress to date, Dr. Diede was awarded a new grant in 2013 to fund an additional two years of this Scholar award. DNA methylation is a normal process used by cells to allow information to be passed on to successive generations of cells. Cancer cells can exploit this to silence genes that help prevent tumor formation. This has been extensively studied in adult cancers, but not in pediatrics. Given the relatively short time frame in which pediatric cancers develop, aberrant DNA methylation may play a very important role. This research is to better understand how it promotes the formation of pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma, and may open an exciting new area for treatment and provide valuable biomarkers for cancer detection, diagnosis, and risk assessment.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Gamper was awarded a new grant in 2014 to fund an additional year of this Scholar award with generous support from the McKenna Claire Foundation. Chemotherapy and radiation destroy both cancer cells and normal cells, with toxic effects on growing children during treatment and afterwards. Immunotherapy has the potential to destroy only cancer cells, but it has not lived up to its full potential because cancer cells can promote inappropriate immune responses or simply turn immune cells off. This research examines the function of T cells that lack the ability to methylate DNA; such cells may be better at killing tumors. This may help more patients with high-risk pediatric tumors, and decrease the risk of late-effects by reducing the need for more chemotherapy and radiation.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Rabin was awarded a new grant in 2014 to fund an additional year of this Scholar award. Children with Down Syndrome have a 20-fold increased risk of developing acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and suffer significantly more frequent and severe complications associated with chemotherapy, including life-threatening infections. This research involves abnormal activity of genes called JAK2 and CRLF2 and new drugs. It will also investigate whether gene variants that are associated with severe infection in the general population occur more frequently in those with Down Syndrome and ALL who suffer severe infectious complications. If so, patients identified as high-risk for infection could be identified ahead of time, to receive enhanced supportive care to prevent severe toxicity.

This grant is made with generous support from the “Daniel the Brave Fund" created in memory of Daniel Gomez to honor his bravery and provide hope for those still in the fight.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Singh was awarded a new grant in 2013 to fund an additional two years of this Scholar award. Diamond Blackfan anemia (DBA) is an inherited condition that leads to anemia, birth defects and cancer. Over-expression of the p53 protein, which protects against tumor formation, may actually lead to DBA. One of p53's functions is to cause cell death in damaged or stressed cells. Chronic over-expression of p53 may lead to an environment that leads to cancer transformation and survival. Understanding the conditions that promote the formation and survival of cancer cells is vital to improve early diagnosis and treatment of childhood cancer.

Leukemia is cancer of white blood cells and accounts for about 25% of all childhood cancers. Human chromosomes are normally subjected to various environmental and developmental challenges that might cause breaks, called translocations. While almost all of those breaks are efficiently repaired by the DNA repair machinery, translocations do arise from very rare events when mistakes occur during the repair, increasing the risk for leukemia in children. This study involves basic questions about the cause and process of translocation to better understand the underlying causes of leukemia, potentially leading to the discovery of targets for new therapeutic strategies.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Engel was awarded a new grant in 2013 to fund an additional two years of this Scholar award. Approximately one thousand children are diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) each year in the United States, and only about 50% survive. Dr. Engel's research is to gain a better understanding of how normal blood cell development is altered in AML and how we can overcome these alterations to regain control over blood cell growth and development. Dr. Engel began his research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and moved to the Huntsman Cancer Institute in 2010.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Federman was awarded a new grant in 2012 to fund an additional two years of this Scholar award. We already have many powerful drugs to treat cancer but lack the means to deliver them directly to the intended targets (cancer cells), and as a result, cancer patients suffer significant side effects. Dr. Federman tests new ways of delivering anti-cancer treatments more directly using nanoparticles programmed to recognize particular cancer cells.

Based on progress to date, Oren Becher, M.D., AmWINS St. Baldrick's Scholar, was awarded a new grant in 2012 to fund an additional two years of this Scholar award. Brainstem glioma is a rare subtype of brain tumor found mostly in children, which cannot be cured with today's treatments. Dr. Becher’s research suggests that one major obstacle for progress in the treatment of these brain tumors is limited drug delivery due to the blood-brain-barrier, a protective mechanism that prevents the delivery of toxic chemicals into our brains (in this case- the cancer drugs). Dr. Becher is working with genetic models to find new ways to improve the delivery of cancer drugs to these brain tumors.

This grant is named for AmWINS, a wholesale insurance holding company, which has raised more than $1 million for childhood cancer research through the St. Baldrick's Foundation.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Chang was awarded a new grant in 2012 to fund an additional two years of this Scholar award. One subtype of pediatric leukemia that continues to have a poor prognosis is Philadelphia chromosome positive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (Ph+ALL). Dr. Chang is researching a unique protein called survivin, in hopes of developing it as a new target for future therapy for Ph+ALL patients.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Lee was awarded a new grant in 2012 to fund an additional two years of this Scholar award. Natural killer cells (NK cells), one of the white blood cells of our immune system, have the ability to kill several types of cancers in children, including AML, neuroblastoma, osteosarcoma, and Ewing's sarcoma. Dr. Lee's research involves more effective ways to use NK cells to fight childhood cancers.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a potentially deadly form of childhood leukemia. Dr. Vaiselbuh is studying how AML cancer cells resist chemotherapy with the goal of finding a new strategy for treatment of childhood myeloid leukemia.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Volchenboum was awarded a new grant in 2012 to fund an additional two years of this Scholar award. Neuroblastoma strikes in many forms, some requiring little or no therapy, others deadly despite very aggressive treatment. Current tests that differentiate among these types can take weeks. Dr. Volchenboum is developing software to make real-time diagnosis possible, allowing therapy to be better tailored to the specific child. Once validated, these new technologies can be extended to other pediatric cancers.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Yustein was awarded a new grant in 2012 to fund an additional two years of this Scholar award. Many human malignancies have abnormal expression or activity of a protein called c-Myc, leading to genetic changes critical to tumor survival and growth. Dr. Yustein's research is on the role c-Myc plays in Ewings sarcomas, osteosarcomas and rhabdomyosarcomas.

This grant helps keep this young professional focused on childhood cancer by supporting exciting research, funded for 3 years or more.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Castellino was awarded a new grant in 2011 to fund an additional two years of this Scholar award. Medulloblastoma is the most common invasive brain tumor in children. Current treatments do not cure a lot of children and cause significant side effects. A better understanding of what causes this tumor to develop and to spread is needed in order to develop more effective therapies. A specific genetic alteration is frequently found in human medulloblastoma tumor samples which involves overexpression of a protein called WIP1, which is a negative regulator of cell death. Dr. Castellino's research on the inhibition of WIP1 may find a potential therapeutic approach to increase response to chemotherapy in medulloblastoma patients.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Huang was awarded a new grant in 2011 to fund an additional two years of this Scholar award. Pediatric patients with metastatic sarcomas (cancers of connective tissues, like bone or muscle, with cancer that has spread) have a low rate of cure. Recent evidence suggests that the immune system plays a critical role in tumor spread. Unfortunately, aggressive systemic chemotherapy used to treat pediatric sarcoma patients devastates the ability of immune system to harness the anti-tumor properties. Dr. Huang's research aims to incorporate the immunological arm of cancer therapy into standard therapeutic protocols, to provide life-saving treatments for children with osteosarcoma and rhabdomyosarcoma.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Pollard was awarded a new grant in 2012 to fund an additional two years of this Scholar award. Approximately 500 children are diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) each year, and 50% of these patients will not be cured. A drug has been identified as an innovative treatment for AML patients. This drug must attach to a particular protein found on the surface of most AML cancer cells, but not every patient's cells have this protein. Dr. Pollard is studying ways to improve the cure rate for these patients. Awarded at Seattle Children's Hospital and transferred to Maine Medical Center.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Asgharzadeh was awarded a new grant in 2011 to fund an additional two years of this Scholar award. Brain tumors are the most common solid tumor of pediatrics and are a leading cause of cancer related deaths. Dr. Asgharzadeh's research is to use gene expression profiling to try to identify which medulloblastoma (a type of brain tumor) patients can be cured without the need for radiation, thus avoiding long-term effects like mental retardation.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Choi was awarded a new grant in 2011 to fund an additional two years of this Scholar award. Stem cell transplants using bone marrow from matched donors (not embryonic stem cells) are the only hope for many childhood cancer patients. But graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a life-threatening complication many of these patients experience as a result of transplant. Dr. Choi's research is to find better treatment for GHVD, particularly one not using steroids which cause further complications.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Dovat was awarded a new grant in 2011 to fund an additional two years of this Scholar award. His research focuses on learning what leads to the transformation of a normal cell to a malignant one, specifically in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) - a type of leukemia that requires severe chemotherapy and has a low cure rate compared to other childhood cancers. He is focusing on how elevated activity of a particular enzyme in a particular protein (associated with a severe type of AML) affects normal cells to make them prone to becoming malignant. Results will help in the design of more specific and less toxic drugs for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia. Dr. Dovat began his research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and moved to Pennsylvania State University in 2010.