Grants Search Results

This grant supports a dedicated early phase clinical trail Clinical Research Coordinator to ensure that more kids can be treated on clinical trials, often their best hope for a cure.

This grant supports a Clinical Research Associate to ensure that more kids can be treated on clinical trials, often their best hope for a cure.

This grant supports a Clinical Research Associate for the Cellular and Immunotherapy program to ensure that more kids can be treated on clinical trials, often their best hope for a cure.

Through this partnership with The Children's Cancer Foundation, proceeds from St. Baldrick's events in Hong Kong fund life-saving research in Hong Kong. The St. Baldrick's Foundation is proud to partner with the Children's Cancer Foundation and has been doing so since 2008.

This grant funded two projects. Project 1: Chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of a wide variety of cancer types are associated with potentially lethal cardiac damage. The study develops diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for chemotherapeutic-induced cardiotoxicity, which can aid in the diagnosis of it and reveal new therapeutic targets for the treatment of this kind of disorder. Project 2: Children suffering from relapsed / refractory acute myeloid leukemia have an extremely poor prognosis with limited treatment options. The development of novel therapeutics is, therefore, among the top priorities of scientific and medical communities.

This grant supports a Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Program Clinical Research Associate to ensure that more brain tumor patients can be treated on clinical trials, often their best hope for a cure.

This grant supports a dedicated Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Clinical Trials Research Associate to ensure that more kids can be treated on clinical trials, often their best hope for a cure.

This grant supports a Clinical Research Associate to ensure that more kids can be treated on clinical trials, often their best hope for a cure.

This grant supports a Clinical Research Associate to ensure that more kids can be treated on clinical trials, often their best hope for a cure.

This grant supports a dedicated Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Clinical Research Coordinator to ensure that more kids can be treated on clinical trials, often their best hope for a cure.

This grant supports a Clinical Research Associate to ensure that more kids can be treated on clinical trials, often their best hope for a cure.

This grant supports a Clinical Research Associate to ensure that more kids can be treated on clinical trials, often their best hope for a cure.

The originality of Dr. Ayrault’s team lies on the characterization of the putative relationship existing between mechanisms implicated into cerebellar development and medulloblastoma formation in order to uncover signaling pathway alterations and generate novel therapeutic strategies. As many tumor cells closely resemble to normal cells at a precise stage of the development, Dr. Ayrault foresees that his study will not only reinforce this new conceptual view of tumor cell biology but might also be generalized in oncogenesis. Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant pediatric brain tumor. Medulloblastoma are divided in four subgroups. Two of them, Group 3 (G3) and Group 4 (G4), are still poorly understood. While genomic and transcriptomic analysis revealed key features of medulloblastoma subgroups, they have not totally revealed functional mechanisms implicated in G3/G4. Yet, a recent study from this group reveals that proteomic analysis may unveil unsuspected biological modifications in G3 and G4 medulloblastomas. Ultimately, by developing innovative technologies as well as investigating the crosstalk between developmental neurobiology and pediatric brain cancer, Dr. Ayrault hopes to fill the existing gap of knowledge in pediatric brain tumors and lead to major breakthroughs. The St. Baldrick’s Robert J. Arceci 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.

The AACR-St. Baldrick's Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement in Pediatric Cancer Research has been established to bring attention to major research discoveries to the pediatric cancer research community and to honor an individual in any sector who has significantly contributed to any area of pediatric cancer research, resulting in the fundamental improvement of the understanding and/or treatment of pediatric cancer. The recipient will nominate an emerging leader conducting research in the academic sector to receive a research grant. The 2020 SBF-AACR Award for Outstanding Achievement in Pediatric Cancer Research went to Dr. James Downing at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Dr. Jarno Drost at Princess Maxima Center for Pediatric Oncology received the 2020 research grant. Dr. Drost's research interests are in Kidney and Rhabdoid Tumors.

This institution is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: Consortium for Childhood Cancer Predisposition. For a description of this project, see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: Emory University, Atlanta, GA.

Therapies that only inhibit tumor cells but not normal cells are missing for the deadly childhood brain tumor medulloblastoma. As the recipient of the Miracles for Michael Fund St. Baldrick's Research Grant, Dr. Zhang has identified a promising drug target in medulloblastoma. This project aims to study the role of the target in medulloblastoma and evaluate the therapeutic potential of inhibiting this target using cutting-edge technologies and models.

This grant is funded by and named for the Miracles in Memory of Michael Fund, a St. Baldrick's Hero Fund created in memory of Michael Orbany who was diagnosed with medulloblastoma when he was 6 years old. After completing initial treatment, his cancer relapsed within a year and he passed away at the age of nine. Michael had unwavering faith and perseverance, wanting most of all to make others happy. This fund honors his tremendous strength to never ever give up.

The proto-oncogene MYCN is amplified in approximately half of patients with high-risk neuroblastoma. At relapse, tumors from high-risk patients typically activate a pathway called "MAP kinase signaling" through genetic mutations including loss of NF1, which normally dampens MAP kinase function. Since relapsed neuroblastoma is generally therapy resistant, these data suggest that MAP-kinase activation contributes to therapy resistance. Does MAP kinase signaling contribute to therapy resistance in MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma at diagnosis? Dr. Weiss proposes that dependence on increased MAP kinase signaling in MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma enables rare cells within this heterogeneous tumor to evade chemotherapy. This therapy-resistant population then undergoes selection for further activation of MAP-kinase signaling, reinforcing therapy resistance. How does MYCN drive MAP kinase? The NF1 tumor suppressor blocks MAP kinase signaling. Mis-splicing of the NF1 messenger RNA in neuroblastoma cells results in NF1-23a, a protein with decreased ability to block RAS. Inclusion of NF1 exon 23a is regulated by the RNA splicing proteins "T-cell intracellular antigen 1" (TIA1) and "TIA1 Like gene" TIAL1, both of which are MYCN target genes. If activation of TIAL and TIAL1 (TIA/L1) in MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma activates MAP-kinase signaling in primary tumors at diagnosis, does traditional treatment of these tumors select for further flux through MAP-kinase signaling, to enhance resistance at relapse? This is the issue that Dr. Weiss' proposal addresses. Successful completion clarifies the importance of MYCN-TIA/L1 axis as a driver of resistance in neuroblastoma, and suggests a a translational path to improve outcomes in neuroblastoma.

Dr. Weiss' grant is generously supported by the Arden Quinn Bucher Memorial Fund, a St. Baldrick's Hero Fund. Arden’s intelligence, empathy, and dynamic personality charmed everyone and is now her legacy. Before her neuroblastoma diagnosis on October 11, 2007 at age two, she happily played with boundless energy and imagination. Even throughout her difficult months of treatment, Arden bravely managed to keep smiling and learning. This fund supports St. Baldrick’s mission: funding the most promising research, wherever it takes place to provide kids fighting cancers less toxic, more effective treatments allowing them to live longer, healthier lives.

We know that mental health and physical health are closely connected. For example, teenage cancer patients who receive bone marrow transplants have high rates of anxiety, depression and other mental health issues, which have in turn been associated with relapse and even death rates. Researchers have recently discovered that the immune system may be an important link between the mind and the body -- psychological stress can create a specific pattern of molecular responses in immune cells, which causes inflammation and may produce poor outcomes in cancer. To see if the molecular response pattern indeed associates with altered immune cell function and with mental health symptoms, Dr. Taylor will study blood samples and quality-of-life surveys that are collected from teenage patients undergoing bone marrow transplant. If we can understand the biology of how a teen's mental state affects the cancer in their body, we can develop better ways to improve both psychological and medical outcomes in these vulnerable patients.

Brain tumors are one of the most common and deadliest forms of pediatric cancers. Those who do survive may experience late effects including cognitive, emotional, and social difficulties. Additionally, Columbia University Medical Center in New York, New York has some of the highest rates of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. Thus, the children and their families facing diagnoses of pediatric brain tumors, and the health care providers treating them, were faced with incredibly difficult decisions, at a time when the entire medical system was in a state of upheaval, and questions were being raised as to who should be treated and saved. In medicine shared decision making involving parents, children (when possible) and health care providers is recommended in situations where there is not a clear superior treatment, which may be the case for many pediatric brain tumors. This study aims to understand the factors parents, healthcare providers, and the children themselves considered when making health care decisions. This includes how they balanced potential short-term and long-term challenges with quality of life and longevity of life, what information informed their decisions, and how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the decisions they were making. This information will provide important insight into how decisions are made, particularly in times of heightened crisis. This will make us better able to help families, patients, and children.

Over the past 10 years, we have made great strides in the diagnosis of Medulloblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumor of childhood. These advances have come from widely collaborative efforts to perform DNA sequencing on tumor specimens. This effort led to the identification of major subtypes of Medulloblastoma and a recognition that these subtypes are associated with differences in response to standard treatments and survival. Lagging behind, has been an understanding of the molecular mechanisms that drive relapse of Medulloblastoma. This occurs in 30-40% of Medulloblastoma patients and as yet, there are no curative options. As the recipient of the Thumbs Up Fund to Honor Brett Haubrich St. Baldrick's Research Grant, Dr. Rubin and his team members are proposing a novel clinical trial to address this pressing unmet need. Their trial, brings together what has been learned from sequencing Medulloblastoma and the recently developed ability to test the sensitivity of an individual patient's Medulloblastoma cells to hundreds of drugs simultaneously. The long-term goal is to use the combination of drug testing and DNA sequencing to design personalized treatments for relapsed Medulloblastoma patients. Success in this effort would not only provide new treatments for relapsed Medulloblastoma, but would also provide a new paradigm for personalized approaches to the treatment of all pediatric brain tumors.

A portion of this grant is funded by and named in honor of The Thumbs Up Fund to Honor Brett Haubrich, a St. Baldrick's Hero Fund. Brett is remembered for his kindness, his joy in making others happy and his faith even through his 3 ½ year battle with anaplastic astrocytoma, a difficult to cure brain cancer. Brett was diagnosed at the age of 11 and endured treatments and laser surgery which impacted his motor and speech functions. Yet he was always positive, often giving his signature “thumbs up” as a symbol of hope. In his honor, Team Brett began participating in St. Baldrick’s head shaving events in 2015 and each year, raised over $10,000. This Hero Fund hopes to raise funds for childhood cancer research for brain tumors like Brett’s so other families would have more options for cures.

Dr. Rowe is applying stem cell biology to understanding childhood leukemia. Overall, pediatric oncologists have made remarkable progress in treating children with leukemia with chemotherapy, but some children have forms of leukemia that don't respond well. Dr. Rowe is interested in better understanding what makes this subset of leukemias resistant to treatment. To do this, he is developing new models of these unfavorable forms of leukemia so that he can understand precisely how normal blood cells become leukemic blood cells. If Dr. Rowe can achieve this, then researchers can find new ways to more effectively treat these forms of leukemia.