Grants Search Results

This institution is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: Preventing Heart Injury During Cancer Treatment. For a description of this project, see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA.

This institution is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: Preventing Heart Injury During Cancer Treatment. For a description of this project, see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA.

This institution is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: Preventing Heart Injury During Cancer Treatment. For a description of this project, see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA.

This institution is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: Preventing Heart Injury During Cancer Treatment. For a description of this project, see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA.

This institution is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: Preventing Heart Injury During Cancer Treatment. For a description of this project, see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA.

This institution is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: Preventing Heart Injury During Cancer Treatment. For a description of this project, see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA.

This institution is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: Preventing Heart Injury During Cancer Treatment. For a description of this project, see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Ferguson was awarded a new grant in 2014 to fund an optional third year of this fellowship. Neurofibromatosis type I is a rare genetic disorder that affects about 100,000 people in the United States alone. Of children with this disease, 25-40% form slow growing tumors called plexiform neurofibromas. These tumors can cause disfigurement, disability, and even death, depending on their location. To date, there is no effective therapy to treat these tumors. This project is testing drugs, already developed by pharmaceutical companies, that block growth in other cancers, for plexiform neurofibromas. The purpose of this study is to find a life-saving treatment for children with these tumors.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Gowda was awarded a new grant in 2014 to fund an optional third year of this fellowship. This project studies the regulation of the function of the Ikaros protein. The loss of function of the Ikaros protein is associated with the development of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that does not respond well to current therapies. Dr. Gowda is studying the way that Ikaros prevents the development of leukemia and to explain why the loss Ikaros activity leads to the development of leukemia. Thus, the results of this project will give insight into the mechanism of leukemia development. The more researchers learn about the way a cell changes to a cancer cell, the easier it will be to find new and more effective treatment options for patients with childhood leukemia.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Schultz was awarded a new grant in 2014 to fund an optional third year of this fellowship. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a subtype of pediatric leukemia, has poor long-term outcomes, making it important to develop new treatments. Markit St. Baldrick's Fellow Dr. Liora Schultz's research focuses on taking advantage of the immune system to fight cancer. Cancer cells often go unrecognized by the immune system, and Dr. Schultz aims to genetically engineer immune cells to recognize and destroy cancer cells, and ultimately translate this technique to the clinic to treat pediatric patients with AML. Awarded at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and transferred to Stanford University.

This grant is named for Markit, Ltd., whose 24-hour head-shaving events worldwide have raised over $1 million to fund life-saving research through the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Davis was awarded a new grant in 2014 to fund an optional third year of this fellowship. Spread of tumor cells from their original site to distant areas (metastasis) is the most deadly aspect of cancer, and often occurs through lymphatic vessels. New vessels can grow around tumors to facilitate spread. To prevent this, we must understand why new vessels form, and the design that allows tumor cells to travel. Dr. Davis is studying etsrp, a protein believed to control lymphatic growth, which is therefore a novel therapeutic target for preventing metastasis in childhood cancer.

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.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Curran, was awarded a new grant in 2016 to fund an additional year of this Scholar award. Our body can fight off infections using the immune system. This is why we feel better a few days after catching a cold. Our body can fight cancer in the same way, and the goal of Kevin Curran, M.D., AVM Traders St. Baldrick's Scholar's research is to teach the body to do that. This project aims to modify the immune system through gene therapy to create "cancer assassins" that target cancer cells. Ultimately, this method of cancer treatment may eliminate cancer without the side effects of current treatments such as chemotherapy (drugs) or radiation (x-rays).

This grant is named for AVM Traders, a company that has raised more than $1 million for childhood cancer research through the St. Baldrick's Foundation.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Vanan, was awarded a new grant in 2016 to fund an additional year of this Scholar award. Issai Vanan, M.D., M.P.H., studies medulloblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumor in children. High-risk medulloblastoma patients have low disease-free survival. Radiotherapy used in its treatment has significant long-term side-effects and new therapeutic strategies are needed that will minimize these side effects. The goals of this project are to validate and study the clinical importance of genes that may play a role in radiation resistance of medulloblastomas. Dr. Vanan hopes to identify new therapeutic targets/drugs that are therapeutic while using much lower doses of radiation, thereby reducing the negative side effects of radiotherapy. A portion of the grant was named in loving memory of Fr. Peter J. McKenna, beloved brother of former St. Baldrick's board member John McKenna, and in honor of John's incredible dedication and service. Awarded at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research and transferred to CancerCare Manitoba.

High levels of the receptor for a specific growth factor have been linked to a type of leukemia where children have a poor survival rate. This project studies the role of the growth factor that stimulates this receptor in the progression of leukemia. Understanding the contribution of the growth factor and its receptor to disease will help researchers develop drugs that can target these molecules and increase survival in children with leukemia.

Brain tumors are the leading cause of cancer-related death in children. Unfortunately, current treatments leave most children that survive with severe disabilities, due to the harsh and nonspecific nature of the therapy. In order to improve overall survival and minimize this toxicity, new treatments that specifically target cancer cells and spare surrounding normal non-cancer cells are needed. To achieve this, Dr. Praveen is working to test and optimize new therapies specifically against cancer cells and not surrounding normal cells.

Despite major improvement in outcomes for children and older adults with cancer over the past three decades, there has been little or no improvement in survival among adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer patients (ages 15-39 years). The reasons for this disparity are not completely understood and likely include many factors, including differences in tumor biology, insurance coverage, clinical trial participation and adherence to treatment. This research aims to produce detailed information about the factors affecting AYA cancer incidence and survival that will help doctors target care and close this gap. The project will also produce detailed information for local cancer care service providers on where to target their efforts, and information that will help clinicians recruit AYA patients most in need of help to clinical trials to address their needs.

Although most children with leukemia can be cured, chemotherapy frequently causes permanent brain dysfunction in survivors. With previous support from St. Baldricks, Dr. Cole's lab identified promising protective interventions, and he will now test them among those children at greatest risk for brain damage. To identify this population researchers are studying whether variation in neurocognitive function among leukemia survivors is related to specific inherited differences in genes related to repair mechanisms or to metabolism of drugs thought to cause cognitive deficits.

This institution is a member of a research consortium which is being funded by St. Baldrick's: Comprehensive Approach to Improve Medication Adherence in Pediatric ALL. For a description of this project, see the consortium grant made to the lead institution: the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL.