$257,685 Awarded to Duke University Medical Center to Support the Most Promising Childhood Cancer Research

Part of $22 Million Awarded in New Grants by the St. Baldrick’s Foundation

DURHAM, N.C. (August 31, 2016) – The St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a volunteer-powered and donor-centered charity dedicated to raising money for childhood cancer research, is proud to award two grants totaling $257,685 to Duke University Medical Center.

With a $157,685 St. Baldrick’s Fellow award, Michael Deel, M.D., will investigate an innovative way to target the gene that drives alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, a type of childhood cancer of the muscle that often does not respond to drugs currently available, resulting in poor outcomes.

“This generous grant from the St. Baldrick’s Foundation allows me to build the foundation to sharpen my scientific skills,” says Dr. Deel, fellow in the Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology at Duke University Medical Center. “It is critical that we train tomorrow’s scientists if we are going to be able to continue to build upon prior decades’ progress in treating childhood cancers.”

Dan Wechsler, M.D., Ph.D., was awarded a $100,000 St. Baldrick’s Research Grant to better understand how a specific type of infant/pediatric leukemia occurs and to identify new effective therapies to treat it.

“This St. Baldrick’s Foundation Research Grant helps support ongoing research in our laboratory, allowing us to make progress in understanding leukemias,” says Dr. Wechsler, chief, Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, at Duke University Medical Center. “We are hopeful that this will lead to the development of new therapies that will contribute to increasing cure rates.”

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About St. Baldrick’s Foundation
As the largest private funder of childhood cancer research grants, the St. Baldrick’s Foundation believes that kids are special and deserve to be treated that way. St. Baldrick’s funds are granted to some of the most brilliant childhood cancer research experts who are working to find cures and better treatments for all childhood cancers. Kids need treatments as unique as they are – and that starts with funding research just for them. Join us at StBaldricks.org to help support the best cancer treatments for kids.

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