Grant for Promising Childhood Cancer Research Given in Honor of St. Baldrick’s Ambassador from Carlsbad

Carlsbad, Calif. – The St. Baldrick’s Foundation, the largest private funder of childhood cancer research grants, is proud to announce Mighty Micah’s Mission Fund, a St. Baldrick’s Hero Fund, created in honor of Micah Bernstein from Carlsbad, Calif., will support lifesaving childhood cancer research at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Md.

Dr. Micah Maxwell at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine is being named the “Mighty Micah’s Mission Fund St. Baldrick’s Fellow” to support his promising research on new approaches to treat neuroblastoma, a type of childhood cancer that develops in the adrenal gland located above the kidney, and can also begin in the nerve tissue near the spine.

Approximately half of all children diagnosed with a high-risk form of neuroblastoma will die, and the survivors will bear a lifelong burden from the intensity of therapy. The most aggressive neuroblastoma cells have extra copies of a gene called MYCN, which causes neuroblastoma cells to have a different metabolism from normal cells. Dr. Maxwell is investigating the abnormal metabolism of neuroblastoma in order to uncover new potential therapies. He has found that the amino acid asparagine is critical to the growth and survival of neuroblastoma, and has identified two medications that, when combined, reduce the levels of this critical nutrient and effectively kill the most aggressive neuroblastomas.

This work could serve as a basis for new clinical trials with this drug combination in children with neuroblastoma. Dr. Maxwell aims to exploit neuroblastoma’s metabolic Achilles heel in order to improve outcomes for children who suffer from this devastating disease. This approach holds great promise for future targeted therapies to treat not only neuroblastoma, but many other cancers that rely on abnormal metabolism.

“We are honored that the Mighty Micah’s Mission Fund is able to support a St. Baldrick’s Fellow grant award enabling continued research into possible new neuroblastoma treatments,” said Kate and Jeff Bernstein, Micah’s parents. “We know that our son is here today because of the tireless work of pediatric oncology researchers like Dr. Maxwell, and we are thrilled to be able to support his exploration of a new approach to treating the very cancer that Micah faced early in his life. As Micah himself told us, supporting neuroblastoma research led by a doctor named Micah is the perfect choice for our fund’s first award. We’re humbled by the many family members, friends, colleagues, and even strangers who have supported the fund and made this award possible.”

The bulk of Micah’s life has been spent fighting cancer. He was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in March 2012 at just 15 months old and has had three surgeries, 21 cycles of chemotherapy and 36 sessions of radiation. Two separate phases of his treatment were centered around Unituxin, an immunotherapy drug developed with support from St. Baldrick’s that received FDA approval and is now the standard treatment for high-risk neuroblastoma patients.

Since then, Micah’s blood work and scans have been clear for six years and he’s been completely off treatment for more than a year, which means an important milestone for Micah – his first survivorship clinic visit in January 2020. Now, instead of spending his days dancing in hospital rooms while receiving treatment, he is dancing at home, playing games with his brother, reading books that take him on mythological adventures, and is currently a St. Baldrick’s Ambassador. As an ambassador Micah is sharing his story and experience with childhood cancer hoping to inspire others to help make life-saving research possible. Micah hopes that one day he’ll become a doctor – because who can better care for a patient than someone like Micah?

Every step of Micah’s treatment – especially since his first relapse – has depended heavily on researchers who have worked to develop treatments that are less harmful and more effective and whose work continues today. Micah has been involved in several studies seeking both to keep him disease-free and to provide data to help guide future research. The Mighty Micah’s Mission Fund was established to support the researchers and doctors who are working to better understand neuroblastoma, how to treat it, and how to minimize the often-brutal side effects caused by the current standard of care.

St. Baldrick’s Hero Funds are an ongoing way for friends, family members, and groups to donate or raise funds to honor a loved one. To learn more about the program visit the St. Baldrick’s Hero Fund page.

About St. Baldrick’s Foundation
Every 2 minutes a child somewhere in the world is diagnosed with cancer. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation, the largest private funder of pediatric cancer research grants, is on a mission to defy childhood cancers by supporting the most promising research to find cures and better treatments for all childhood cancers. When you give to St. Baldrick’s, you don’t just give to one institution–you give to virtually every institution treating kids with cancer across the U.S. and beyond. As a leader in the pediatric cancer community, St. Baldrick’s works tirelessly to ensure that current and future children diagnosed with cancer will have access to the most cutting-edge treatment from the best leaders in the pediatric oncology field. Join us at StBaldricks.org and help #DFYchildhoodCancers.

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