Grants Search Results

Based on progress to date, Dr. Moldovan was awarded new grants in 2018 and 2019 to fund additional years of this Scholar grant. Dr. Moldovan has identified a novel DNA damage repair mechanism that promotes the spread of leukemia cells. This research aims to investigate how leukemia cells fight DNA damage and potential therapies to target this mechanism.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Petrosiute was awarded new grants in 2018 and 2019 to fund additional years of this Scholar grant. Despite successes in treating children with certain types of cancers, outcome remains poor for children with advanced solid tumors, including brain tumors and sarcomas. Dr. Petrosiute has investigated a protein called Cdk5 in medulloblastoma, finding that tumors become vulnerable to immune cell killing when Cdk5 function is disrupted, and this disruption, which can be achieved by drugs currently being tested in Phase I clinical trials, was correlated with a diminished production of immune-protective molecule called PD-L1 on tumor cells. This research aims to identify the molecular mechanisms of Cdk5 in order to enhance immunotherapy treatments. A portion of this grant was named for The Rebecca Allison Meyer Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research, a St. Baldrick's Hero Fund created to honor the memory of the joyful and spunky little girl who courageously battled brain cancer. Rebecca's legacy lives on in the funding of promising glioblastoma research. Awarded at the Case Western Reserve University, and transferred to Vilnius University.

Burkitt lymphoma is an aggressive cancer that occurs in children. Treatment requires intensive chemotherapy, which can have significant side effects. Targeted therapies, which kill cancer cells but spare healthy cells, are urgently needed. As the Jack’s Pack – We Still Have His Back St. Baldrick’s Scholar, Dr. Roth is investigating a promising new drug that kills Burkitt lymphoma by attacking a protein that the tumor needs to survive. This drug may treat Burkitt lymphoma with less side effects than chemotherapy. This grant is named in memory of Jack Klein who bravely battled Burkitts Lymphoma. Love for this special boy inspired family and friends to rally around him as “Jack’s Pack” with their cry, “We Got Jack’s Back”.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Aune was awarded new grants in 2017 and 2018 to fund additional years of this Scholar award. Survival from pediatric cancer approaches 80%, but long-term survivors have alarming rates of heart disease as adults. Dr. Aune's lab has developed models to study how pediatric cancer therapies affect the heart. This research aims to determine the potential for new chemotherapy agents to damage the heart. These strategies will lead to a better quality of life for children who survive cancer.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Bandopadhayay was awarded new grants in 2017 and 2018 to fund additional years of this Scholar award. Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant brain cancer of childhood. As the Hannah's Heroes St. Baldrick's Scholar, Dr. Bandopadhayay and her lab have shown that the drug JQ1 can hinder the cancer causing effects of a gene called MYC in one of the most aggressive types of medulloblastoma. This project aims to identify drugs which can be added to JQ1 to improve effectiveness. The results of this project will help determine combination therapies that can be used to treat children with this aggressive type of brain tumor. This grant is named for Hannah’s Heroes, a St. Baldrick’s Hero Fund created in honor of Hannah Meeson and pays tribute to her fight by raising awareness and funding for all childhood cancers because kids like Hannah “are worth fighting for.”

Based on progress to date, Dr. Barbieri was awarded new grants in 2017 and 2018 to fund additional years of this Scholar award. More than half of the patients with high-risk neuroblastoma will relapse despite intensive multimodal therapy. Treatments for these patients are challenging given disease heterogeneity, drug resistance, and toxicity. Dr. Barbieri’s project aims to develop novel targeted therapies for children with high-risk neuroblastoma whose disease is unresponsive to conventional therapies. By better understanding the metabolic changes occurring during the development of neuroblastoma, we will improve the clinical efficacy of current differentiating therapies for this aggressive disease.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Blanc was awarded new grants in 2017 and 2018 to fund additional years of this Scholar award. Diamond Blackfan Anemia is a rare genetic disease characterized by a dramatic decrease in red blood cells. Patients affected by this condition are more prone to develop cancers, like cancer of the bone. Dr. Blanc, Allied World St. Baldrick's Scholar, is studying the mechanism by which this cancer develops in these patients. This research aims to help understand how these tumors form, provide new targets for treatment, and improve cure rates. This grant is named for the Allied World team, whose employees have raised more than $1.1 million since 2008 for life-saving research through the St. Baldrick’s Foundation.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Cheshier was awarded new grants in 2017 and 2018 to fund additional years of this Scholar award. Malignant primary brain tumors are the most common solid tumors in children and are a leading cause of death. Dr. Cheshier, Ty Louis Campbell Foundation St. Baldrick’s Scholar, aims to treat these cancers by stimulating the immune system to "eat" the cancer cells while leaving normal cells alone. This strategy combines a newly developed antibody protein that stimulates the "eating" cells of the immune system with known antibody proteins that can target brain tumors. Dr. Cheshier will then immediately translate these novel treatment combinations into clinical trials in children with malignant brain tumors. Awarded at Stanford University, and transferred to University of Utah. This grant is named for the Ty Louis Campbell Foundation, created in memory of Ty Louis Campbell, and funds innovative research and clinical trials specifically geared toward the treatment of the deadliest childhood cancers.

Based on progress to date, Dr. de Blank was awarded new grants in 2017 and 2018 to fund additional years of this Scholar award. Although therapies have improved for children with brain tumors, survival for malignant disease remains poor. Most of these children will have a recurrence of their tumor in the area of their original tumor, likely due to a tumor that was never fully removed. Dr. de Blank is investigating a new radiographic tool to diagnose brain tumors prior to surgery and define the extent of the tumor's invasion. This tool aims to improve outcomes by identifying children at risk for tumor recurrence and poor outcomes.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Feng was awarded new grants in 2017 and 2018 to fund additional years of this Scholar award and has been named the Arden Quinn Bucher Memorial Fund St. Baldrick's Scholar. An amplified gene, MYCN, is found in ~30% of neuroblastomas, and is associated with highly aggressive tumors and extremely poor prognosis. Dr. Feng's work on T-cell leukemia recently showed that when a specific gene is turned off it will prevent tumor growth caused by a close relative of MYCN, C-MYC. This research aims to test if targeting this gene will suppress neuroblastoma development associated with MYCN activity. This grant is funded by and named for the Arden Quinn Bucher Memorial Fund, a St. Baldrick's Hero Fund. Arden’s intelligence, empathy, and dynamic personality charmed everyone and has now become her legacy. She was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at the age of two and even throughout treatment, bravely managed to keep smiling and learning. This memorial fund supports St. Baldrick’s mission of funding the most promising research with the hope of changing outcomes for children battling cancer.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Li was awarded new grants in 2017 and 2018 to fund additional years of this Scholar award. Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma is one of the most common tumors in children and adolescents. No effective therapy is currently available for advanced staged patients, partly due to poor understanding of the disease. It is still considered mysterious because the exact cells from which the tumors develop (cells of origin) are not clear.  Like fingerprints, there are certain molecular events that are signatures of the tumor. By following these signatures Dr. Li, St. Baldrick's V Scholar, and his team recently started to pick up hints that are potentially the cells of origin for this mysterious tumor. The goal of this study is a better understanding of the disease and to yield important information, which will guide the development of more effective therapeutic approaches. This grant is named for The V Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to saving lives by helping to find a cure for cancer.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Liu was awarded new grants in 2017 and 2018 to fund additional years of this Scholar award. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the leading cause of cancer death in children. Despite improvements in treatment outcomes, a considerable number of patients relapse or do not respond to conventional chemotherapy. Dr. Liu's team recently found that an enzyme, called PRL2, is elevated in T-ALL cells, and that blocking PRL2 activity kills these cancer cells. This research aims to determine the effect of PRL2 inhibitors on T-ALL cells, in hopes it can be a new target in treatment of T-ALL.

Leukemia cells divide extensively, often by hijacking mechanisms that regulate normal stem cells. Dr. Magee is working to characterize genes that potentially regulate the growth of normal stem cells and leukemia cells. By characterizing these genes, Dr. Magee's team hopes that the proteins encoded by these genes will become targets for novel anti-leukemia therapies.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Mar was awarded a new grant in 2017 to fund an additional year of this Scholar award. Although many children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) are being cured today, a significant number still relapse. New targeted therapies that specifically attack the biology of ALL have great potential to improve outcomes; however, few specific biological vulnerabilities have been identified so far. Dr. Mar's team recently used a method to find novel biological vulnerabilities specific to ALL. As the Ben's Green Drakkoman Fund St. Baldrick's Scholar, Dr. Mar is studying those novel vulnerabilities in leukemia models, with the goal to understand why they are essential to ALL, and to determine their suitability for therapy. This grant is named for the Ben's Green Drakkoman Fund, created to honor the memory of Ben Stowell who battled osteosarcoma with an inspiring determination to live life fully. The fund is named after a super hero Ben created named the Green Drakkoman who defeats his enemy, the Evil Alien.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Shand was awarded new grants in 2017 and 2018 to fund additional years of this Scholar award. Leukemia is a blood cancer that kills more children than any other cancer. Dr. Shand's work is based on the belief that leukemia behaves like some infections do, by tricking our body into thinking it's OK to set up shop there. Dr. Shand is studying how leukemia can send these “trick signals” to the part of our body that fights off infections, the immune system. This research aims to understand how these trick signals work, with the goal of turning them off so that the immune system can be used to cure leukemia. This grant is generously supported by Micaela's Army Foundation, a St. Baldrick's partner which was founded in loving memory of Micaela White who fiercely fought Acute Myeloid Leukemia at the age of 18. Their mission is to raise money to help fund cancer research, education, awareness, and patient support for the cancers that affect children and their families.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Gramatges was awarded new grants in 2016 and 2017 to fund additional years of this Scholar award. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is treated with intensive chemotherapy that results in treatment-related toxicities in 80% of patients, some so severe that the patient does not survive therapy. Dr. Gramatges's research investigates genetic markers characterizing the subpopulation of children and young adults with AML who are at risk for severe treatment-related toxicities. Validation of these markers may lead to upfront screening of individuals with newly diagnosed AML, and in cases where these markers are discovered, modifications to the treatment regimen and closer monitoring to reduce treatment-related morbidity and mortality in this disease.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Fabbri was awarded new grants in 2016 and 2017 to fund additional years of this Scholar award. In neuroblastoma, a common childhood solid cancer, immune cells called tumor infiltrating macrophages (TAMs) promote neuroblastoma growth and spread. The mechanism for this process is unknown. Dr. Fabbri has shown in another type of cancer that cancer cells secrete special genes that induce TAMs to release a signal that promotes cancer growth. Dr. Fabbri is investigating how these genes and TAMs affect neuroblastoma growth, and testing what drugs can interrupt this process, with the goal of improving neuroblastoma treatment.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Norris was awarded new grants in 2016 and 2018 to fund additional years of this Scholar award. More than 70% of children diagnosed with cancer are cured of their disease, but today's therapies can have severe and life-long side effects, and too many children die from cancer. Cyclin dependent kinase-5 (Cdk5) inhibitors are a new type of therapy with the potential to treat childhood cancer. Dr. Norris, the Rebecca Alison Meyer Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research St. Baldrick’s Scholar, uses laboratory and computer models to determine how to optimize therapy with Cdk5 inhibitors, and how to combine Cdk5 inhibitors with current cancer treatments. Using this information, Dr. Norris studies Cdk5 inhibitors in adolescents with relapsed cancer, with the goal of developing new treatments for children with cancer. A portion of this grant is named for The Rebecca Alison Meyer Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research created to honor the memory of the joyful and spunky little girl who courageously battled brain cancer. Rebecca’s legacy lives on in the funding of promising glioblastoma research. Awarded at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital and transferred to Cincinnati Children's Hospital.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Barth was awarded new grants in 2016 and 2017 to fund additional years of this Scholar award. Children with B-cell non-Hodgkins lymphoma (B-NHL) whose disease is resistant to initial therapies have a dismal outcome. As the Do It For Dominic St. Baldrick's Scholar, Dr. Barth and his team have identified alterations in lymphoma cells that contribute to therapy resistance. This study investigates the ability to reverse or overcome resistance by targeting these altered pathways using targeted inhibitors. By inhibiting these pathways, he hopes to kill resistant lymphoma cells or re-sensitize resistant cells to traditional chemotherapy, potentially providing new future treatment options for patients with an otherwise poor prognosis. This grant is named for the Do It for Dominic Fund which honors the memory of Dominic Cairo who battled non-Hodgkins lymphoma and was a hero to his school and community. His family and friends continue to raise funds and support research in the hopes that no child has to go through what Dominic endured.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Crompton was awarded new grants in 2016 and 2017 to fund additional years of this Scholar award. Ewing sarcoma is an aggressive bone tumor affecting adolescents and young adults. Current treatment regimens fail to improve outcomes for patients with high-risk disease, and new therapeutic approaches are needed. Dr. Crompton's team recently identified a protein that is highly active in Ewing sarcoma and is targeted by drugs in clinical development. Dr. Crompton, the Team Clarkie Fund St. Baldrick’s Scholar, aims to demonstrate that these inhibitors warrant testing in clinical trials for patients with Ewing sarcoma, define the clinical indications for their use, and identify the most effective treatment combinations. Lastly, the project will develop a new screening effort to identify additional drug targets in Ewing sarcoma. A portion of this grant is named for the Team Clarkie Fund created to honor Clarkie Carroll and fund Ewing’s sarcoma research while stimulating greater awareness and inspiring others to believe pediatric cancer research can and will lead to a cure.