Curing Kids Cancer announces the 2023 award winners of more than $2.5 million in funding for innovative childhood cancer research projects across the United States. Eighteen projects at fifteen hospitals received grants in December 2022 to support their work on groundbreaking pediatric cancer research and treatment initiatives for the upcoming year.
“It has been an amazing year; we are thrilled to give $2.5 million to some of the best projects in the world of childhood cancer research,” said Grainne Owen, Co-Founder and President of Curing Kids Cancer. “Curing Kids Cancer funding is making even more of a difference this year because of the generous support given by our donors. We look forward to seeing these eighteen projects tremendously impact the future of childhood cancer therapies.”
Curing Kids Cancer continues to fund cutting-edge childhood cancer research and treatments across the globe. Congratulations to each institution chosen to receive one of this year’s grants.
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles – Curing Kids Cancer completed the $1.5 million funding of the ‘Killian Owen Curing Kids Cancer Research Endowment’ to improve survival rates and quality of life for children with high-risk leukemia.
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles – Dr. Anat Epstein and her team are working on a combination treatment for Ependymomas, a type of tumor found in the spinal cord and brain. Once validated, this research will lead to better treatments for patients with these rare tumors.
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia – Curing Kids Cancer completed a $500,000 multi-year funding effort to support the CAR T-Cell Viral Vector project led by Dr. Stephan Grupp. Curing Kids Cancer also funded Dr. Grupp’s combination therapy CAR T-Cell treatment research.
Cleveland Clinic
Children’s Medical Center Dallas
Children’s Mercy Kansas City – Dr. Keith August and his team are using the latest genetic sequencing technology to understand why some children with T-Cell leukemia don’t respond to initial treatment or experience a relapse. By identifying these patients’ genetic mutations, they can specialize their treatment plan right from diagnosis for better success.
Children’s Wisconsin
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute – Dr. Riaz Gillani and his team are creating a deeper understanding of the biology behind Ewing sarcoma, which would lead to earlier diagnosis for children at risk for the disease and develop more effective and safer treatments.
Emory University
Nationwide Children’s Hospital – Curing Kids Cancer continued supporting the international COllaborative Network for NEuro-oncology Clinical Trials (CONNECT), which conducts worldwide clinical trials in high-risk pediatric brain tumor patients to investigate the most successful combinations of novel drugs with traditional therapies.
Prisma Health Children’s Hospital-Midlands – Curing Kids Cancer completed a $1.2 million funding endowment to name the outpatient clinic the ‘Gamecocks Curing Kids Cancer Clinic,’ giving children in South Carolina access to cutting-edge pediatric cancer therapies.
The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine – Dr. Wei Li’s research on Ependymomas, a central nervous system tumor with a particularly poor survival rate, will identify better targets that will lead to more effective treatments.
The University of Pittsburgh – Dr. Craig Byersdorfer’s research uses the knowledge of well-studied energy pathways to improve immune cell function. This will ultimately benefit pediatric cancer patients with many difficult-to-treat diseases.
Texas Children’s Cancer Center – Curing Kids Cancer is committed to funding the training of pediatric oncologist Dr. Shoba Navai to obtain specialized training in all aspects of childhood cancer treatments, which will impact the field of pediatric immunotherapy internationally. Curing Kids Cancer also supported the research of Dr. Eric Schafer for supporting data to fund a new drug for treating T-ALL.
Washington University in St. Louis – Dr. Grant Challan and his team are working on creating new AML models to help high-risk leukemia patients have better outcomes.
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About Curing Kids Cancer
Grainne and Clay Owen founded Curing Kids Cancer, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization devoted to funding cutting-edge pediatric cancer therapies after they lost their nine-year-old son Killian to leukemia in 2003. Since it was founded in 2005, Curing Kids Cancer has raised more than $25 million to fund innovative treatments and pediatric cancer research. For more information on how to help, please visit curingkidscancer.org.
