CURE Childhood Cancer Awards $4.7 Million in Research Grants

SAVANNAH, Ga. - Jan. 3, 2023 - PRLog -- CURE Childhood Cancer, the only organization providing financial and emotional support to local children and families while raising funds to further critical research specifically for childhood cancer treatments, recently disbursed $4.7 million in research grants for its 2021-2022 fiscal year. Of this total, more than $700,000 was raised in Southeast Georgia. This brings CURE's total investment in research over the last 12 years to more than $38 million.

CURE's 2022 Pediatric Cancer Research Initiative includes the studies listed below:

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta/Emory University

• Aflac Precision Medicine Program
• Christopher Porter, MD, B-cell leukemia – Targeting mechanisms of T-cell suppression mediated by siglec15
• Sunil Sudhir Raikar, MD, acute myeloid leukemia – Optimizing gamma delta T-cell immunotherapy for acute myeloid leukemia
• Tobey MacDonald, MD, high-risk brain tumor – Two-year grant for clinical investigation of cluster-wells in pediatric brain tumors
• Robert Castellino, MD, medulloblastoma – Combined molecular targeting to enhance therapy for Group 3 medulloblastoma
• Renee Read, Ph.D., high-grade glioma – Human Organoid models of pediatric high-grade gliomas
• Muxiang Zhou, MD, acute myeloid leukemia – Feasibility study of VERU-111 for precision treatment of pediatric AML
• Full funding of 3 fellowships
  • Dr. Frank Chien
  • Dr. Robert Lisac (Sam Robb Fellow)
  • Dr. Sanyu Janardan (Connolly Family Fellow)

Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope

• Ling Li, Ph.D., acute myeloid leukemia – Targeting PRMT1 elicits anti-tumor immunity in childhood leukemia
• Qiang Lu, Ph.D., medulloblastoma – Developing inhibitors of mitotic kinesin KIF20A for brain tumor treatment

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

• Vinodh Pillai, MD, Ph.D., B-cell leukemia – Assessment of bone marrow to predict response to CAR T-cell therapy
• Timothy Olson, MD, Ph.D., Genetic research - Targeting niche inflammation and MSC cell fate in monosomy 7 predispositions
• Michael Chorny, Ph.D., neuroblastoma – macromolecular prodrug-based therapy for indolent neuroblastoma

Seattle Children's Hospital

• Elizabeth Lawlor, MD, Ph.D., Ewing sarcoma – Optimizing safety and efficacy of anthracyclines in Ewing sarcoma

Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital (Cleveland)

• John Letterio, MD, diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma – Development of a CNS-penetrant synthetic oleanane triterpenoid for DIPG

Indiana University

• Jignesh Tailor, Ph.D., medulloblastoma – Discovery of synthetic lethal targets in MYCN neuroepithelial stem cells

University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

• Raushan Kurmasheva, Ph.D., rhabdoid tumor therapy – PEGylated talazoparib for pediatric malignant rhabdoid tumor therapy

Virginia Tech

• Jia-Ray Yu, Ph.D., diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma – Pharmacological screening of a new class of NSD1 inhibitor

Washington University in St. Louis

• Jason Weber, Ph.D., diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma – Development of a p14ARF-based therapies to treat CDKN2A-deficient pediatric cancers

Fundraising efforts for the 2022-2023 fiscal year research grants are currently underway. Grant applications are expected to be open in January 2023.