$1 MILLION BOOST TO PEDIATRICCANCER RESEARCH

Everything You Need To Know About the New

B Y M I C H A E L C H I N

A NEW GROUP O FL EADERS

Pediatr ic cancer research just scored a big win . In July , four

young pediatr ic cancer researchers were awarded $1 mill ion in

fel lowship money to pursue innovative treatments for an area

of cancer that 's largely underfunded .

DE F I N I NG TH E NE EDSince cancer happens less much of the t ime in youngsters and

teens than in grown -ups , pediatr ic cancer research does not get

noteworthy f inancing f rom either the National Cancer Inst itute

or the biopharmaceutical business .

Of course , this then means that are fewer advances and fewer

researchers in this f ie ld .

BUT SOME I N S T I T U T I ONSARE S T EPP I NG I N TO

CHANGE TH I NGS

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation and Sohn

Conference Foundations combined efforts to award four

outstanding young scientists as recipients of the prest igious

Damon Runyon -Sohn Pediatr ic Cancer Research Fel lowship ,

The fel lows represent some of the best and brightest minds in

the medical f ie ld who wil l take an intrepid approach to tackl ing

cancers in chi ldren and young adults .

MEET TH E F E L L OWSChall ice L . Bonifant , MD , PhD

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Dr . Bonifant wil l study how best to direct the immune system to

combat acute myeloid leukemia (AML ) , a blood cancer of both chi ldren

and adult . The goal : Develop new strategies to treat AML .

Michael A . Koldobskiy , MD , PhDDr . Koldobskiy wil l study the ways that cancer cel ls rely on chemical

marks that modify the expression of genes . The goal : Identi fy new

targets for treatment of pediatr ic acute lymphoblast ic leukemia ,

Tamara P . Miller , MDDr . Mil ler wil l study the toxicit ies of cancer treatment and improving

how the s ide effects of leukemia treatment are reported .The goal :

Define the true rates of toxicit ies of leukemia therapy

Cara A . Rabik , MD , PhDDr . Rabik wil l study how mutations in the WT1 gene result in

methylat ion changes in acute myeloid leukemia . The goal : Evaluate i f

certain drugs can eff ic iently treat this part icular mutation .

With the hard work and insight of thesefour doctors--and many others--we'll

continue making strides in thisparticularly underserved area of

research.

michaelchinworcester.org@MichaelChin_

APR ES ENTA T I ON

BYM I CHA E L CH IN

Source: DAMON RUNYON CANCERRESEARCH FOUNDATION. "Four

Young Pediatric Cancer ResearchFellows Earn $1 Million in New

Awards."EurekAlert!, 21 July 2016. Web.18 Aug. 2016.