Advanced Therapeutics for Pediatric Cancer

Despite advances in the treatment of cancer, the outcome for some of the most common childhood cancers remains extremely poor. Our pediatric oncology program at Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center is committed to investigate how to best administer currently available chemotherapy agents and how to develop new therapies for these childhood cancers. A successful Phase I/II clinical trial program is essential to our mission of advancing treatment of pediatric cancer and providing options to families and patients fighting cancer. Funding from the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation greatly enhances our ability to fulfill this mission by providing crucial funding for research personnel.

Given the specialized nature of phase I/II pediatric oncology clinical trials, acquiring and retaining excellent research staff is of the utmost importance. The requested funding will support the research personnel necessary to complete clinical trials initiated at our program and to most effectively participate in clinical trials sponsored by the national pediatric cancer consortia. We also request support to fund the physician leadership of our clinical research program. Physician support is crucial to provide oversight of clinical research conduct at our program. We aim to ensure that our program continues to translate laboratory research into cancer-directed therapy and that we continue to work together with the national pediatric cancer groups to develop integrated clinical trials for childhood cancer.

Update
Julie Park received a 2013 Phase I/II Infrastructure Grant.