Young Investigator Grants

Young Investigator grants are designed to fill the critical need for startup funds for less experienced researchers to pursue promising research ideas. Eligible applicants may apply during their fellowship training or early in their research careers but must not have achieved an appointment higher than Instructor. These grants encourage and cultivate the best and brightest researchers of the future and lead to long-term research projects. The Young Investigator grant offers up to $60,000 per year for three years.

University of Michigan

Background

Brain tumors are the leading cause of death among childhood cancers. Despite recent data showing differences in mutated genes in childhood and adult glioblastoma, the treatment is the same for both patient populations. The ATRX gene is mutated primarily in adolescent patients with glioblastoma, a devastating and highly malignant brain tumor. Treatments for human cancer are becoming increasingly personalized, and ATRX loss allows for a promising target for individualized treatment for patients with glioblastoma.

Project Goal

Principal Investigator Name:

Carl Koschmann, MD

Project Title:

Development of Targeted DNA-damaging Therapy for ATRX-deficient Pediatric Glioblastoma

Year Awarded:

2014

Cancer Research Category:

Category of Grant:

Young Investigator Grants

Medical, Nurse Researcher, Quality of LIfe:

Medical

Institution:

University of Michigan

University of Hawaii Hilo

Background

Principal Investigator Name:

Ingo Koomoa-Lange, PhD

Project Title:

Molecular Mechanism and Development of Therapeutic Strategies Targeting MYCN-induced Calcium Signaling in Advanced Neuroblastoma

Year Awarded:

2014

Cancer Research Category:

Neuroblastoma

Category of Grant:

Young Investigator Grants

Medical, Nurse Researcher, Quality of LIfe:

Medical

Institution:

University of Hawaii at Hilo

The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Dr. Huo has moved to Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte, NC

Background

Principal Investigator Name:

Jeffrey Huo, MD, PhD

Project Title:

A Developmental Model to Characterize the Epigenetic Origins of the Retinoblastoma Tumor Initiating Cell

Year Awarded:

2014

Cancer Research Category:

Retinoblastoma

Category of Grant:

Young Investigator Grants

Medical, Nurse Researcher, Quality of LIfe:

Medical

Institution:

The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Files:

T-Cell ALL Case Report - Pediatric Blood & Cancer 2016

Tolerance & Effectiveness of Nivolumab after BMT - Pediatric Blood & Cancer, 2016

Baylor College of Medicine

Background

Neuroblastoma (NBL) is the most common solid tumor of childhood outside the central nervous system. About 60% of children with high-risk disease are not cured by current therapy and therefore fundamentally new treatment strategies are necessary. A promising new approach is to engineer the immune system to destroy cancer cells by using chimeric antigen receptors (CAR). CARs can be expressed on certain immune cells and one cell type, Natural Killer T cells (NKTs) are especially suited for immunotherapy of neuroblastoma.

Principal Investigator Name:

Andras Heczey, MD

Project Title:

Immunotherapy Of Neuroblastoma With Natural Killer T Cells Engineered To Target O-acetyl-GD2

Year Awarded:

2014

Cancer Research Category:

Neuroblastoma

Category of Grant:

Young Investigator Grants

Medical, Nurse Researcher, Quality of LIfe:

Medical

Institution:

Baylor College of Medicine

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Background

Bone marrow blood stem cell transplants are used in the treatment of leukemias and other diseases of the blood and immune system. Unfortunately, use of this therapy is limited for some patients due to lack of appropriate donors for stem cells or insufficient numbers of stem cells.

Project Goal

Principal Investigator Name:

Brandon Hadland, MD, PhD

Project Title:

Niche for in Vitro Generation of Hematopoietic Stem Cells from Pluripotent Stem Cells

Year Awarded:

2014

Cancer Research Category:

General Pediatric Cancer

Category of Grant:

Young Investigator Grants

Medical, Nurse Researcher, Quality of LIfe:

Medical

Institution:

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Background

Principal Investigator Name:

Abby Green, MD

Project Title:

APOBEC3 in Pediatric Leukemia: a Biomarker for Sensitivity to PARP Inhibition?

Year Awarded:

2014

Cancer Research Category:

Leukemia

Category of Grant:

Young Investigator Grants

Medical, Nurse Researcher, Quality of LIfe:

Medical

Institution:

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

National Cancer Institute

Background

Principal Investigator Name:

Christopher Chien, PhD

Project Title:

Targeting the Thymic Stromal Lymphopoeitin Receptor Signaling Axis to Reduce Relapse of High Risk Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Year Awarded:

2014

Cancer Research Category:

Leukemia

Category of Grant:

Young Investigator Grants

Medical, Nurse Researcher, Quality of LIfe:

Medical

Institution:

National Cancer Institute

The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Background

Approximately a quarter of children with cancer have tumors of the brain and spinal cord. Unfortunately most children with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), one type of brain tumor, die within two years of diagnosis. Scientists have not been able to find a cure for this tumor but as science advances, we have slowly gained a better understanding of what makes one tumor different from another and what may be the underlying mechanism that triggers this devastating disease.

Project Goal

Principal Investigator Name:

Sama Ahsan, MD

Project Title:

Targeting the Epigenome of Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma

Year Awarded:

2014

Cancer Research Category:

Category of Grant:

Young Investigator Grants

Medical, Nurse Researcher, Quality of LIfe:

Medical

Institution:

The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Background
One reason cancer cells grow uncontrollably is because they turn off genetic brakes on growth using a process called DNA methylation. Drugs that block DNA methylation appear to stop cancer from growing and make it more sensitive to other treatments. However, little is known about the impact of these drugs on the normal immune system.

Principal Investigator Name:

Brian Ladle, MD, PhD

Project Title:

Epigenetic Regulation of T cell Activation and Immunotherapy

Year Awarded:

2013

Cancer Research Category:

Lymphoma

Category of Grant:

Young Investigator Grants

Medical, Nurse Researcher, Quality of LIfe:

Medical

Institution:

The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Files:

De novo DNA methylation by DNA methyltransferase 3a controls early effector CD8+ T-cell fate decisions_PNAS_2016

Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University School of Medicine

Background
Aberrant Hedgehog (Hh) pathway activity during postnatal life contributes to a subset of medulloblastomas, the most common malignant brain tumors in children.

Principal Investigator Name:

Jun Ni, PhD

Project Title:

Oncogenic Hedgehog Pathway Activation by a Putative Rho GTPase-Activating Protein

Year Awarded:

2013

Cancer Research Category:

Brain Tumors

Category of Grant:

Young Investigator Grants

Medical, Nurse Researcher, Quality of LIfe:

Medical

Institution:

Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford University School of Medicine

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