Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation Awards 2015 Discovery Grant, provides grant for research to improve nursing care for children with cancer

Two-year, $100,000 grant awarded to researcher from University of Maryland

Philadelphia, PA (January 7, 2016) – Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF), a nonprofit dedicated to finding cures for all kids with cancer, awarded the Discovery Grant for Independent Nurse Researcher to Valerie Rogers, PhD of the University of Maryland. The grant will provide $100,000 over the course of two years.

Rogers will use the grant to study the effects of cancer treatments on the circadian activity rhythm (CAR) on childhood cancer survivors. While researchers understand that cancer treatment causes circadian rhythm dysregulation in adults, little is known about CAR in childhood cancers.

Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation added the Nursing Grant program to an already successful and innovative pediatric research grant program in 2007. Drawing on founder Alex Scott’s experiences as a patient, the Foundation recognizes the importance of investing in research that enables nurses to find better ways to care for children undergoing cancer treatment.

“For the nearly seven years that my daughter Alex battled cancer, nurses played an integral role not only in her treatment, but in her quality of care and life,” said Jay Scott, Co-Executive Director of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. “Nurses have a unique perspective into a young patient’s quality of care and perhaps most importantly quality of life. Through this grant, we can enable nurses to use this knowledge to make a difference in the lives of children battling cancer.”