Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation Announces 2016 ‘A’ Award Recipients

The ‘A’ Award provides grant money to young scientists to jump-start careers in pediatric oncology research

Philadelphia, PA (November 22, 2016) – Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF), a nonprofit dedicated to finding cures for all kids with cancer, awarded the newly redesigned ‘A’ Award to five promising young researchers: Rohan Fernandes, PhD, Meenakshi Hegde, MD, Michael Kharas, PhD, Jeffrey Magee, MD/PhD and Saikat Mukhopadhyay, MD/PhD.

The redesigned ‘A’ Award is now a four year grant with the possibility of a fifth year of funding. The amount awarded has also increased with grantees receiving $800,000 over the course of four years. Grantees can earn a fifth year of unrestricted funding from ALSF if they can secure an NIH R01 grant before the end of the fourth year. The new 'A' Award is designed specifically for the early independent career scientist who wants to establish a career in pediatric oncology research. The ideal candidate has an original project, can demonstrate outstanding career development support from the institution and has a strong future commitment to pediatric cancer investigation. Along with the funds provided to ‘A’ Award recipients, the grant also includes the opportunity to speak at and attend ALSF events, like the Young Investigator Summit to share, learn and network.

The 2016 ‘A’ Award recipients are: Rohan Fernandes, PhD from Children's Research Institute at Children's National Medical Center to research nanoimmunotherapy as a treatment for neuroblastoma; Meenakshi Hegde, MD from Baylor College of Medicine to research T cell therapy for glioblastoma; Michael Kharas, PhD from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to study acute myeloid leukemia and novel therapies; Jeffrey Magee, MD/PhD from Washington University to study the role of genetics in infant leukemia patients; and Saikat Mukhopadhyay, MD/PhD from University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center to study how medulloblastoma initiates and progresses.

“We operate under the belief that engaging researchers early in their careers leads to a long term commitment to finding cures,” said Jay Scott, Co-Executive Director of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. “The ‘A’ Award plays an integral role in allowing scientists with original projects the resources to follow through with promising research.”

For more information on the ‘A’ Award or Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation’s various grant categories and successes, visit: www.ALSFgrants.org.