Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation Announces New Psychosocial Grant Recipients, funding research to better understand the psychosocial aspects of pediatric cancer

Researchers at Rady Children's Hospital San Diego and Nemours Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children to receive Psychosocial Grants that will impact clinical care

Philadelphia, PA (March 17, 2016) – Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF), a nonprofit dedicated to finding better treatments and ultimately cures for all kids with cancer, awarded Psychosocial grants to researchers from University of California, San Diego and Nemours Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children.  Recognizing the importance of investing in research that enables better quality of care and life for children battling cancer, their siblings and families, the Foundation created the Psychosocial grants to explain and improve psychosocial outcomes of those affected by childhood cancer.  

Paula Aristizabal, MD of Rady Children's Hospital and the University of California, San Diego was awarded the Psychosocial Launch Grant worth $100,000 over the course of two years. The Psychosocial Launch Grant is designed for early career researchers whose studies aim to explain and/or improve psychosocial outcomes of those affected by childhood cancer. Anne Kazak, PhD of Nemours Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children and co-investigators Ahna L. H. Pai, Avi Madan-Swain, Wei-Ting Hwang and Janet A. Deatrick were awarded the Psychosocial Family Impact Grant worth $300,000 over the course of three years. The Psychosocial Family Impact Grant is designed for established investigators. Funding will support researchers who have novel approaches to understanding the psychosocial aspects of pediatric cancer and whose proposals will have clinically significant impact.

Aristizabal’s project will study barriers to research participation in Hispanic pediatric cancer families. Kazak and her co-investigators’ project aims to validate a tool to assess psychosocial risk in families of children undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplants and apply the tool to engage the families in planning for appropriate psychosocial services to reduce stress and increase wellbeing. Full summaries of both projects can be found on our Funded Projects page.  

“Since we began funding research for childhood cancer, we have seen progress toward better treatments and ultimately cures,” said Jay Scott, Co-Executive Director of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. “However, in that time frame, we have also become intensely aware of the effects the fight against childhood cancer can have emotionally and behaviorally on patients and their families. These grants aim to address the psychosocial aspects of childhood cancer treatment, helping to improve the current and future quality of care and life for these children and their families.”

For more information about the Psychosocial Grants or Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation’s various grant categories and successes, visit: www.ALSFgrants.org.