Each year ALSF staff member, Lisa Towry, travels to cancer research centers and children’s hospitals in different cities. This year she visited Seattle Children’s Hospital (SCH) and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC). Over the years ALSF has helped fund researchers at these two Seattle institutions to find what causes childhood cancers, help deliver better treatments and improve the quality of life and care for kids with cancer. Lisa had the pleasure of touring their labs, learning more about their research and presenting checks!
Take a look at the researchers that Lisa met with over the course of her time in Seattle:
Young Investigator Award 2010
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA
Scott Diede, MD, PhD, The Role of DNA Methylation in Pediatric Cancer
Young Investigator Award 2011
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA
Rebecca Gardner, MD, Engineering a Graft Versus Leukemia Effect into Cord Blood Transplant for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Program Infrastructure
Seattle Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center, Seattle, WA
Russ Geyer, MD, Improving Development of and Patient Access to Early Phase Pediatric Cancer Clinical Trials
Julie Park, MD, Advanced Therapeutics for Pediatric Cancer
Not pictured but also part of the visit to Children's Hospital was Fiona Macpherson, PhD who received a Nurse Researcher grant in 2008 to look into the current scale used to rate fatigue in pediatric oncology patients. She found that a simple prescreening can eliminate the need for the entire set of questions. For this population who fill out massive amounts of paperwork and surveys, the potential to fill out one less is very significant.
One of the most endearing and inspirational parts of Lisa’s visit to Seattle Children’s was the view from an oncology patient playroom. What you see above is the construction of a new building where the SCH oncology in-patient unit will be housed. The kids posted their names on the window and the workers started to spray paint messages to them on the building’s newly constructed beams. As you can see from the amount of messages, the kids got a thrill and a pick-me-up from seeing their names sprayed in different colors.
“One of the best parts of working at ALSF is when we get to see the real work being done because of the time our supporters put into collecting funds and ALSF spends implementing programs,” says Lisa. “It is invigorating to develop grants based on the needs of researchers at this very moment and that will lead to bettering the lives of and treatments for kids battling cancer.”
- Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation
Take a look at the researchers that Lisa met with over the course of her time in Seattle:
Young Investigator Award 2010
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA
Scott Diede, MD, PhD, The Role of DNA Methylation in Pediatric Cancer
Young Investigator Award 2011
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA
Rebecca Gardner, MD, Engineering a Graft Versus Leukemia Effect into Cord Blood Transplant for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Program Infrastructure
Seattle Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center, Seattle, WA
Russ Geyer, MD, Improving Development of and Patient Access to Early Phase Pediatric Cancer Clinical Trials
Julie Park, MD, Advanced Therapeutics for Pediatric Cancer
Not pictured but also part of the visit to Children's Hospital was Fiona Macpherson, PhD who received a Nurse Researcher grant in 2008 to look into the current scale used to rate fatigue in pediatric oncology patients. She found that a simple prescreening can eliminate the need for the entire set of questions. For this population who fill out massive amounts of paperwork and surveys, the potential to fill out one less is very significant.
One of the most endearing and inspirational parts of Lisa’s visit to Seattle Children’s was the view from an oncology patient playroom. What you see above is the construction of a new building where the SCH oncology in-patient unit will be housed. The kids posted their names on the window and the workers started to spray paint messages to them on the building’s newly constructed beams. As you can see from the amount of messages, the kids got a thrill and a pick-me-up from seeing their names sprayed in different colors.
“One of the best parts of working at ALSF is when we get to see the real work being done because of the time our supporters put into collecting funds and ALSF spends implementing programs,” says Lisa. “It is invigorating to develop grants based on the needs of researchers at this very moment and that will lead to bettering the lives of and treatments for kids battling cancer.”
- Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation
October 28, 2011
