Designing better weapons against cancer cells

Jae-Woong Chang, PhD, initially had his eye on medical school. But then his high school teacher pointed out: “Doctors can cure about only 10,000 people in their entire lifetime, but a researcher who creates a new treatment can cure a million people.”

That comment kindled a spark in Chang: one that would inspire him to eventually earn his PhD in cellular and molecular biology and to later move more than 6,000 miles to the University of Minnesota Medical School, where he’s now a research associate in the Department of Pediatrics.

Engineering better treatments for AML

“This is a very innovative approach. Using precise gene editing, we hypothesize that we can change one protein in healthy hematopoietic stem cells and make it invisible to the antibody while preserving its physiologic function,” Genovese explained. “This would allow the administration of highly effective immunotherapies targeting a protein essential for cancer survival without the risk of severe toxicity on the healthy tissue.”

Amaiyah’s Story – Beating a Brain Tumor

When 9-year-old Amaiyah finished treatment for a brain tumor this year, her mom, Tequila felt like they’d finally stumbled over the finish line of a marathon they never wanted to run.

“I’m just surprised I’m not crazy by now,” she said with a laugh. “It’s amazing that we’re still a whole family, that our marriage is still intact, because everybody is neglected during treatment. For our family to still be sane and whole is a big deal.”

Myla’s Story – Dancing After Leukemia

Seven-year-old Myla has always been a kind-hearted, active kid. She enjoys being silly, care-free and playing with her friends. So when her mom, Katie, noticed lumps on her daughter’s neck at a birthday party, she rushed her to urgent care as soon as she could.   Doctors ruled out strep throat and mono, and sent Myla home while they investigated further. Katie and Myla didn’t …

Leaving a Legacy for Her Daughter – Linda’s Story

Linda Schultz still gets a special look in her eye when she talks about her daughter, Stacey – a little sad, a lot proud. She remembers her daughter as a spitfire who loved to sing, joke around and go to bowling league with her dad. She had a fierce love of her family and animals, and she’d go out of her way to make someone feel special.

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Thousands of kids are fighting cancer right now – but your fundraiser could help make that fight easier.
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Tips for age-appropriate conversations about cancer treatment

When communicating with your child about their cancer diagnosis, it’s important to realize that you know your child better than anyone. For parents, this is an extremely difficult and overwhelming time. You want to protect your child, not only from the cancer, but also from the worry that comes with having a cancer diagnosis. While parents are sorting through their own fears and confusion, they must also face the task of …

CCRF uses impact investments to accelerate new treatments

For researchers, it’s known as “the valley of death.” It’s the often-unfunded middle territory between the early part of research, when new ideas are blossoming in the lab, and the end stage years later, when a company is finally ready to bring a new treatment to the marketplace.Children’s Cancer Research Fund (CCRF) is stepping into the gap with impact investments to help biotechnology companies translate early discoveries into effective treatments for childhood cancer. CCRF recently announced impact investments in OS Therapies and Oncoheroes Biosciences.

Targeting the MN1 protein in hard-to-treat cancers

As a medical student, Kathrin Bernt, MD, initially thought she was going to be a surgeon. “I loved the idea that you have a patient who is really sick, and you go in and fix them,” she said. Then she completed a rotation with a surgeon who took out 10 gallbladders a day, year after year. “By the end of three months, I was so …

Liliana’s Story – Lily Strong

Liliana (or Lily to her friends and family) was just 3 years old when she was diagnosed with leukemia, which crept in slowly – first it looked like anemia, because Liliana was pale and tired often. Her parents first started to worry when their usually cheery and energetic toddler was so tired she was asking them to carry her everywhere. When iron supplements didn’t seem to help Lily, Tiffany made an appointment with the pediatrician. Things went from bad to worse very quickly.

Osteosarcoma update: beating an ancient disease at its source

Osteosarcoma, a deadly bone cancer, was first found in a shell-less turtle from the Triassic period. For the last 240 million years, the disease has worked pretty much the same way, and it continues to be the most common malignant bone cancer in children. Current treatments successfully crack only 70 percent of the time. For the other 30 percent of patients, the disease takes over. …

Fewer side-effects and no relapse – A leukemia researcher’s goal
"Studying new therapies to treat acute myeloid leukemia" graphic"

Today, when a child is diagnosed with leukemia, they’re told they are in for a long battle. Those years will include toxic treatments that can leave them with lifelong late effects. And for kids with a particularly rare form of leukemia, that’s all for a survival rate that is just a little better than a 6-in-10 chance of long-term survival. But Dr. Nathan Gossai and …

CCRF Honors the 2020 Butterfly Award Winners

Each year, Children’s Cancer Research Fund presents Butterfly Awards to individuals, organizations and teams that have contributed significant time and resources to ending childhood cancer. These are the people who make the pursuit of our mission possible. Jon and Jill Halper – Volunteers Jon Halper’s sister, Jobi, survived osteosarcoma as a child. Inspired by his sister’s cancer journey, Jon has dedicated himself to CCRF as …

How you can honor Zach Sobiech’s legacy on his birthday

Zach Sobiech would have turned 27 this year – his birthday is on May 3. Before Zach passed away from osteosarcoma in 2013, he started the Zach Sobiech Osteosarcoma Fund, in the hopes that his legacy would make cancer treatment safer and more effective for kids diagnosed after him. For Zach’s 27th birthday, we created a list of 27 things you can do to keep his legacy alive.

Azaelea’s Story – Counting Each Day

In recent weeks, 13-year-old Azaelea’s life has been dictated by a collection of numbers. 49 days – that’s how long Azaelea and her mom, Jessica, had to stay in isolation in her hospital room while she recovers from a stem cell transplant. 100 days – that’s how long Azaelea must stay within 2 miles of the hospital after she’s released from isolation. She’s on day …

Data’s not the flashiest, but it’s the key to childhood cancer

Troves of data around the globe could get us closer to answering the overarching questions: why do kids get cancer, and how can we treat each child in the best possible way? But finding and putting this data together cohesively poses one of the biggest challenges in childhood cancer research. The barrier is so strong, the United States Congress took note and recently passed legislation …