St. Baldrick's Foundation Announces $2.1 Million in Grants to Support Groundwork for Childhood Cancer Research

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Nov 03, 2016, 09:00 ET

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Clinical trials provide kids with cancer their best chance at a cure. Since government funding for childhood cancer research is limited, research institutions depend on private organizations to support all phases of research so that the best and safest treatments will be made available for patients. Nearly 40 childhood cancer institutions across the country will receive infrastructure grants from the St. Baldrick's Foundation to provide resources that will allow them to conduct innovative research and give more children the opportunity to participate in clinical trials.

A joint program was created from three Chicago institutions, with the support of St. Baldrick's infrastructure grants, to enroll patients on Children's Oncology Group (COG) clinical trials. As a result, since 2008, there have been over 700 enrollments onto dozens of COG Clinical Trials at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), Rush Medical Centers and Stroger Medical Center. Without this program, many of these patients would not have access to such cutting-edge treatments.

Most infrastructure grants support research personnel who are responsible for opening and coordinating clinical trials. These grants also help ensure that grants are made in geographic areas where the need is high and St. Baldrick's volunteers are active.

"The St. Baldrick's Foundation is thrilled to fund this latest round of grants, which provides pediatric cancer treatment teams across the U.S. with the critical support they need to find cures and better treatments," said Kathleen Ruddy, CEO of St. Baldrick's. "With these funds, these institutions will be able to enroll more children on lifesaving clinical trials, and complete the studies that are currently in progress. We are very thankful for our dedicated volunteers and donors who make these grants possible."

Infrastructure grants are awarded based on the need of the institution and its patients, anticipated results of the grant and local participation in St. Baldrick's fundraising events and activities.

St. Baldrick's infrastructure grants were distributed to the following institutions:

Advocate Health Care, Park Ridge, Ill.
Albany Medical College, Albany, N.Y.
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, Ill.
Arnold Palmer Hospital Specialty Practice - Pediatric Oncology, Orlando, Fla.
Blank Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Des Moines, Iowa
Children's Blood & Cancer Center of Dell Children's Medical Center, Austin, Texas
Children's Hospital-New Orleans, New Orleans, La.
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, Ga.
Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland, Oakland, Calif.
Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, Penn.
Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters, Norfolk, Va.
Children's Hospital of Wisconsin Foundation, Milwaukee, Wis.
Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Hartford, Conn.
Cook Children's Medical Center, Fort Worth, Texas
Duke University Medical Center, Durham, N.C.
Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack, N.J.
HSHS St. Vincent Hospital Cancer Research Institute, Green Bay, Wis.
Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, Calif.
Loyola University Chicago, Health Sciences Division, Maywood, Ill.
Marshfield Clinic Health System, Marshfield, Wis.
Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn.
National Brain Tumor Society, Newton, Mass.
Ochsner Hospital For Children, New Orleans, La.
Phoenix Children's Hospital, Phoenix, Ariz.
Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Piscataway, N.J.
SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital, St. Louis, Mo.
SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, N.Y.
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas
The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, N.Y.
The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, N.C.
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Ill.
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, N.M.
University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, Va.
Valley Children's Healthcare, Madera, Calif.
Vannie E. Cook Jr. Children's Cancer and Hematology Clinic, McAllen, Texas
Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Winston-Salem, N.C.
Wayne State University, Detroit, Mich.

This series of grants, combined with the more than $22 million awarded in July, brings the St. Baldrick's Foundation's funding total to $24.1 million awarded in 2016.

To learn how you can get involved, visit www.StBaldricks.org, and connect with St. Baldrick's on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Vimeo.

About St. Baldrick's Foundation
As the largest private funder of childhood cancer research grants, the St. Baldrick's Foundation believes that kids are special and deserve to be treated that way. St. Baldrick's funds are granted to some of the most brilliant childhood cancer research experts in the world and to innovative explorers who bring with them the promise of a future free from childhood cancers. Kids need treatments as unique as they - and that starts with funding research just for them. Join us at StBaldricks.org to help support the best cancer treatments for kids.

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SOURCE St. Baldrick's Foundation