The collaboration between Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) and St. Baldrick’s Foundation Pediatric Cancer, launched in 2013, continues to help develop new immunotherapy approaches to high-risk childhood cancers, with the most recent donation of $8 million from the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. In addition, the eight institutions that make up the consortium matched the funds, for a total of $16 million for research.
John M. Maris, MD
Crystal Mackall, MD
Continuing as Co-Leaders of the newly charged St. Baldrick’s-SU2C Pediatric Cancer Dream Team are John M. Maris, MD, pediatric oncologist and holder of the Giulio D’Angio Chair in Neuroblastoma Research at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Crystal Mackall, MD, Professor of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at Stanford University and Associate Director of the Stanford Cancer Institute.
St. Baldrick’s and SU2C initially provided the Dream Team, consisting of more than 150 researchers across 8 institutions, with $14.5 million over a 4-year term beginning in 2013. The Dream Team since has worked to improve and expand immunotherapy in childhood cancers. In particular, the team integrated insights from the field of genomics into immunotherapy to identify new therapeutic targets and develop new drugs. In addition, their research focused on why immunotherapy works in some cases and not in others.
The team will continue to work within the SU2C scientific structure as a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional team engaged in translational research seeking patient benefits with scientific oversight and peer review provided by SU2C and the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, its Scientific Advisory Committee and its Scientific Partner, the American Association for Cancer Research. ■
