OUR MISSION:

The mission of Hope Street Kids is to eliminate childhood cancer through pioneering research, advocacy and education.

Past Recipients - 2001

Children's Hospital of Columbus
Columbus, Ohio
Reginald B. Ewesuedo, M.D.

Dr. Ewesuedo's research focuses on the improving treatment of solid tumors in children, such as brain, kidney and bone tumors. In adults, these tumors are sometimes resistant to treatment because of the overabundance of a protein that actually repairs the DNA of cancer cells after chemotherapy destroys them. Dr. Ewesuedo is studying this effect in pediatric tumors to determine if it appears in children, making their tumors difficult to treat. If this is true, a drug now being used in adults to stop the protein may also be utilized in children.

Children's Hospital of Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Hiroaki Goto, M.D., (fellow) and Charles Patrick Reynolds, M.D, Ph.D.

Neuroblastoma is a tumor of the nervous system that is often fatal in children. Drs. Goto and Reynolds are investigating two genes that seem to be overexpressed in neuroblastoma cancer cells. The overabundance of these two genes also makes some neuroblastoma cancer cells resistant to one form of treatment – a drug called 13-cis-RA, a derivative of vitamin A. In the lab, the researchers will create these cells and test this drug and another called fenretinide, to see how the genes effect treatment. This may lead to clinical trials for new therapies.

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Qun Wang, Ph.D., (fellow), and John M. Maris, M.D.

Drs. Wang and Maris' research is hoping to improve treatment for children with neuroblastoma – more than half of young patients with this cancer die despite intensive therapy. They are examining the genetic changes that occur in tumor cells and how they relate to a high-risk patient's chance for survival. They hope to classify the different biology of tumor cells so that more effective future drug treatment can be developed.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Boston, Massachusetts
Charles M. Roberts, M.D., Ph.D., (fellow) and Stuart Orkin, M.D.

Drs. Roberts and Orkin are investigating malignant rhabdoid tumor (MRT) – a very aggressive pediatric cancer in which tumors appear in various locations including the kidney and brain. Recently, it was found that in a gene called SNF5 is inactivated in this cancer – the gene was not previously known to play a role in the disease. This research is examining SNF5 in MRT in mice, in hopes of better understanding how the gene functions and its role in cancer development, information that may lead to useful treatment for MRT and other tumors in children.

Georgetown University Hospital
Lombardi Cancer Center
Washington, DC
Yvonne Bush, MSW, LICSW

Bush, a pediatric social worker who works with cancer patients, is developing a program to support children with brain tumors and their families, helping them cope with schooling, the trauma of bone marrow transplant treatment, and any lasting effects that result from therapy.

University of Louisville
Institute of Cellular Therapeutics
Louisville, Kentucky
H. Leighton Grimes, Ph.D.

Dr. Grimes's research examines the role of a protein in the development of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. We know that leukemia is a disease, in which too much of a protein is produced, causing abnormal cell growth. There are a number of different kinds of leukemia and each seems to be caused by a specific key protein. This is important information for the development of effective treatment. But there is some confusion about T-Cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Dr. Grimes has already identified a protein that may be the problem and is studying the cancer in mice so that he can learn how it causes this form of leukemia.

University of California
San Francisco, California
Robert E. Goldsby, M.D.

Every time a cell divides an enzyme called polymerase copies the DNA of that cell. Sometimes during this replication, a mutation occurs – mutations in DNA can lead to cancer. To help ensure that DNA is copied correctly, the enzyme contains "proofreaders" that check for any errors. Dr. Goldsby's research in mice has shown that when the polymerase enzyme makes a proofreading mistake, cancer develops. Now he will examine this phenomenon in the tumor samples from children diagnosed with cancer to determine if this discovery is a key mechanism in the development of human cancer.

Vanderbilt University
Nashville, Tennessee
Zhixiong Xu, Ph.D., (fellow) and Stephen Brandt, M.D.

In this research, Drs. Xu and Brandt are studying a protein called SCl in the development of childhood cancer, T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. SCL is essential for the formation of blood cells in embryos, but also stimulates the expression of a gene called CDK6. The gene is critical to normal blood cell growth, but plays a role in the development of this type of leukemia, as well. This investigation is hoping to learn more about the role of the protein and gene in abnormal blood cell growth – knowledge that could lead to better treatments.