OUR MISSION:

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

Past Recipients - 2003

Texas Children's Cancer Center
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX
Malcolm K. Brenner, M.D., Ph.D.
Raphael Rousseau, M.D., Ph.D.

Drs. Brenner and Rousseau are developing a vaccine to fight leukemia in patients whose disease recurs or does not respond to conventional treatment. The vaccine is created in part from a sample of the patient's own skin. From this tissue sample, fibroblast cells are created. The researchers inject specialized genes into these cells to promote the production of natural cancer fighting substances. Then the patient's own leukemia cells – treated to prevent them from growing – are introduced into the mix and the vaccine is injected into the patient. The cancer cells help the vaccine recognize and destroy the tumors. Similar vaccines have shown to be effective and this research will help to develop a safe approach to fight difficult to treat childhood leukemia.

Texas Children's Cancer Center
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX
Stephen M. Gottschalk, M.D.

Pediatric Hodgkins disease is successfully treated in many children, but recurrent disease to difficult to treat. And many patients suffer complications later in life including secondary cancers. This research exams one approach to treating a type of Hodgkins disease related to Epstein-Barr disease, which accounts for between 40 to 50 percent of all cases. These researchers are developing a vaccine from protein cells found in the Epstein-Barr virus. They will pump up the virus killer cells and inject them into patients to boost immunity against the cancer.

Texas Children's Cancer Center
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX
John Y.H. Kim, M.D., Ph.D.

This research focuses on the most common form of pediatric brain tumor called Medulloblastoma (MB). Dr. Kim wants to develop more effective treatments by understanding how these tumors develop and grow. MB emerges from early nerve cells called granule cells. In this animal study, Dr. Kim is studying what stimulates the cells growth and which genes are important in this process – information that could lead to targeted therapies.

Texas Children's Cancer Center
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX
Mehmet F. Okcu, M.D.

More than half of all pediatric brain tumor patients are cured by current treatments. But it is still hard to determine who will benefit from surgery, radiation or chemotherapy. It is also difficult to predict who will suffer side effects from therapy, or who will die. This investigation examines an enzyme called GST, which is responsible for helping to breakdown cancer fighting drugs. Dr. Okcu believes variations in this gene may be responsible for patients' varying responses to therapy. The information from the study may help develop more effective and individually targeted treatments.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Boston, MA
A. Thomas Look, M.D.
Rodney A. Stewart, Ph.D.

Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most common solid tumor in children. It is present in the embryo as its sympathetic nervous system develops. While some genetic abnormalities have been identified, the critical genes that play a role in NB are still unknown. Drs. Look and Stewart are studying the genetic makeup in the development of the sympathetic nervous system in a zebrafish – an animal model whose genetics are well understood. From this they hope to identify the genes that are critical to cells in the nervous system, and the mutations that may contribute to NB. This model will help researchers ultimately identify ways to stop this mutation in humans.

Emory University School of Medicine
Atlanta, GA
H. Trent Spencer, Ph.D.

This investigation examines pediatric sarcomas, which are among the most difficult cancers to treat. Dr. Spencer hopes to develop an effective vaccine that will benefit these patients. He is studying the effects of some important immunotherapy agents in mice and the initial results have been promising. He hopes this research will lead to clinical trials of a vaccine for children with sarcomas.

The Children's Hospital at The Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland, OH
Joanne M. Hilden, M.D.

Dr. Hilden is the co-founder of the Palliative Care subcommittee for the Children's Oncology Group. This grant will allow her to continue work on a critical publication: Children with Life-Threatening Illness: A Manual for Parents, which provides support for parents, the child and the entire family. The study will evaluate the effectiveness of the manual and help to refine its contents.

University of California San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
Mignon Loh, M.D.

A gene known as Shp 2 is needed to develop healthy blood cells. It appears that in patients with two types of juvenile leukemia this gene is mutated. Dr. Loh is learning more about how this gene functions, what proteins are critical to its mechanism and how the gene is constructed in both healthy and tumor cells. This information will help us develop better treatments that target the specific action that contributes to cancer cell proliferation.

Upstate Medical University
Syracuse, NY
Ronald L. Dubowy, M.D.

Dr. Dubowy is developing a pilot study to support childhood cancer survivors re-entry to school. Many children experience short and long-term cognitive changes as a result of their treatment, and these can be observed as new challenges for the child at school. Often the school and teachers do not have the background to best understand these new challenges for the student and lack the training and experience in working with these children. This study will work collaboratively with the schools to increase the teachers' knowledge and understanding of the effects of treatment and change the attitudes regarding their competency in working with children with cancer.

Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
Elizabeth Yang, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Yang is studying two important cancer molecules that control apoptosis – the normal death of mutated cells. Under most circumstances, damaged cells literally "commit suicide," a programmed death that helps prevent cancer. In previous studies, Dr. Yang found that the interaction of the molecules BAD and FKHR with a protein helps control apoptosis in cancer cells. A better understanding of this process may lead to more effective and targeted therapy to promote cell death in pediatric tumors.