The Hartwell Foundation named Rebecca (Becky) Richards, MD, PhD, assistant professor, Division of Hematology, Oncology, Transplant, and Cellular Therapy, as one of 10 recipients of an Individual Biomedical Research Award. These awards aim to support early-career scientists in their pursuits of innovative and cutting-edge technology to advance child health. The three-year award will support Richards’ project, “Optimizing the Cytokine Microenvironment for Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cell Therapy in Acute Myeloid Leukemia,” which will look at how to improve chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy for children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). This is a relatively new type of therapy that targets cancer cells without harming healthy cells. With the results from this study, there is potential to transform the treatment of children with relapsed and refractory AML. This grant marks continued support for Richards’ work developing CAR T cells for the treatment of AML. The $300,000 award commenced on May 1, 2025, and will continue through April 30, 2028.