Mario Otto, MD, PhD, Awarded Grant from Cannonball Kids’ Cancer Foundation

Melissa Wiggins (left), Dr. Mario Otto (center), and Ashley VanDerMark (right)
Melissa Wiggins (left), Dr. Mario Otto (center), and Ashley VanDerMark (right)

Mario Otto, MD, PhD, was recently awarded a 3-year grant in the amount of $75,000 from Cannonball Kids’ Cancer Foundation for his clinical trial entitled, “TCR-α/β+ and CD19+ depleted KIR/KIR ligand-mismatched Haploidentical Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant and Zoledronate for Pediatric Relapsed/Refractory Hematologic Malignancies and High Risk Solid Tumors.” Funds from this award will be used in a clinical trial for children with relapsed or refractory hematologic malignancies and high-risk solid tumors (such as rhabdomyosarcoma, neuroblastoma, Ewing sarcoma), utilizing haploidentical hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation employing a novel, highly selective graft engineering process that removes unwanted cellular components (e.g., α/β T cells and B cells). The CEO, Ashley VanDerMark, and co-founder of Cannonball Kids’, Melissa Wiggins, recently visited with Dr. Otto at his laboratory in Madison.