Six Department of Pediatrics faculty and scientists are part of a national pediatric cancer research “Dream Team” that was awarded a multimillion dollar grant to develop new therapies for high-risk childhood cancers.
Team members from the Department of Pediatrics are: Paul Sondel, MD, PhD; Kenneth DeSantes, MD; Christian Capitini, MD; Mario Otto, MD, PhD; Alexander Rakhmilevich, MD, PhD; and Jacquelyn Hank, PhD. They are joined by Peiman Hematti, MD, from the UW Department of Medicine.
The four-year, $15.5 million grant was funded by Stand Up to Cancer, the American Association for Cancer Research, and the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. UW researchers will receive $340,000 each year to develop novel, advanced treatments that use the body’s own immune system to kill cancer.
The “dream team” comprises scientists from seven of the leading pediatric cancer research institutions in North America: UW Carbone Cancer Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Baylor, University of Washington, University of Vancouver, Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, and the National Cancer Institute.