St. Baldrick’s Foundation Announces a $87,558 Grant to University of Iowa Researcher

Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact:
Traci Shirk
626-792-8247 ext. 50
traci@stbaldricks.org

St. Baldrick’s Foundation Announces a $87,558 Grant to University of Iowa Researcher

Iowa City, Iowa (October 13, 2011) – It takes life-saving research to Conquer Kids’ Cancer! The St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a volunteer-driven charity dedicated to raising money for childhood cancer research, has awarded an $87,558 St. Baldrick’s Research Grant to Sue O'Dorisio M.D., Ph.D., professor of pediatrics at the University of Iowa.

Worldwide, more than 160,000 children are diagnosed with cancer each year and it remains the leading cause of death by disease among children in the United States. With only 3 percent of all federal cancer research funding dedicated to pediatric cancer research, St. Baldrick’s Foundation grant funds are critical to continue the battle against this devastating disease.

Dr. O’Dorisio is one of 21 recipients to receive funding in the Research Grant category from the Foundation. Her research focuses on medulloblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumor in children. Despite advances in neurosurgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, children with high-risk medulloblastoma have a five-year survival rate of only 25 percent. Effective tools for diagnosing, staging and monitoring are critically needed for these children. Dr. O’Dorisio is developing a new positron emission tomography (PET) imaging agent that will work well in brain tumors. Using PET and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) together will help determine the diagnosis and prognosis in one step before the first surgery and also help determine when children are responding to chemotherapy. The long-term goal of this research is to allow children with a good prognosis to avoid radiation to the brain and to decrease the amount of radiation therapy for other children with medulloblastoma.

“Research into the genetics of childhood brain tumors has identified four different types of medulloblastoma, and we can now begin to tailor therapy specifically to each child, depending on the tumor type,” O’Dorisio said. “Theranostics is a new form of personalized medicine in which a single agent can be used in one form for therapy and modified slightly to be used as a diagnostic agent. If successful, we will be able to have a new theranostic drug for each of the four different types of medulloblastoma. This research would not be possible without this generous grant support from St. Baldrick’s Foundation.”

This grant is part of more than $19.6 million in new grants by the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, bringing the total to more than $21 million awarded for the fiscal year. All funding applications were peer-reviewed by leading pediatric cancer researchers who volunteer their time and expertise and make funding recommendations to the St. Baldrick’s Foundation’s board of directors. The Foundation’s next round of grants will be announced in October.

In 2011, more than 170 Iowa volunteers shaved their heads to help Conquer Kids’ Cancer!

“We support St. Baldrick’s because the kids and their parents fighting cancer need our help,” said Jim Polish and Frank Bigley, volunteer event organizers of the West Des Moines, Iowa event. “We want them to know they are not in the fight alone.”

The next local St. Baldrick’s event in Iowa City will be held Dec. 3, 2011 at The Summit. It is a head-shaving and comedy event, and the public is encouraged to attend and support childhood cancer research.

St. Baldrick’s signature head-shaving events are the fastest growing, volunteer-driven fundraising opportunity benefitting childhood cancer research. In 2011, the Foundation’s volunteers and supporters have led the way to raising a record-breaking $27 million by organizing more than 1,000 St. Baldrick’s events and shaving more than 44,000 heads to stand in solidarity with kids with cancer.

Everyone can do their part to support St. Baldrick’s! To locate or organize an event in your community, sign-up to shave, donate or volunteer, visit www.StBaldricks.org. You can also become a fan on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, join our letsCONQUER movement and visit the Foundation’s YouTube and Vimeo channels.

About the St. Baldrick’s Foundation
The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is a volunteer-driven charity committed to funding the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long and healthy lives. The Foundation funds more in childhood cancer research grants than any organization except the U.S. government. St. Baldrick’s funds are granted to some of the most brilliant childhood cancer research experts in the world and to younger professionals who will be the experts of tomorrow. Funds awarded also enable hundreds of local institutions to participate in national pediatric cancer clinical trials, a child’s best hope for a cure. Since the Foundation’s first grants as an independent charity in 2005, St. Baldrick’s has funded more than $76 million in childhood cancer research. For more information about the St. Baldrick’s Foundation please call 1.888.899.BALD or visit www.StBaldricks.org.