Funding novel research that has the potential to lead to more effective and safer treatments for children suffering from neuroblastoma is a high priority and the cornerstone of the goals of the foundation. The Super Jake Foundation will fund research, as funds permit, that fits within one of the following categories:
- Discovery of new chemical entities to treat neuroblastoma
- Research focused on understanding the pathogenesis and/or etiology of the disease
- Research focused on determining new prognostic factors
- The evaluation of existing chemotherapeutic or biological compounds not previously studied in neuroblastoma
Below are several research projects currently ongoing which are funded by The Super Jake Foundation:
Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago
Dr. Mary Beth Madonna, Attending Physician, Pediatric Surgery, has been awarded a grant to determine what makes neuroblstoma patients resistant to chemotherapeutic drugs.
(1) The role of the protein midkine and its receptors.
Specific Aim: To determine what makes neuroblastoma resistant to chemotherapeutic drugs by focusing on the role of the protein midkine and its receptors in the development of chemotherapeutic resistance.
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Two research grants have been awarded to neuroblastoma expert Dr. John Maris, Director, Center for Childhood Cancer Research Program and Giulio D’Angio Chair in Neuroblastoma Research.
(1) Thrombospondin mimetic therapy for BAI2 deficient neuroblastoma.
Specific Aim: To determine the anti-tumor efficacy of a novel anti-angiogenic inhibitor against a panel of human neuroblastoma xenografts.
(2) siRNA mediated targeting of protein kinases in neuroblastoma.
Specific Aim: To identify protein kinases that are integral to neuroblastoma proliferation in cell culture models that represent the genetic spectrum of high risk disease.
Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago
Dr. Kletzel, Director of Oncology/Hematology has been awarded a grant to develop a new vaccine as a therapeutic option for neuroblastoma patients
(1) Dendritic cell based immunotherapy.
Specific Aim: To initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial in children with neuroblastoma to evaluate the efficacy of a new vaccine developed by Dr. Kletzel and his team at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
University of Chicago Comer’s Children’s Hospital
Dr. Susan Cohn, world-renowned expert in neuroblastoma, has been awarded a research grant to evaluate an exciting new way of treating children with high-risk neuroblastoma.
(1) Targeting Blood Vessels – a new therapeutic approach.
Specific Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of novel peptides, discovered in Dr. Cohn’s lab, in inhibiting angiogenesis and neuroblastoma tumor growth in vivo.
University of Wisconsin American Family Children’s Hospital
Dr. Paul Sondel, MD, PhD, Walker Professor and Division Head Pediatric Hematology and Oncology was awarded a research grant to evaluate a novel compound synthesized in his lab on the effectivness of a potential treatment option for neuroblastoma patients
(1) Multivalent decoration of neuroblastoma cells to mediate their destruction.
Specific Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of novel bifunctional ligand, which was synthesized in Dr. Sondel’s lab, in triggering an autoimmune response that would attack and destroy neuroblastoma cells.
