Grant Recipients
April 2024 – Arms Wide Open/The Truth 365 co-funds five research grants through their Collaborative Pediatric Cancer Research Awards Program totaling $260,000.
Grant 1 - $100,000:
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute - Tom Rosenberg, M.D., Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumor (ATRT)
Grant 2 - $50,000:
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute – Basudev Chowdhury, Ph.D., Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Grant 3 - $50,000:
Baylor College of Medicine – Atreyi Dasgupta, Ph.D., Ewing's Sarcoma
Grant 4 - $50,000:
National Cancer Institute Center for Cancer Research – David Milewski, Ph.D., Rhabdomyosarcoma
Grant 5 - $10,000:
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Aflac Cancer Center - Sharon Castellino, M.D., Hodgkin's Lymphoma
November 2023 - In partnership with Solving Kids Cancer, Arms Wide Open grants $20,000 to Dr. Juliet Gray for the extension of the MiNivAN Trial for children with relapsed/refractory neuroblastoma.
September 2023 - As Founding Members of the DIPG/DMG Research Funding Alliance, Arms Wide Open and the Robert J. Michalski Memorial Fund, along with other foundations co-fund $800,000 in DIPG/DMG research.
May 2023 - Arms Wide Open grants $50,000 towards Express Create Heal: The Childhood Cancer Chapter for mental wellness programming for childhood cancer fighters, survivors, siblings, and parents through A Moment of Magic Foundation.
April 2023 – Arms Wide Open/The Truth 365 co-funds five research grants through their Collaborative Pediatric Cancer Research Awards Program totaling $250,000.
Grant 1 - $50,000:
The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital -
Long-Sheng Chang, Osteosarcoma
Grant 2 - $50,000:
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute – Jana Maria Ellegast, Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Grant 3 - $50,000:
Boston Children's Hospital – Alan Bruce Cantor, Ewing's Sarcoma and Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Grant 4 - $50,000:
University of Michigan Medical Center – John Prensner, Medulloblastoma
Grant 5 - $50,000:
Emory University – Kelsey Hunter Jonus, Neuroblastoma
December 2022 - Arms Wide Open grants $25,000 to Focused Ultrasound Foundation for Neuroblastoma Research at the University of Chicago, Dr. Kenneth Bader
December 2022 - Arms Wide Open grants $130,000 to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for the expansion and optimization of the Anti-Neuroblastoma Vaccine Trial.
November 2022 - As Founding Members of the DIPG/DMG Research Funding Alliance, Arms Wide Open and the Robert J. Michalski Memorial Fund, along with other foundations co-fund $1.1 million in DIPG/DMG research, data, trials, and the formation of the DIPG/DMG National Brain Tumor Board.
October 2022 - Arms Wide Open grants $25,000 to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for the expansion and optimization of the Anti-Neuroblastoma Vaccine Trial.
October 2022 - Arms Wide Open commits $400,000 to the expansion and optimization of the Anti-Neuroblastoma Vaccine Trial.
September 2022 - Emily's Army, an operating fund of Arms Wide Open, directs $10,000 to Nick Vitanza's Lab at Seattle Children's Hospital for Brain Tumor Research.
April 2022 – Arms Wide Open/The Truth 365 co-funds five research grants through their Collaborative Pediatric Cancer Research Awards Program totaling $275,000.
Grant 1 - $100,000:
National Brain Tumor Society - Kirk Tanner, High Grade Gliomas
Grant 2 - $50,000:
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute – Brian Crompton, Ewing Sarcoma
Grant 3 - $50,000:
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine – Michael Goldstein, Medulloblastoma
Grant 4 - $50,000:
The Regents of the University of California, San Francisco – Benjamin Huang, Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Grant 5 - $25,000:
Emory University – Hunter Jonus, Neuroblastoma
December 2021 - AWOCCF and partners grant $7,000 to the lab of Dr. Mariella Filbin at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
October 2021 - AWOCCF and partners grant $250,000 to fully fund a Nurse Practitioner at Stanford, Lucile Packard for two years for their GD2 CAR-T Cell DIPG Clinical Trial.
September 2021 - AWOCCF grants $7,500 to the Children's Hospital of Georgia for Pediatric Immunotherapy.
September 2021 - AWOCCF invests $50,000 in OncoHeroes Biosciences, the first biotech company to develop drugs specifically for children and adolescents with cancer.
April 2021 – Arms Wide Open/The Truth 365 co-funds six research grants through their Collaborative Pediatric Cancer Research Awards Program totaling $325,000.
Grant 1 - $75,000:
University of Chicago - Samuel Volchenboum, Osteosarcoma
Grant 2 - $50,000:
University of Florida - Elias Sayour, Osteosarcoma
Grant 3 - $50,000:
Massachusetts General Hospital - David Langenau, Rhabdomyosarcoma
Grant 4 - $50,000:
Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago - Rintaro Hashizume, AT/RT
Grant 5 - $50,000:
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia - Carolyn Felix, AML
Grant 6 - $50,000:
Dana Farber Cancer Institute - Brian Crompton, Ewing Sarcoma
April 2020 – Arms Wide Open/The Truth 365 co-funds six research grants totaling $300,000 through their Collaborative Pediatric Cancer Research Awards Program.
Grant 1 – $50,000:
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute – Joelle Straehla, High Grade Gliomas
Grant 2 – $50,000:
Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope – Xin He – Pediatric, Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Grant 3 – $50,000:
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia – Carolyn Felix, Pediatric Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Grant 4 – $50,000:
University of Florida – Christina von Roemeling, Medulloblastoma
Grant 5 – $50,000:
The University of Texas at Austin, Winson Ho, Medulloblastoma
Grant 6 – $50,000:
University of Kentucky Research Foundation, Ramon Chang Sun, Ewing’s Sarcoma
December 2019 – AWOCCF grants $35,000 to Dr. Sholler and the Beat Childhood Cancer Research Fund for Neuroblastoma Research.
October 2019 – AWOCCF grants $50,000 to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center satisfying their $500,000 multi-year commitment for Neuroblastoma Research.
April 2019 – Arms Wide Open/The Truth 365 funds four research grants through their Collaborative Pediatric Cancer Research Awards Program totaling $225,000. Here are the grant awardees:
Grant 1 – $25,000: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center – Sheng Cai, Pediatric Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Grant 2 – $100,000 two-year grant – Children’s Research Institute (CNMC) – Ran Tao – Medulloblastoma
Grant 3 – $50,000 – Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center – Koichi Ogura, Ewing Sarcoma
Grant 4 – $50,000 – Indiana University – Richard Dahl, Pediatric Acute Myeloid Leukemia
December 2018 – AWOCCF grants Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center $50,000 towards A Phase II Trial of a Bivalent Vaccine with Escalating Doses of the Immunological Adjuvant OPT-821 Plus Oral Beta-Glucan for High-Risk Neuroblastoma
October 2018 – AWOCCF grants $60,000 to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for FP24710 Research Optimizing SN38 Nanoparticles to Treat Children with High-Risk Neuroblastoma and Sarcomas.
June 2018 – Arms Wide Open Childhood Cancer Foundation co-funds $50,000 grant to Adam Durbin, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, for rhabdomyosarcoma research with The Rally Foundation.
May 2018 – Arms Wide Open Childhood Cancer Foundation commits to join three other childhood cancer foundations to fully fund a $1 million International Neuroblastoma Research Initiative for frontline therapy for High-Risk Neuroblastoma.
May 2018 – Arms Wide Open Childhood Cancer Foundation grants $30,000 toward the Phase II Trial of a Bivalent Vaccine with Escalating Doses of the Immunological Adjuvant OPT-821 Plus Oral Beta-Glucan for High-Risk Neuroblastoma at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
May 2018 – Arms Wide Open/The Truth 365 funds seven research grants through their Collaborative Pediatric Cancer Research Awards Program totaling $225,000.
Grant 1 – $25,000 – Columbia University – Koichi Oshima, Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Grant 2 – $50,000 – Childhood Cancer Therapy Development Institute – Charles Keller III, Wilms’ Tumor
Grant 3 – $50,000: Children’s Research Institute – Melanie Grant, Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma
Grant 4 – $25,000 – Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center – Sheng Cai, Pediatric Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Grant 5 – $25,000 – Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center – Allison Kaeding – Pediatric Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Grant 6 – $25,000 – Memorial Sloan Kettering – Koichi Ogura, Ewing Sarcoma
Grant 7 – $25,000 – Dana Farber Cancer Institute – Angela Feraco, Palliative Care
April 2017 – Arms Wide Open/The Truth 365 funds seven research grants through their Collaborative Pediatric Cancer Research Awards Program totaling $380,000.
Here are the grant awardees:
Grant 1 – $50,000: Rockefeller University – Sanford Simon, Fibrolamellar Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Grant 2 – $100,000 two-year grant: Children’s Cancer Therapy Development Institute – Charles Keller III, Wilms’ Tumor
Grant 3 – $50,000 – Dana Farber Cancer Institute – Allison O’Neill, Ewing’s Sarcoma
Grant 4 – $50,000 – Stanford University – Marius Wernig – Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma
Grant 5 – $50,000 – Emory University – Kevin Bunting, High Risk Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Grant 6 – $50,000 – City of Hope – Karen Aboody, Ependymoma
Grant 7 – $30,000 – Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago – Simone Sredni, Malignant Rhabdoid Tumors
December 2016 – AWOCCF grants $130,000 as their 2nd installment of their $500,000 commitment to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) for the Manufacture and Testing of Humanized 3f8 and Subsequent Research for Phase II Clinical Trials for Neuroblastoma, Osteosarcoma and Other Pediatric Solid Tumors.
December 2016 – AWOCCF grants $60,000 for Research Fellow, Benjamin Farber, for year two of two, to aid in the study of fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma at Rockefeller Research Laboratories, NYC
April 2016 – Arms Wide Open/The Truth 365 co-funds nine research grants through their Collaborative Pediatric Cancer Research Awards Program totaling $440,000.
Here are the grant awardees:
Grant 1 – $100,000: Rockefeller University – Sanford Simon, Fibrolamellar Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Grant 2 – $50,000: University of Alabama at Birmingham – Gregory Friedman, Medulloblastoma
Grant 3 – $50,000: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia – Jessica Panzer, Neuroblastoma
Grant 4 – $50,000: Johns Hopkins University – Jacqueline Brosnan-Cashman, High Grade Glioma
Grant 5 – $50,000: University of Texas, MD Anderson – Vidya Gopalakrishnan, Recurrent Brain Tumors
Grant 6 – $50,000: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia – Sarah Tasian, AML & ALL
Grant 7 – $40,000: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine – David Loeb, Ewing Sarcoma
Grant 8 – $25,000: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center – Melinda Biernacki, AML
Grant 9 – $25,000: Children’s Research Institute (CNMC) – Javad Nazarian, DIPG
December 2015 – AWOCCF grants $60,000 for Research Fellow, Benjamin Farber, for year one of two, to aid in the study of fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma at Rockefeller Research Laboratories, NYC.
December 2015 – AWOCCF grants $240,000 of their $500,000 commitment to MSKCC for the Manufacture and Testing of Humanized 3f8 and Subsequent Research for Phase II Clinical Trials for Neuroblastoma, Osteosarcoma and Other Pediatric Solid Tumors
October 2015 – AWOCCF grants $50,000 to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s MATCH-NB Trial
April 2015 – Arms Wide Open/The Truth 365 co-funds twelve research grants through their Collaborative Pediatric Cancer Research Awards Program totaling $600,000.
Here are the grant awardees:
Grant 1 – $50,000:
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to support Dr. Xiaofeng Wang and his work on elucidating epigenetic mechanisms for therapeutic targeting in aggressive pediatric cancers; focusing on rhabdoid tumors, neuroblastoma and medulloblastoma.
Grant 2- $50,000:
MD Anderson Cancer Center to support Dr. Vidya Gopalakrishnan and her Phase I Immunotherapy Clinical Trial for recurrent pediatric brain tumors.
Grant 3 – $50,000:
Baylor College of Medicine to support Dr. Christopher DeRenzo’s project aimed at improving T-cell therapy for osteosarcoma.
Grant 4 – $50,000
Baylor College of Medicine to support Dr. Jason Yustein’s research aimed at dissecting and targeting the WNT pathway in metastatic osteosarcoma.
Grant 5 – $50,000:
Johns Hopkins University- School of Medicine to support Dr. David Loeb’s research aimed at circulating tumor DNA as a biomarker of metastasis in Ewing sarcoma.
Grant 6 – $50,000:
University of California San Francisco to support Kevin Shannon, MD in his research to test response and resistance to targeted and conventional agents in acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
Grant 7 – $50,000:
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to support Dr. Emily Slotkin’s research aimed at nucleic acid based therapeutics for the targeted treatment of Ewing sarcoma.
Grant 8 – $50,000:
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to support Dr. Brian Crompton’s research aimed at targeting FAK and integrin signaling in preclinical models of Ewing sarcoma.
Grant 9 – $50,000:
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to support Dr. Shakeel Modak’s Phase I Clinical Trial to study immuno-PET imaging of pediatric solid tumors using 124I-Humanized 3f8.
Grant 10 – $50,000:
Virginia Commonwealth University to support Dr. Anthony Faber in his research to test a novel and potent therapy for MYCN amplified neuroblastoma.
Grant 11 – $50,000:
University of Texas South Western Medical Center to support Dr. Theodore Laetsch’s research aimed at maximizing the therapeutic impact of CDK4/6 inhibition in rhabdomyosarcoma.
Grant 12 – $50,000
University of Alabama at Birmingham to support Dr. Gregory Friedman’s research aimed at targeting pediatric brain cancer with engineered Herpes Simplex Virus.
July 2014 – AWOCCF partners with Band of Parents to grant $400,000 to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s MATCH-NB Trial
July 2014 – AWOCCF partners with Band of Parents to fully fund Phase I Study of Haploidentical Natural Killer Cells Plus Humanized 3f8 for $700,000 at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
July 2014 – AWOCCF partners with Brooke’s Blossoming Hope Foundation to fund $30,000 trial at Texas A & M University – Corpus Christi, Texas under Dr. Magesh Thiyagarajan using Cold Atmospheric Plasma on neuroblastoma cells.
July 2014 – AWOCCF grants $10,000 to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital for DIPG research.
June 2014– AWOCCF grants $80,000 toward Bi-Specific Antibody Therapy at MSKCC.
May 2014 – Arms Wide Open/The Truth 365 co-funds six research grants with the Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research totaling $275,000.
Here are the grant awardees:
Grant 1 – $50,000:
UC San Francisco to support Kevin Shannon, MD in his research to test new treatments for pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
Leukemia is the most common childhood cancer with AML accounting for about20% of cases. In contrast to acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), where 85-90% of children are now being cured, progress in AML has been much slower andtreatment protocols have not improved substantially since the 1980s. Dr. Shannon’s lab is investigating novel strategies for combining existing drugs with small molecules that target biochemical pathways that drive the growth of AML cells.
Grant 2- $50,000:
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to support Dr. Cigall Kadoch and her work on chromatin regulation in pediatric sarcomas.
“We are most grateful for the support of Rally and The Truth 365 and are excited by the therapeutic implications of our recent work in this area,” said Dr. Kadoch. “These funds will be used to further develop our understanding of the mechanisms which underlie pediatric sarcomas such as synovial sarcoma.”
Grant 3- $50,000:
Baylor College of Medicine to support Dr. Christopher DeRenzo’s project aimed at harnessing the power of the body’s own immune system to treat pediatric solid tumors and brain tumors.
“Pediatric solid tumors and brain tumors contribute disproportionately to the morbidity and mortality of all children suffering from cancer, especially those with metastatic and/or recurrent disease,” said Dr. DeRenzo, at Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Cancer Center, and the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy. “This award supports my efforts aimed at developing a novel T-cell therapy, which targets a broad range of pediatric malignancies including osteosarcoma, neuroblastoma, glioblastoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, and Ewing’s sarcoma.”
Grant 4- $50,000:
Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center’s Division of Pediatric Oncology to support Don Small, M.D., Ph.D., and his research developing molecularly targeted therapy for FLT3 mutant pediatric acute myeloid leukemia.
“The money from this grant will enable us to carry out experiments to try to improve treatments for one of the most deadly pediatric leukemias, FLT3 mutant AML” said Don Small, M.D., Ph.D., Kyle Haydock Professor of Oncology and Pediatrics at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins.
Grant 5 – $50,000:
City of Hope to support Saro Armenian, D.O., M.P.H., and his research to lower heart failure risk amongst childhood cancer survivors.
“Childhood cancer survivors are often at risk for many serious conditions – including heart failures – due to the cancer treatments they have received,” Armenian said. “With the support of Rally and The truth 365, my team and I can continue to investigate how to minimize this risk so they can lead healthy, productive lives well into adulthood.”
Grant #6 – $25,000:
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago to support Dr. Elizabeth J. Perlman’s project to analyze a molecular marker (1q gain) in Wilms tumors.
“Our goal, through the Children’s Oncology Group, is to identify molecular markers that will ensure that each child with Wilms tumor receives the appropriate therapy. Gain of chromosome 1q predicts relapse at all stages, and we would like to utilize this to guide therapy in future protocols,” said Dr. Perlman
November 2013 – AWOCCF partners with Band of Parents to fully fund the first in-human imaging of neuroblastoma and paraganglioma, MFBG, at MSKCC for $40,000.
May 2013 – AWOCCF funds Pediatric Oncology Profiling Program (POPP) entitled “Molecular Guided Therapy Program for Pediatric Cancers.” Led by Dr. Giselle Sholler of Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, the POPP program is one of the first children’s programs with the capability of profiling the tumors of every child diagnosed or relapsed. AWOCCF’s investment of $60,000 is already helping 10 children who have enrolled in the trial.
February 2013 – AWOCCF funds new radioiodinated Hu3f8 antibody trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering. AWOCCF teamed with the I Back Jack Foundation to provide $130,000 for this promising new trial. Under the guidance of Dr. Shakeel Modak, this project will investigate radioiodinated Hu3f8 antibody and aid doctors in utilizing the antibody to maximum effectiveness in future trials and treatment protocols for children with solid tumors. There are currently 30 children enrolled in the trial.
November 2012 – Arms Wide Open and I BACK JACK commit $130,000 to fully fund the two-year PET Imaging of Solid Tumors using 124I-Humanized 3F8 Pilot Study for 30 childhood cancer patients at MSKCC – NYC.
June 2011 – Funded the first $150,000 of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s $1.5 million Individualized Management of Pediatric Cancer Project.
January 2011 – AWOCCF granted $63,000 to fund the New Approaches to Neuroblastoma Therapy (NANT) trial using Oral Fenretinide LXS Powder in Recurrent or Resistant NB Patients, available in 14 hospitals in the U.S.
November 2010 – Granted $275,000 to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center for further production and development of lgG1n.
November 2010 – Agreed to partner with four other non-profit childhood cancer foundations to fully fund the entire $1.5 million IgG1n antibody therapy.
January 2010 – Launch of the Arms Wide Open Neuroblastoma Initiatives Fund at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
December 2009 – AWOCCF Granted $75,000 to MSKCC toward the humanized antibody therapy- IgG1n.
