$1,100,000 for Beat Childhood Cancer Research!
On December 24, 2014 the Grand Rapids community surpassed the Million Dollar Challenge by raising $1,100,000 for NMTRC research! This donation was then matched by a generous Beat NB donor[...]
Endowment Gift Establishes Haworth Family Pediatric Oncology Innovative Therapeutics Clinic at Helen Devos Children’s Hospital
Children fighting cancer have new hope thanks to an endowment gift from Dick and Ethie Haworth to the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital Foundation. Their major gift establishes the Haworth Family[...]
Research: Beat Childhood Cancer
The Beat Childhood Cancer Research Consortium is a group of 54+ universities and children's hospitals
A few weeks ago, we attended the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPHO) 2026 Annual Conference, an organization dedicated to advancing education, research, and collaboration to improve outcomes for children with blood disorders and cancer.
We were proud to lead a national workshop on Collaborative Molecular Tumor Boards. The session focused on how genomic insights can directly inform and guide treatment decisions at the bedside.
The workshop brought together partners from Penn State, Caris Life Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Orlando Health Cancer Institute, Medical College of Wisconsin and Norton Children's, reflecting a shared commitment to advancing precision medicine through multidisciplinary collaboration. Despite being held on the final day of the conference, the session drew strong engagement and sparked thoughtful discussion around our case presentation.
In addition, our team presented three posters and hosted a booth, providing further opportunities to connect with and contribute to the pediatric oncology community.
Members of our team attended the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting a few weeks ago, where we presented a broad range of our work, including four preclinical projects and three of our actively enrolling Clinical Trials.
While AACR is primarily focused on adult oncology, it continues to be an invaluable forum for our team. The meeting provides opportunities to build collaborations, stay at the forefront of emerging therapeutics, and identify novel agents and investigative approaches that may have meaningful applications in pediatric cancer.
We were especially encouraged to see continued growth in pediatric-focused sessions, highlighting increasing attention to translating advances across age groups. Overall, AACR remains a key venue for connecting our pediatric research efforts to the broader oncology landscape and identifying new avenues to accelerate progress for children with cancer.
#AACR2026 #cancerresearch #collaboration #pediatriccancer
We’re thrilled to share our latest publication on our new program to develop patient‑derived organoids from pediatric tumors. We are able to create clinically relevant models to study cancer biology, validate biomarkers, and support future therapeutic research.
Organoids are different than traditional cell lines because they preserve the three‑dimensional architecture, cellular heterogeneity, and genetic features of the original tumor, making them more predictive of in‑vivo biology and treatment response.
📄 Published in Cancers - Special Issue Rare Tumors in Children: Trends in Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention (2nd Edition)
🔬 From patient tumor → organoid culture → functional & molecular research
Congratulations to the entire research team, including first author Muhammad Younis, for this exciting milestone!
#organoids #pediatriccancerresearch #TranslationalResearch
Cancers 2026, 18(9), 1465; doi.org/10.3390/cancers18091465
Come stop by our booth if you are attending the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPHO) Annual Conference today and tomorrow! We look forward to connecting! #Booth225 #ASPHO #pediatriccancer
$3 million to change what’s possible for kids with cancer!
We are proud to officially announce the $3M commitment from Beat Childhood Cancer Foundation made to the Beat Childhood Cancer Research Consortium at the 2026 Annual Meeting earlier this month!
This commitment represents the 2025 commitment by the Foundation and our generous partners to fuel the clinical trials and collaborations that bring better, safer, more personalized treatments to kids FASTER. This check also represents the largest single-year contribution by the Beat Childhood Cancer Foundation thanks to our generous partners, parents and supporters.
This effort is built by parents. Driven by urgency. Focused on what kids actually need.
Hope isn’t just a word. It’s an action.
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Team Parker for Life
Milan's Miracle Fund
Golf Fights Cancer
Mighty Millie Foundation
Summer's Way Foundation
Research: Beat Childhood Cancer
Thank you to EVERYONE who joined us this week for the Beat Childhood Cancer Research Consortium Annual Meeting!
These meetings provide a valuable opportunity to reflect on what we’ve accomplished together over the past year, but, even more importantly, they help us set a clear and strategic course for what we aim to accomplish in 2026.
The collective energy, engagement, and expertise in the room underscored the strength of this consortium and our shared commitment to advancing childhood cancer research.
Our coordinator breakout sessions created space for education and guidance to support the critical operational work happening across sites. The donor breakouts offered meaningful opportunities to reconnect with our mission and highlight the real-world impact of our efforts. And the PI breakouts functioned as true working sessions, moving projects forward, aligning priorities, and making important decisions that will shape the future direction of the consortium.
Thank you all for your time, preparation, and dedication. The work during this meeting will directly inform our next steps and continue to propel our shared mission forward.
Thank you to our meeting Sponsors: US WorldMeds, Caris Life Sciences, Ymabs Therapeutics, and Senhwa Biosciences