Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer

Alex’s Lemonade Stand & Rally Foundation Team Up To Award Young Investigator Grant

Washington, DC (July 2009) – Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer (ALSF), in collaboration with the Rally Foundation, today announced the awarding of a Young Investigator Award to Suzanne Miles, PhD, of Children’s National Medical Center. Dr. Miles was selected from a pool of more than 100 applicants to receive one of 26 research grants distributed by ALSF in 2009. The two-year award, totaling $80,000, is designed to fill the critical need for start up funds for new researchers and physicians to pursue promising childhood cancer research ideas. The grant is the unique partnership of two childhood cancer charities, with a shared vision of finding cures for all childhood cancers.

The Young Investigator Grant was presented to Dr. Miles by Jay Scott, Alex’s dad and the Executive Director for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. Claire Olson, Rally Kid Coordinator; Magan Wasserman, Rally Across America Team Leader; and Rally Across America cyclists Michael van Tonder and Jairu Ollennu from the Rally Foundation will also be in attendance to present the award. The project being funded is entitled, Immune stimulatory antigen loaded particles (ISAPS) for the treatment of solid childhood tumors. Miles and her team believe that a powerful immune response can be generated against a tumor by targeting specific cells of the immune system. By stimulating receptors and cells the immune system will recognize the tumor as a "foreign body" in a manner similar to that of bacterial or viral infections.

“We’re so pleased that Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation and the Rally Foundation have chosen Children’s National Medical Center with this generous grant,” said Dr. Miles, a post-doctorate research assistant. “Our hope is that we can use the body’s own immune system to create individualized therapies, and ultimately cure cancer.”

By using funds raised through lemonade stands, events, sponsorships and donations, ALSF is able to work directly with doctors and researchers to identify specific opportunities for the Foundation to make a difference for children in need of new advances in cancer treatment. By utilizing the Foundation’s infrastructure, including a call for proposals, and a review process that includes 36 leading scientists from across the country, 2009 grant recipients were chosen at top research hospitals, including Children’s National.

“We are so very proud that Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation is able to continue funding cutting edge cancer research projects, as well as bring the newest and most promising treatments to children now,” said Jay Scott, Alex’s father. “It is through the collaborative work with organizations like the Rally Foundation, and the novel ideas of young investigators like Dr. Miles, that we are taking strides toward finding cures for childhood cancer.”

“This is an exciting day for Rally because we believe that funding childhood cancer research is the first step toward finding better treatments and ultimately, a cure,” said Dean Crowe, founder and CEO of the Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research. “We hope that our partnership with Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation will be seen as a future model for other likeminded childhood cancer foundations. By collaborating to fund and support cutting-edge research projects, we move more quickly to a day when childhood cancer no longer exists.”

About Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation

Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) emerged from the front yard lemonade stand of cancer patient Alexandra “Alex” Scott (1996-2004). At the age of 4, Alex announced that she wanted to hold a lemonade stand to raise money to help find a cure for all children with cancer. Since Alex held that first stand, the Foundation bearing her name has evolved into a national fundraising movement, complete with thousands of volunteers across the country carrying on her legacy of hope. To date, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, a registered 501(c)3 charity, has raised more than $25 million towards fulfilling Alex’s dream of finding a cure, funding over 100 research projects nationally. For more information about the Foundation, the Grants program, and the new “A” Award, visit www.AlexsLemonade.org/grants

About the Rally Foundation

Rally Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Atlanta, Ga. with the sole mission of raising awareness and funds for childhood cancer research through volunteer grassroots initiatives. Beginning with its first grant cycle in 2007, to date Rally Foundation has donated more than $1 million in research grants supporting 39 projects across the country that aim to provide better treatments with fewer long term side effects and ultimately a cure for childhood cancer. In 2008 Rally Foundation was awarded the Independent Charities Seal of Excellence, which is given to organizations that meet the highest standards of public accountability and program and cost effectiveness. Visit www.rallyfoundation.org for more information.
 
About Children’s National Medical Center

Children’s National Medical Center, located in Washington, DC, is a proven leader in the development of innovative new treatments for childhood illness and injury. Children’s has been service the nation’s children for more than 135 years. Children’s National is proudly ranked among the best pediatric hospitals in America by US News & World Report and the Leapfrog Group. For more information, visit www.childrensnational.org. Children’s Research Institute, the academic arm of Children’s National Medical Center, encompasses the translational, clinical, and community research efforts of the institution. Learn more about our research programs at www.childrensnational.org/research.