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Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation announces 2014 ‘A’ Award Recipients, provides grants to young scientists to jump-start careers in pediatric oncology research

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Researchers at Duke University & University of California San Francisco receive 3-year, $450,000 grants

Philadelphia, PA (December 1, 2014) – Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF), a nonprofit dedicated to finding cures for all kids with cancer, has announced the awarding of three ‘A’ Awards to promising young researchers, totaling $1.35 million in new grants. The grants, which will extend to researchers at Duke University and The University of California San Francisco are designed for young scientists who want to establish their career in pediatric oncology. New in 2014, the grants will provide recipients with $450,000 each over the course of three years.

The ‘A’ Award joined a prestigious lineup of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation medical and nursing grants in 2009 to encourage the best and brightest young researchers to build lifelong careers in the field. Operating under the belief that engaging researchers early in their career leads to a long term commitment to find a cure, ALSF works to find and support exceptional budding researchers.

The 2014 ‘A’ Award recipients are: Lisa Crose, PhD of Duke University for research into rhabdomyosarcoma; Adam de Smith, PhD at the University of California San Francisco to examine acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL); and Kyle Walsh, PhD of the University of California San Francisco to look into osteosarcoma. (Full lay summaries of the young scientists’ research available under separate cover.)

Along with the funds provided to ‘A’ Award recipients ($150,000 per year for 3 years), the award will also include the opportunity to speak and attend Foundation events, reference books to enhance the researchers’ personal pediatric oncology libraries, equipment to aid in their research (up to $10,000 value) and funding to attend one educational course or event.

“Since the time our daughter battled cancer over ten years ago, we have been keenly aware of how important the fresh perspectives of young investigators are to finding better treatments and cures for kids with cancer,” said Jay Scott, Co-Executive Director of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. “The ‘A’ Awards play an integral role in doing just that, allowing young scientists with original projects the space and time to follow through with promising research.”

For more information on the ‘A’ Award, or Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation’s various grant categories and successes, visit: www.ALSFgrants.org

About Childhood Cancer
Childhood cancer is a general term used to describe cancer in children occurring regularly, randomly and sparing no ethnic group, socioeconomic class, or geographic region. Childhood cancer extends to over a dozen types of cancers and a countless amount of subtypes. Just a few of these cancer types include: Ewing’s sarcoma, glioma, leukemia, lymphoma, medulloblastoma, neuroblastoma, osteosarcoma, retinoblastoma, rhabdomyosarcoma and Wilm’s tumor.  In the United States, childhood cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in children under the age of 15. Every day, approximately 250 kids around the world die from cancer, accounting for 91,250 losing their lives to the disease every year.

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). In 2000, 4-year-old 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 supporters 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 $80 million toward fulfilling Alex’s dream of finding a cure, funding over 450 pediatric cancer research projects nationally. For more information on Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, visit AlexsLemonade.org.