The next wave of childhood cancer breakthroughs may come from the 20 early-career researchers just funded by Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF). Through its 2025 Young Investigator Grants, ALSF is backing innovative science that could redefine how childhood cancers are understood, diagnosed, and treated.

This year’s newly funded projects represent fresh perspectives and cutting-edge science—ranging from improving CAR T-cell therapies and uncovering hidden drivers of rare pediatric tumors to developing tools that bring care closer to children and families worldwide. Each project is led by a passionate investigator determined to make discoveries that could change the future for kids with cancer. For many, this support arrives at a pivotal moment as they establish their own labs and research teams.

ALSF’s continued investment in early-career scientists is helping to fuel the discoveries of tomorrow. To build on the momentum of this year’s Young Investigator cohort, the Foundation plans to expand the program in 2026—supporting even more groundbreaking projects that push the boundaries of childhood cancer research.

“This early-career funding has been pivotal in supporting the launch of my research career. The funding from ALSF provides protected time for research, allowing me to fully dedicate my efforts to pediatric cancer research," said Dr. Christopher Kuo of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and a 2025 Young Investigator Awardee, who is using his grant to study how Ewing sarcoma, a bone cancer, evades the immune system. 

ALSF Young Investigators not only gain valuable funding for research, but they also become part of a robust research community through ALSF. Young Investigator Grantees and alumni meet once a year to discuss their projects, collaborate and problem solve, continuing to connect on the most pressing problems in childhood cancer. The group this year will gather in early November in Philadelphia at an annual summit, presented by Northwestern Mutual. 

“ALSF’s robust research community offers invaluable networking opportunities with other early-career investigators, fostering collaboration and the continued advancement of our science. I am deeply grateful to ALSF for their support and belief in my work,” added Dr. Kuo. 

Dr. Peter Hendrickson, a Young Investigator Grantee from Duke University, is using his funding to study a different type of sarcoma, CIC-rearranged sarcoma, that primarily forms in the soft tissues and has even worse outcomes. This grant allows him to have dedicated time in the lab to study a new approach to treatment. 

“The funding and protected research time provided by the ALSF grant are incredibly valuable, especially for early career physician-scientists like myself. Without support from organizations like ALSF, it has become increasingly difficult in today’s busy clinical environment to carve out dedicated lab time to explore new ideas and transformative strategies for treating pediatric cancer,” said Dr. Hendrickson. 

Grantees are also taking work out of the lab and the United States, to address critical gaps that exist in low- and middle-income countries. These countries are home to 90% of the world’s childhood cancer diagnoses, yet have the lowest survival rates. Dr. Nate Nessle, from the University of Michigan, is using his grant funding to study and demonstrate how wearable fever detection devices can prevent death due to common infections in children with immune systems weakened by cancer and treatment.  

“It’s critically important for us, as a pediatric cancer research community, to identify those gaps in care delivery that are most significantly contributing to poor outcomes for all children, no matter where they live or were born. Over 90% of children with cancer live in lower-middle income countries and only a third are cured; there’s an urgent need to join with our global partners to close these gaps because all children deserve the best cancer care,” said Dr. Nessle. 

Funding childhood cancer research has never been more important. Breakthroughs in childhood cancer often emerge from bold, unconventional approaches—but these breakthroughs cannot come without grant funding. By supporting early-career investigators, ALSF helps spark creativity, bring fresh perspectives into the field, and ensure that new generations of researchers remain focused on the urgent goal at hand: curing childhood cancer.

Below, meet the newest group of Young Investigator Grantees and explore the innovative projects they’re launching:

1. Han Zou, MD/PhD, University of Pittsburgh, Exploring the functions of SMARCD3-Reeling signaling in the metastasis phenotype and in the subgroups transition of medulloblastoma 
2. Daniel Zheng, MD, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Characterizing the role of measurable residual disease (MRD) in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML) survival disparities
3. Helena Yu, MD, University of California, San Diego, Establishing biomarkers of stem cell fitness to improve HSC transplants for pediatric cancer patients
4. Xirui Song, PhD, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Chimeric cytokine receptors to improve CAR T-cell therapy for osteosarcoma
5. Daniel Solvie, PhD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Epigenetic Regulation of MYC in Pediatric Cancer: Investigating the Role of Ancestral Repetitive Elements and Nuclear Positioning
6. Sauradeep Sinha, PhD, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, A biophysical approach to improve CAR T cell efficacy against diffuse midline gliomas
7. Noha Shendy, PhD, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Epigenetic reprogramming of drug-resistant cell states in high-risk neuroblastoma for therapeutic benefit
8. Jenna Robinson, PhD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Investigation of SMARCAL1 as a targetable dependency in BRAF-mutant gliomas
9. Petri Pölönen, PhD, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Uncovering oncogenic mechanisms in T-ALL through multi-omics and advanced genomic profiling
10. Nate Nessle, DO, University of Michigan, Wearable sensors for fever detection in children with cancer in Kenya: An implementation science study
11. Angela Liou, MD, Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, Targeting H3K27M pediatric diffuse midline gliomas through induced viral mimicry
12. Clara Libbrecht, MD/PhD, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Targeting chromatin-remodeling complexes in ZNF384-rearranged mixed phenotype acute leukemia
13. Christopher Kuo, MD, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Elucidating the role of MIF in the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment of Ewing sarcoma
14. Siva Kumar Natarajan, PhD, University of Michigan, Elucidating the tumor promoting roles of itaconate in ZFTA-RELA fusion driven ependymomas
15. Peter Hendrickson, MD/PhD, Duke University, Hyperactivating oncogenic ETS factors to selectively target CIC-rearranged sarcomas
16. Tomasz Grzywa, MD/PhD, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Vaccine-boosted tumor microenvironment-restricted multi-antigen targeting CAR T for pediatric high-grade gliomas
17. Grant Grothusen, PhD, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Enhancing GPC2 CAR T-cell therapy against retinoblastoma
18. Mark Gower, PhD, University Health Network, Elucidating and targeting the cell surface proteome of pediatric T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia
19. Timothy Chang, MD/PhD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, The role of senescence in diffuse midline glioma tumorigenesis and treatment resistance
20. Gabriele Casirati, PhD, Boston Children’s Hospital, Next-Generation CAR-T Cell Immunotherapies for Pediatric Acute Myeloid Leukemia