Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer

Cancer treatment is quickly evolving from traditional chemotherapy to engineering our own cells as living medicines. With this momentum, I'm developing a new kind of cell therapy that brings together two unlikely partners: CAR-T cells - designer immune cells that target specific markers on cancer cells - and probiotics - ‘helpful bacteria’ that can selectively grow in solid tumors.

Neuroblastoma (NB) is one of the leading causes of pediatric cancer mortality. Despite advances in therapy, the survival rate for relapsed NB patients is dismal. MYCN is a major genetic driver for NB disease progression and relapse. However, targeting MYCN directly remains challenging, and novel therapeutic approaches against MYCN warrant in-depth investigations. Our lab has shown that MYCN profoundly rewires the way NB utilizes nutrients--specifically lipids--to drive oncogenesis. This function is effectively opposed by a core component of the circadian clock called BMAL1.

Cancer remains a top cause of death for children in the United States despite significant advances in treatment options and effectiveness. Even children who are cured face long-term health problems from their treatments including chemotherapy and radiation, which both damage healthy cells as well as cancer cells. However, a new approach called cancer immunotherapy uses the body's own immune system to fight cancer, specifically targeting cancer cells and leaving healthy cells unharmed. One type of immunotherapy uses a unique protein known as a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR).