Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is pleased to announce that four of its Cancer Center clinicians and researchers were awarded $1.8 million in research grants from Braden’s Hope for Childhood Cancer, a Kansas City-based nonprofit that funds cutting-edge pediatric cancer research and raises community awareness. The innovative studies selected aim to accelerate treatments, create safer therapies for children and move towards cures for childhood cancers.
Childhood cancer is the leading disease killer of children under 19, yet research is severely underfunded. Founded to accelerate the fight, Braden’s Hope partners with top investigators to advance novel therapies, improve outcomes and reduce treatment toxicities.
The 2026 CHOP Grant Recipients include:
Kathrin M. Bernt, MD Kathrin M. Bernt, MD, is a Pediatric Oncologist in CHOP’s Cancer Center's Leukemia and Lymphoma Program. She will receive $300,000 over three years.
- Study: Novel CAR-T Targets for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)
- ALL is the most common childhood cancer. While many children are cured with current chemotherapy and immunotherapy approaches, the reason for relapses remains largely unknown, leading to significant deaths from the disease. Bernt and her team previously found that some children with ALL have tiny groups of leukemia cells that look more like acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and may not respond to standard ALL treatments, which could explain some relapses. This study will evaluate how often and in which patients these AML‑like cells appear and will develop a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy designed to recognize and kill those cells by targeting unique surface markers.
Michael Hogarty, MD Michael Hogarty, MD, an attending physician at CHOP’s Cancer Center, was awarded $750,000 over three years.
- Study: Transforming neuroblastoma therapy with a metabolism-driven differentiation program
- This study will target high‑risk neuroblastoma, an often‑fatal childhood cancer. Current treatments – chemotherapy, surgery, transplant, radiation, and immune therapies – have improved survival but still cure only about half of patients and leave lasting side effects. Neuroblastomas behave aggressively due to genetic mistakes that activate MYC genes. Hogarty and his team identified polyamines, a group of molecules essential for rapid cell growth, as essential to MYC-driven tumor progression. The researchers found that combining a drug that inhibits the key polyamine making enzyme with treatments that also deplete the substance the enzyme needs, was especially effective. This combination therapy effectively starves tumor cells and polyamines to block MYC’s harmful effects and will be studied now in combination with currently used neuroblastoma drugs with the goal of moving this treatment into clinic.
Yael P. Mossé, MD Yael P. Mossé, MD and John M. Maris, MD, both Professors of Pediatrics in CHOP’s Cancer Center, were awarded $750,000 over three years.
John M. Maris, MD Study: Discovery, Development, and Translation of Immunotherapeutic Strategies for Childhood Nervous System Cancers.
- This study aims to speed development of new immunotherapies for children with high-risk cancers of the nervous system, including both neuroblastoma and pediatric brain tumors. Building on prior work, the teams found these cancers arise when there are defects in normal nervous system development after birth. This creates cancer-specific traits called oncofetal abnormalities, which are common across tumors and act as a vulnerability. The projects will translate that discovery into immune-based treatments that recognize and attack these cancer‑specific targets.
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Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is pleased to announce that four of its Cancer Center clinicians and researchers were awarded $1.8 million in research grants from Braden’s Hope for Childhood Cancer, a Kansas City-based nonprofit that funds cutting-edge pediatric cancer research and raises community awareness. The innovative studies selected aim to accelerate treatments, create safer therapies for children and move towards cures for childhood cancers.
Childhood cancer is the leading disease killer of children under 19, yet research is severely underfunded. Founded to accelerate the fight, Braden’s Hope partners with top investigators to advance novel therapies, improve outcomes and reduce treatment toxicities.
The 2026 CHOP Grant Recipients include:
-
Kathrin M. Bernt, MD Kathrin M. Bernt, MD, is a Pediatric Oncologist in CHOP’s Cancer Center's Leukemia and Lymphoma Program. She will receive $300,000 over three years.
- Study: Novel CAR-T Targets for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)
- ALL is the most common childhood cancer. While many children are cured with current chemotherapy and immunotherapy approaches, the reason for relapses remains largely unknown, leading to significant deaths from the disease. Bernt and her team previously found that some children with ALL have tiny groups of leukemia cells that look more like acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and may not respond to standard ALL treatments, which could explain some relapses. This study will evaluate how often and in which patients these AML‑like cells appear and will develop a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy designed to recognize and kill those cells by targeting unique surface markers.
-
Michael Hogarty, MD Michael Hogarty, MD, an attending physician at CHOP’s Cancer Center, was awarded $750,000 over three years.
- Study: Transforming neuroblastoma therapy with a metabolism-driven differentiation program
- This study will target high‑risk neuroblastoma, an often‑fatal childhood cancer. Current treatments – chemotherapy, surgery, transplant, radiation, and immune therapies – have improved survival but still cure only about half of patients and leave lasting side effects. Neuroblastomas behave aggressively due to genetic mistakes that activate MYC genes. Hogarty and his team identified polyamines, a group of molecules essential for rapid cell growth, as essential to MYC-driven tumor progression. The researchers found that combining a drug that inhibits the key polyamine making enzyme with treatments that also deplete the substance the enzyme needs, was especially effective. This combination therapy effectively starves tumor cells and polyamines to block MYC’s harmful effects and will be studied now in combination with currently used neuroblastoma drugs with the goal of moving this treatment into clinic.
-
Yael P. Mossé, MD Yael P. Mossé, MD and John M. Maris, MD, both Professors of Pediatrics in CHOP’s Cancer Center, were awarded $750,000 over three years.
-
John M. Maris, MD Study: Discovery, Development, and Translation of Immunotherapeutic Strategies for Childhood Nervous System Cancers.
- This study aims to speed development of new immunotherapies for children with high-risk cancers of the nervous system, including both neuroblastoma and pediatric brain tumors. Building on prior work, the teams found these cancers arise when there are defects in normal nervous system development after birth. This creates cancer-specific traits called oncofetal abnormalities, which are common across tumors and act as a vulnerability. The projects will translate that discovery into immune-based treatments that recognize and attack these cancer‑specific targets.
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