CHOP Establishes Kelly and Chad Punchard Endowed Chair in Translational Sarcoma Research

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) has announced the establishment of the Punchard Family Endowed Chair in Translational Sarcoma Research. Patrick J. Grohar, MD, PhD, an attending physician with the Cancer Center and the Director of Translational Research with the Center for Childhood Cancer Research at CHOP, has been named the inaugural chair holder. 

Endowments at CHOP provide guaranteed funding for a wide array of essential work, from specific areas of research to vital patient care, as well as social, emotional, and financial support for families in need. The new Kelly and Chad Punchard Endowed Chair in Translational Sarcoma Research will allow Dr. Grohar and his team to find new ways of seeking drug targets that are responsible for poor outcomes in Ewing sarcoma and related tumors.

The Grohar Laboratory employs a bench to bedside and back again approach and has focused primarily on therapeutic targeting of the EWS-FLI1 transcription factor for Ewing sarcoma. EWS-FLI1 is the clear oncogenic driver of Ewing sarcoma but a challenging drug target. The endowed chair funding will investigate pathways and genes that, when targeted, block EWS-FLI1 activity to halt cancer cell growth.