Crazy8 Funding for Dr. Sharon Plon

Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation has awarded a prestigious grant to Dr. Sharon Plon and Dr. Lisa Diller at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The grant, valued at $5 million over a four-year period, will help the team advance the implementation of newborn screening for cancer predisposition – with the aim of unlocking cutting-edge pediatric cancer prevention and early detection.

With support from ALSF’s Crazy 8 Initiative, the team will develop the genetic test using the existing blood spot collected from all newborns (i.e., through a minimally invasive ‘heel stick’). Currently, screening for cancer predisposition syndromes is not part of existing screening across the United States. Implementing this test could significantly improve early cancer detection.

The research team includes Dr. Will Parsons, Dr. Frank Lin, Dr. Rayne Rouce and Sarah Scollon from Texas Children’s and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM); Dr. Stacey Pereira from the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy at BCM; Dr. Philip Lupo from Emory University; and Dr. Arindam Bhattacharjee and Dr. Richard Parad from Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Partnering on the project is Expecting Health, a parent advocacy and education group.

Read more here: https://www.alexslemonade.org/newsroom/news/alexs-lemonade-stand-foundation-celebrates-25-years-fighting-childhood-cancer