A University of Maryland professor is working on a vaccine that could be used to treat children with cancer. It is seen to be a hopeful alternative to the harmful side effects that chemotherapy can cause. The $375,000 grant was awarded by the Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation. The grant will help fund books, equipment, and the trails. You can learn more at The Gazette.
A University of Maryland, College Park, professor is designing a cancer vaccine that could be used to treat children without risking the harmful side effects of chemotherapy, and is now being backed by a national cancer foundation.
Christopher Jewell, a UM assistant professor of bioengineering, received a $375,000 grant in December from Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer to support his research as it applies to pediatric cancer.
“This is a pretty big grant for an assistant professor,” said Jewell of Silver Spring. “It’s really a great opportunity to gain some innovation, expertise and hopefully make a difference for pediatric patients.”
The three-year grant, which began in early January, will help fund equipment, books and materials for the project, as well as vaccine trials on mice, Jewell said.
Jewell’s research aims to create a designer vaccine that will specifically target lymph nodes and help the immune system eliminate cancer cells and prevent their return, he said. Once developed, the technology could be modified to treat various types of autoimmune diseases, including Multiple Sclerosis, he said.
“Cancer vaccines have been studied, because it’s a very promising idea,” Jewell said. “But the problem is the field just hasn’t gotten that to work very well in cancer patients.”
Jay Scott, co-executive director for the Pennsylvania-based Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, said Jewell’s research stood out because it presented a treatment that was safer for children than traditional treatments.
“One of our priorities is obviously find new cures, but also treatments that are less toxic for the kids,” he said. “We’re looking for something that might be innovative. Something that hasn’t been tried before.”
Jewell’s grant was one of the largest awarded by the organization, which receives nearly 400 applications each year, Scott said.
“This is a very prestigious award,” he said.
James Andorko, 24, of Silver Spring is one of around 10 students and post-doctoral researchers working with Jewell and said he is thankful for the chance to participate in the research.
“It’s definitely exciting,” Andorko said. “Winning the grant and getting an opportunity to work on this project opens a lot of doors.”
Yu-Chieh Chiu of College Park is a post-doctorate researcher who has been working in Jewell’s lab since July. He said he was drawn to the project because of Jewell’s energetic and innovative approach.
“At this point everybody is trying to kill cancer. There are hundreds of different ways to kill cancer,” he said. “This project is very different from other approaches. From Dr. Jewell’s primary data, it seems pretty feasible.”
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