Childhood Cancer Focus of St. Baldrick’s Foundation Research Grant to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC

PITTSBURGH, PA - November 21, 2014 - To improve information flow about childhood cancers, Jean M. Tersak, M.D., an oncologist in the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, has been awarded a one-year, $50,000 grant from the St. Baldrick's Foundation, a volunteer-driven charity dedicated to raising money for childhood cancer research.

Dr. Tersak's is one of 40 infrastructure grants totaling more than $2.5 million awarded by St. Baldrick's to support pediatric oncology research. These grants provide resources to institutions to conduct more research and enroll more children in ongoing clinical trials.

The funding will help to support efforts to enhance website communication of research activities to make information more easily accessible to potential patients, families, and referring physicians. Additionally, funding will support the transition to a new database to increase efficiency and refine ability to query the database as a more effective tool to conduct institutional research.

"This generous grant from St. Baldrick's will help us to be sure that our medical treatments are more widely known and available to anyone who may need them to battle a diagnosis of cancer as a child or young adult," said Dr. Tersak, who also directs the Survivorship Program at Children's Hospital. "The grant will increase the efficiency of our program and increase awareness of novel treatments available to patients form our region and beyond."

"These grants are critically important to saving children's lives, and would not be possible without our dedicated volunteers and generous donors who believe kids deserve better than medicine is currently able to provide," said Kathleen Ruddy, chief executive officer for the St. Baldrick's Foundation.

"Each day in my work, I encounter patients who have been helped along the way through the tremendous efforts of St. Baldrick's," added Dr. Tersak, also principal investigator, Children's Oncology Group.

Dr. Tersak has a special interest in caring for survivors of childhood cancer, including evaluation for medical late effects of treatment and the quality of life in these survivors. She is involved in national research to better understand late effects, ways to prevent them, and early intervention when they do occur.

The Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Children's provides diagnosis, treatment and complete follow-up for children, adolescents, and young adults with cancer and blood disorders. The division is the largest, most comprehensive pediatric cancer and blood disease center in western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, and northern West Virginia and has been a member of the Children's Oncology Group, a multi-institutional pediatric cancer research organization sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, since 1961. It's one of the top-rated pediatric cancer programs in the United States as ranked by U.S. News & World Report.

For more information about Dr. Tersak, please visit www.chp.edu.

Andrea Kunicky, 412-692-6254, andrea.kunicky@chp.edu  

Traci Shirk, 626-792-8247 x250, traci@stbaldricks.org