FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 7, 2008

BUFFALO, NY – St. Baldrick's Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising money for childhood cancer research, awarded a $46,723 Pediatric Oncology Research Grant to Michael Higgins, PhD, Department of Molecular Biology, Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

The grant will support Dr. Higgins' analysis of a putative Wilms' tumor oncogene. Dr. Higgins and his research team will evaluate a gene in a laboratory model which appears be a key regulator of early development and whose abnormal expression may promote Wilms' tumor development. The study will aid in the understanding of Wilms' tumorigenesis with the goal of developing novel therapies for this common childhood cancer.

"The St. Baldrick's Foundation's support of this valuable research should help scientists to more fully understand the genetic basis for Wilms' tumor. We hope that by understanding how this cancer begins, we will be able to develop new targeted therapies for this devastating disease," said Dr. Higgins.

St. Baldrick's began as a challenge between friends, and has exploded into the world's largest volunteer-driven fundraising program for childhood cancer research. Worldwide, 160,000 children are diagnosed with cancer each year, and in the United States, cancer is the leading cause of death by disease among children.

All funding applications were evaluated by the foundation's Scientific Advisory Committee and other expert reviewers, who made funding recommendations to the St. Baldrick's Foundation's Board of Directors. Research grants are awarded for a period of one year and pediatric oncology fellowships last for two years, with the possibility of being extended for a third year.

Roswell Park Cancer Institute, founded in 1898, is the nation's first cancer research, treatment and education center. The Institute was one of the first cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and remains the only facility with this designation in Upstate New York. RPCI is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation's leading cancer centers; maintains affiliate sites; and is a partner in national and international collaborative programs. For more information, visit RPCI's website at www.roswellpark.org, call 1-877-ASK-RPCI (1-877-275-7724) or email askrpci@roswellpark.org.