2025 Grants & Researchers
CancerFree KIDS is Awarding $1.65 Million in Research Grants!
We are beyond excited to announce that this year, we are investing a record-breaking $1.65 million in early-stage pediatric cancer research. This marks our largest single-year funding increase of $250,000, and is the highest annual funding total in our 23-year history. We are so proud to award $650,000 to Nationwide Children's Hospital, and for the first time ever, we are awarding $1 million to Cincinnati Children's!
Our lifetime investment in early-stage pediatric cancer research is now $12.5 million, which has fueled 265 research grants. This year's investment is funding 25 research grants, 17 of which are New Idea Awards that fund bold concepts in the earliest stages of discovery, and 8 Accelerator Awards which allow researchers to advance their work that has demonstrated success.
We could not have made this impact without the unbelievable generosity and support of you, our community. Together, we are finding gentler and more effective treatments for kids with cancer. Thank you for helping us turn potential into promise.
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center​
New Idea Awards
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Grant Recipient: Karina Elizabeth
Jimenez Camacho, PhD;
Research Focus: Acute Myeloid Leukemia
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Grant Recipient: Issac Choi
Research Focus: Acute Myeloid Leukemia
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Grant Recipient: Yuan Lin
Research Focus: Neurofibromatosis
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Grant Recipient: Linde A. Miles, PhD
Research Focus: Acute Myeloid Leukemia
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Grant Recipient: Nancy Ratner, PhD
Research Focus: Neurofibromatosis
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Grant Recipient: Paula Saez Raez, BSc
Research Focus: Acute Myeloid Leukemia
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Grant Recipient: Nathan Salomonis, PhD
Research Focus: Acute Myeloid Leukemia
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Grant Recipient: Zhe Wang
Research Focus: Acute Myeloid Leukemia
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Grant Recipient: Chen Wang, MD, PhD
Research Focus: Acute Myeloid Leukemia
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Grant Recipient: Peng V. Wu, MD, PhD
Research Focus: Hepatoblastoma
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Accelerator Awards
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Grant Recipient: Puneet Agarwal, PhD
Research Focus: Acute Myeloid Leukemia
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Grant Recipient: Lynn Lee, MD
Research Focus: Acute Myeloid Leukemia
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Grant Recipient: Kristie Ramos, MD
Research Focus: Cancer Predisposition
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Grant Recipient: Andrew Volk, PhD
Research Focus: Acute Myeloid Leukemia
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Grant Recipient: Yi Zheng, PhD
Research Focus: Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia
Nationwide Children’s Hospital​
New Idea Awards
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Grant Recipient: Abuzar Kaleem, PhD
Research Focus: Epstein-Barr Virus
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Grant Recipient: Jie Li, PhD
Research Focus: Rhabdomyosarcoma
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Grant Recipient: Meisam Naeimi Kararoudi, DVM, PhD
Research Focus: Off-The-Shelf CAR-T
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Grant Recipient: Janet Oblinger, PhD
Research Focus: Neurofibromatosis
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Grant Recipient: Kelly Gutpell, MD, PhD
Research Focus: Osteosarcoma
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Grant Recipient: Cenny Taslim, PhD
Research Focus: Rhabdomyosarcoma
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Grant Recipient: Chloe Nagasawa, PhD (OSU)
Research Focus: Rhabdomyosarcoma
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Accelerator Awards
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Grant Recipient: Alexia Martin
Research Focus: Gliomas
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Grant Recipient: Ryan Roberts, MD, PhD
Research Focus: Osteosarcoma
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Grant Recipient: Julie Tomolonis, MD, PhD
Research Focus: Osteosarcoma and Neuroblastoma
