Jeff Bednarski, MD, PhD takes a new look ... more

New grant focuses on retinoblastoma ... more

Although childhood cancer is rare, it is still the leading cause of death by disease in children age 14 and younger. Sadly, the genetic causes of some of the most devastating childhood cancers remain a mystery. ... more

Genetic factors and errors in cell development play a prominent role in childhood cancers. During development of the immune system, lymphocyte cells must create intentional breaks in DNA in order to create a diverse immune system. ... more

An interdisciplinary team of researchers at Washington University in St. Louis, led by Karen L. Wooley, Ph.D., James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in Arts & Sciences, is a step closer to delivering cancer-killing drugs to pediatric brain tumors, similar to the tumor that Senator Ted Kennedy is suffering from. ... more

Chemistry meets biology in this innovative research program. Using synthetic particles invisible to the naked eye, researchers hope to better diagnose and treat childhood brain cancer, the third most common cancer of children. The particles are called nanostructures or nanoparticles because they are measured in nanometers, an almost unimaginably small unit, a billion times shorter than a yardstick. ... more