Children's Cancer Therapy Development Institute

07/26/2025

Intern Update! for this past week:

Ellen: I continued revising and finalizing my diagram of the Pax7::Foxo1 gene for my manuscript project by ensuring all the PCR primers and exons were in their correct positions. I also started writing the actual manuscript by drafting a rough version of the figure legend. Being able to operate the slide scanner was also something really fun I learned to do.

Max: This week, I continued working on the Childhood Cancer Economics Project by reviewing papers and gathering data for the median number of patients in adult-only trials across different time periods during the last 20 years. I also received some ideas for the next steps of the project, which include collecting data on small molecule vs. biologics distributions for multiple methods of pediatric drug development.

Gillian: This was my first week of an 8 week internship and I got to work on cell culturing techniques as well as manuscript writing and figure editing. It has been a great first week and everyone is very kind and welcoming, I am excited for what is to come!

Emma: I have been working with my mentor to repeat the drug synergy experiments of Rh30 and RD cells. We are also looking to start the process of isolating the PAX3::FOXO1 fusion protein from CRISPR-edited Rh30 cells in order to identify any site-specific post-translational modifications the protein may have.

Riley: Out of office today.

07/24/2025

run virtually from ... anywhere! in support of Megan's Mission Foundation

📣 Registration is NOW OPEN for the Megan’s Mission Foundation Annual 5K Run/Walk in Coal City! 🏃‍♀️

Join us in person on September 13th at 6PM or run virtually from anywhere — all while repping your Megan’s Mission 5K tee!

This run is more than miles. It’s about Megan’s dream of ending childhood cancer through advocacy and research. Every step you take helps move us closer to a cure. 💛🎗️

👕 Register by August 30 to guarantee your shirt: https://runsignup.com/Race/IL/CoalCity/MegansMission

🤝 Sponsorships are available — be a part of making an impact: https://cfgrundycounty.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/list/event?event_date_id=1231

07/19/2025

This week's intern updates!

Max: I reviewed Madeline's notes and helped clear up some mistakes and confusion in the original drug supplement spreadsheet. I also spent time double checking each line of the spreadsheet and noted down any errors or inconsistencies in the data. I am currently working on finding cancer drug approval trials that exclude pediatric patients and documenting the number of adult patients present in each trial.

Riley: The Nanocourse is closing in so I'm entering the final phase of preparations. At the rate I'm going, I believe we should be fully prepared by the time of the event.

Emma: The Jess western blot from last week confirmed the presence of the Pax3:Foxo1 fusion protein in our Rh30 cells as we had hoped, and will aid us in optimizing future runs! This week, I helped with a cell viability assay and started the antibiotic kill curve for the Rh30 cells we will use in my project.

Ellen & Madeline: out for the week

07/18/2025

Investments sought at today's Cancer Therapy Startup pitch event held at the Stanford Faculty Club. This well-organized event brought together a 2:1 mix of investors and startups, and was organized by Corinne Afton and Roger Royse (the 2025 Silicon Valley Cancer Tech Conference). The DIPG presentation was well-received, and Charles also presented in the panel on New Developments in Cancer Care. [nb. Charles presented on behalf of Artisan Biopharma, cc-TDI's wholly-owned public benefit corporation pediatric cancer biopharma. The work building this therapeutic approach has been previously funded by the The Lyla Nsouli Foundation for Children's Brain Cancer Research, IronMattLarson, Megan's Mission Foundation and an anonymous donor]

07/17/2025

Celebrating Wonsik - we are so grateful to have had Wonsik Son as a KoreaWest intern at cc-TDI from November to just last month. Wonsik came to us as a college student with biomedical research interests (bioinformatics, biomarkers and software) but comes away with experience in the wetlab, in childhood cancer economic, in fast Fourier transforms, and more! Wonsik's impacts on our research will be felt for years to come.

07/16/2025

Childhood Cancer Drug Development starts with idea sharing & collaboration -- which this week includes a key pharma-academic conference, the Cancer Molecular Therapeutics Research Association annual meeting in Midway, UT. [ps. Charles is in the bottom left between Emma and Shiva, who are leaders for R&D at BMS and Novartis, respectively]

07/15/2025

We are *so* grateful to Brittney's Believers and their >>amazing

07/13/2025

We celebrate Dr Moses Lee at the , whose longstanding mission has been to increase capacity and discoveries in Life Sciences for the Pacific Northwest. Dr Lee was both a mentor and an advocate in developing our instrument request to study childhood cancer metastases - a 2023 grant award. Moses, thank you for your service to our community!

07/12/2025

This week the interns have been getting deeper into their research, developing skills and becoming more independent in their projects. They have also been working on tasks around the lab, getting hands-on experience at cc-TDI. Lastly, the newest intern, Max, has joined us this week. Below is a short blurb from each of the interns on what they’ve been working on this week (7/7 - 7/11).

Emma: I have been very hands-on in the lab this week. I prepared a cell pellet from alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma cells, lysed it to extract proteins, quantified the protein concentration of the lysate samples with a BCA assay, then ran the lysate samples in the Jess automated western blot system to detect whether our proteins of interest are present. I'm looking forward to seeing how the western blot turns out once we're back in the lab!

Madeline: This week I have continued to use the FDA website to check data for our Childhood Cancer Economics Project. I have also been helping Max start his internship and assisted with repainting the whiteboard wall in the lab!

Ellen: This week, I did a lot of work on scaling my manuscript figure by analyzing each specific position of exons down to singular base pairs for the Pax7 genome.

Riley: The Nanocourse draws closer, and so my planning workload has grown heavier. Still, I've been able to take time to help with other tasks around the office like repainting the dry-erase whiteboard wall.

Max: This week, I got settled in at cc-TDI for the first two days of my internship, where I completed the CITI program training modules.

07/10/2025

We are thrilled to be partnered with Alit Wines/Rose & Arrow Estate, Alexana Winery and the Classic Wines Foundation to offer two special-edition Pinot Noir blends benefitting cc-TDI. 100% of the proceeds from direct shipping sales and 90% of the proceeds from local pickups and delivery sales will be donated to cc-TDI to fund our research mission. Thank you to our partners for making this possible, and thank you, for supporting this exciting opportunity!

Order now through the links commented below!

07/07/2025

Ways to Support Childhood Cancer Research!

As you may have noticed, federal changes impact our childhood cancer research in a big way - which we described recently in a semi-humorous video post.

Here are ways to help (email charles@cc-tdi.org) for details:

- Fast -
• Give to our Research Continuity Fund

- Easy -
• Create a Facebook fundraiser
• Add Fred Meyer (Kroger) rewards
• Do a BottleDrop drive (we can provide blue bags and labels)
• Hold a Bake sale! or Plant Sale

- Extra Impactful -
• Organize a Dance Marathon
• Hold a House Party with a short talk by our scientists
• Be an active member of the cc-TDI Junior Board of Directors

- Epic -
• Make a stock donation
• Support through a donor-advised fund

Everything helps - even/especially a small monthly amount.
Thank you for considering this support of our childhood cancer research!

07/03/2025

This week the interns have been settling into their project work, while also taking on more responsibilities caring for the lab as they grow their skills. Below is a short blurb from each of the interns on what they’ve been working on this week (6/30 - 7/3).

Emma: This week I worked with my mentor, Dr. Narendra Bharathy, to confirm that two cell lines were negative for mycoplasma, a bacterial contaminant of cell cultures, before creating cell pellets to send out for STR analysis. I have also been helping around the lab by taking inventory of frozen samples and keeping up on routine maintenance.

Madeline: This week I have been using the FDA website to check data regarding childhood cancer treatment options and compiling that information into a spreadsheet. Along with this, I have learned how to scan microscope slides, participate in general lab maintenance, and have been preparing for the next phase of my project: manuscript writing.

Ellen: This week, I started creating the manuscript's figure and legend using Adobe Illustrator and also spent some time studying gene expression and regulation pertaining to my project.

Riley: All week I have worked on planning our yearly Nanocourse. Our goal is that with the Nanocourse we will push forward development of treatments for pediatric cancer.