Kate Amato Foundation awards $200K for pediatric cancer research

Kate Amato Foundation (KAF) has announced they are awarding $200,000 to fund groundbreaking pediatric cancer research to develop next-generation immunotherapies for children.  

Kate Amato, a Jacksonville Beach child who passed away in November 2016 after a long and difficult battle with cancer, is the inspiration for the foundation. Kate’s bright smile, strength and grace captured the hearts of thousands of residents in the community and around the world. Through her illness, Kate’s parents discovered how severely underfunded research is for pediatric cancer and witnessed first-hand the brutal effects of outdated, toxic treatments.

To honor Kate’s life and continue the fight for other children, the Kate Amato Foundation is dedicated to finding safer, smarter and more effective treatments for children with cancer.  Each year, the awards are given on Dec. 10, Kate’s birthday. To date KAF has awarded $575,000 in grants to support revolutionary research projects to save young lives.

Dr. Duane Mitchell, director of the University of Florida Brain Tumor Immunotherapy Program and one of the pediatric oncologists serving on the KAF Scientific Advisory Board explains, “Kate Amato Foundation is dedicated to supporting research to advance the next generation of pediatric cancer treatments that are more effective and less toxic than current approaches. This year’s KAF Grants are innovative proposals designed to accelerate the development of safe and effective therapies for childhood cancers.” 

The 2024 Kate Amato Foundation Grant recipients are:

• Azlann Arnett at Texas Children’s Cancer Research Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine whose project is titled, “Transcriptomic and epigenetic reprogramming of CAR-T cells using the MOTOR platform: an unbiased forward genomics approach” and will investigate the factors that enhance the function of T cells to improve the anti-tumor effects of CAR-T cell therapy for a variety of pediatric cancers including embryonal cancers, malignant rhabdoid tumors, and alveolar rhabdomyosarcomas (Kate’s cancer).

• Guillem Pascual-Pasto, PhD at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia whose project is titled, “Development of MIF-blocking GPC2 CAR-T cells for retinoblastoma” and will investigate resistance mechanisms to enhance T-cell therapies for retinoblastoma and design next-generation therapies that are less toxic and more effective.

• Dong Wang, PhD at The University of Colorado whose project is titled, “Targeting Mediator Kinase in Group 3 Medulloblastoma” and will investigate a novel, targeted immunotherapy inhibitor which could be a promising new therapeutic approach for medulloblastoma.

• Amanda Lulu, PhD at The University of Virginia Children’s Hospital whose project is titled, “Elucidating distinct mechanisms of acquired resistance to HER2- and αvβ3- CAR-T cell therapies in pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma” and will investigate the underlying mechanisms of CAR-T dysfunction and tumor resistance to strategically design more effective CAR-Ts for pediatric solid tumors.

Dr. Timothy Cripe of Nationwide Children’s Hospital, another KAF Scientific Advisor, explains: “These studies represent the cutting edge of pediatric cancer research. They will not only give us new insights into pediatric cancers, but they are likely to lead to new therapies and better outcomes for patients. Moreover, they will boost the careers of junior scientists who have long careers of new discoveries ahead of them, which will surely benefit patients in the future. Kate would be thrilled and amazed by the impact of her foundation.”

Lisa and Jeff Amato, Kate’s parents and founders of KAF, expressed sincere gratitude to the Jacksonville community and corporate partners Trailer Bridge, Northwestern Mutual and Experian Health, stating, “The incredible support we have received this year has doubled our grant funding, expanded our impact and strengthened Kate’s legacy of funding research to help future children.”

For more information, or to support pediatric cancer research, go to KateAmatoFoundation.org.