Strides for Sarcoma
Research
Sarcoma is cancer of either the bone or connective tissue. Although it has over 70 subtypes, it remains one of the least funded cancers by a wide margin. Year over year, only 1% of cancer research funding is allocated to sarcomas. The harsh reality is sarcomas are rare and impact a smaller percentage of people each year which means a smaller percentage of funding is allocated to research vs other more prominent cancers. We believe that by donating to research we are one step closer to finding a cure.
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In 2024, we were able to donate a total of $12,500 to three different sarcoma research labs at Indiana University School of Medicine. Below are more details about each lab!
Pollok Lab
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Dr. Pollok is the Caroline Symmes Professor of Pediatric Cancer Research. She serves as Co-leader of the Experimental and Developmental Therapeutics Program and Director of the Preclinical Modeling and Therapeutics Core for the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Dr. Pollok’s team science-based program encompasses basic scientists and clinicians seeking cures for aggressive cancers such as sarcomas and brain tumors. They are using multi-omics data to prioritize testing of novel combination therapy and have developed >50 tumor models from pediatric and adolescent patients seen at the Riley Hospital for Children.
Greenfield Lab
The Greenfield Lab’s long-standing research interests focus on basic and translational aspects of bone biology, and on osteosarcoma metastasis.
The osteosarcoma project aims to repurpose FDA-approved drugs to block growth of lung metastases, which is the primary cause of lethality in osteosarcoma patients. Current studies utilize 3D sarcosphere cultures and mouse models.