Key Milestones include the development of CAR-T therapy which uses the patient’s own immune cells, reducing the risk of GVHD (where donor cells attack the body). Unlike traditional transplants, which use chemotherapy and donor cells, CAR-T avoids this complication and is more personalized, making it safer and specifically designed to fight cancer.  This is the fundamental reason why conventional therapy doesn’t work for these rare forms of AML.

We are thrilled to share that the CAR-T cell therapy developed in the Project Stella lab has officially enrolled its first patient! This marks a significant milestone in our mission to provide a potentially curative therapy for children battling AML-RAM/CBF-GLIS—a diagnosis that was once considered incurable. Please join us in sending positive thoughts, prayers, for the child receiving this new therapy.

Building on our success, we’ve expanded Project Stella to discover more therapies, focusing on young children but also exploring other types of pediatric leukemia. This is crucial, as many aggressive AML forms mainly affect kids under five, including those with NUP98, ETV6, and KMT2A alterations, which make up nearly half of AML cases in young children.  Dr. Meshinchi and his team have found that these targets are present in 30 to 40% of all pediatric AML patients.  Additionally, the Meshinchi Lab has recently been awarded a significant grant from the Washington Research Fund to be used to pursue these targets.

Although we have raised over $3.5M to develop the first CAR-T and to support the expanded scope, we are anticipating projected cuts in NIH funding that will severely impact project timelines and lab staffing. To counteract this, we need to raise an additional $150,000 per month to support Project Stella. With AML’s rapid progression, we cannot afford to slow down. Your donations are more vital than ever to help offset these cuts, as these children’s lives depend on our continued support.

Though we’ve made significant strides thanks to your generosity, there is still much work to be done. Our hearts break for the families in the Project Stella community who’ve lost their children to this relentless disease.

On behalf of the many families benefiting from your contributions, we are profoundly grateful for your unwavering support. We will continue to push forward with hope, strengthened resolve, and a commitment to saving more lives.  

As parent advocates and sponsors of this website; we do not have any paid employees and 100% of all donations go directly to this vital research via Fred Hutch’s donation links.

Fred Hutch Cancer Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.  Donations are assigned to Project Stella.

Check out this link to see if your workplace has a matching gift program.

Check out this link to explore alternative ways to give, such as through Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs), appreciated stocks, bonds, real estate, and more. These contributions may also provide valuable tax benefits. Your generosity will directly support groundbreaking research into pediatric cancer, helping to advance life-saving treatments and bring us closer to a cure.

Join the fight against pediatric cancer by supporting Project Stella! Your monthly contribution helps fund groundbreaking research that brings us one step closer to a cure. Together, we can make a lasting impact on the lives of children and families affected by cancer. With your support, we can accelerate progress in this critical research. Choose your level of support today and become a hero in the fight for a cure!

Pediatric AML is tremendously underfunded and under researched, leaving young children with few options. Treatment protocols are tailored to adults and fail to accurately address the unique subtypes of pediatric cancer.  Please help us spread awareness and raise funding.  We can do better.  We have to do better.

Why have only 3 new drugs been approved for pediatric cancer in over 30 YEARS?

• Because the market for pediatric therapies is smaller than that of adults, it doesn't incentivize private industry and pharmaceutical companies to invest. Basically, there isn't enough of a monetary payoff for pharma.

• With less incentive for private industry to invest in pediatric research, the roles of philanthropies and the federal government become critical for childhood drug development.

• Federal research dollars allocate only 4% of all cancer research dollars toward childhood cancer. Only 4%!   Moreover, funding is typically awarded based on ranking of research proposals and reach, regardless of specific disease and need. As a result, 'rare' forms of pediatric cancer are overlooked ("Translating Discovery into Cures for Children with Cancer," American Cancer Society).

It is because of this that private funding is so crucial in finding cures for aggressive forms of childhood cancer, like those being researched at Fred Hutch Cancer Center for Project Stella.   All donations go straight to the Meshinchi Lab for Project Stella research!