NYMC Receives $400,000 Grant for Pediatric Cancer Research from Hyundai Hope on Wheels
The Grant Will Support Dr. Jeremy Rosenblum’s Fight Against Osteosarcoma
New York Medical College (NYMC) has been awarded a $400,000 Hyundai Hope Scholar Grant from Hyundai Hope on Wheels to advance pediatric cancer research during National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. The recipient Jeremy Rosenblum, M.D. (back row, third from right), associate professor of pediatrics, will use the grant for his project, "Combinational Next Generation CAR NK Immunotherapy in Osteosarcoma,” which will investigate treatment for osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer that most often affects children, teens, and young adults.
Dr. Rosenblum was presented with a lab coat during the Hyundai Hope on Wheels handprint ceremony, where children impacted by cancer placed their brightly painted handprints on a Hyundai vehicle, symbolizing their fight against the disease and hope for a cure. The signature event is one of the largest nonprofit funders of pediatric cancer research in the country supported by Hyundai Motor America. This year, Hyundai Hope on Wheels will reach a lifetime donation total of $277 million in support of more than 1,400 childhood cancer research grants to more than 175 hospitals and research institutions.
“I am honored to receive this award, which will allow us to advance our research and explore new ways to treating osteosarcoma, and bring us closer to a cure for patients for whom current treatments do not work,” said Dr. Rosenblum. “I’m grateful to my patients and families, some of whom are here with me today, for being a part of their cancer journeys. The way that you carry yourselves, with hope and strength, while enduring the unimaginable, inspires me to do the work that I do, and only makes me wish I can do more for my patients.”
Andrew Stephens (front row, right), now aged 21, a patient of Dr. Rosenblum who was diagnosed in 2015 at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital with stage 4 alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma and given two to three months to live, shared his journey of treatment, remission, and relapse. “This is the most incredible miracle I’ve witnessed in my life,” he said. “When I returned to the hospital [after relapsing], Dr. Rosenblum was ready with a trial treatment that I was the first person to try. It’s the reason why I’m still here, five years later.” He went on to thank Dr. Rosenblum, “I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me, my family and this hospital.”
“The work that Dr. Rosenblum is going to undertake is a critical translational project,” said Mitchell S. Cairo, M.D. (second from left), professor of pediatrics, cell biology and anatomy, medicine, and of pathology, microbiology, and immunology, and vice chair of pediatrics, who served as master of ceremony. “We are honored that Hyundai sees Dr. Rosenblum’s project as a scholarly approach and we’re grateful for all of the support we’ve had over the years from Hyundai.”
Reflecting on a recent consult of an eight-year-old patient with metastatic recurrent cancer, Edward C. Halperin, M.D., M.A., chancellor and chief executive officer of NYMC who is also a pediatric radiation oncologist, said, ”We cannot philosophically explain why evil befalls the innocent, but we can do something about it, including conducting research to make tomorrow better than today,” in a video message to the audience. Thanking Hyundai Hope on Wheels for contributing resources to the battle against childhood cancer, he continued, “We will make the future of medicine better than today by inventing it ourselves.”
“Hyundai Hope on Wheels is honored to support esteemed hospitals and institutions such as New York Medical College to fund research that fosters innovation and medical advancements for pediatric cancer patients,” states John Guastaferro, executive director, Hyundai Hope on Wheels. “We are grateful for the unwavering dedication and life-saving efforts that will bring us closer to a world without childhood cancer.”
Video of the Hyundai Hope on Wheels event and other NYMC events are available on the NYMC YouTube channel.
