TAMPA, FL — Hope4ATRT is proud to announce a partnership with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation to co-fund a 2026 Summer Fellowship Award at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). The fellowship has been awarded to Dr. Jessica Tsai, M.D., Ph.D., a physician-scientist in CHLA’s Cancer and Blood Disease Institute, to support a dedicated undergraduate researcher in investigating the biological vulnerabilities of Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumors (ATRT).

ATRT is an extremely aggressive central nervous system tumor that primarily affects children under the age of three. While current treatments include intensive chemotherapy and radiation, these often result in severe neurodevelopmental effects and long-term toxicity for young patients. Dr. Tsai’s project, titled "Identifying cargo proteins altered by nuclear export inhibition in ATRT," focuses on understanding how a specific protein (XPO1) transports "cargo" out of a cell’s nucleus. By identifying what gets stuck in the nucleus when this process is blocked, the team hopes to uncover why ATRT cells die and develop more targeted, less toxic therapies.

“I am so grateful to receive the Hope4ATRT and St. Baldrick’s Summer Fellowship Award, which enables us to bring a student into the lab to study ATRT,” said Dr. Jessica Tsai. “Supporting the next generation of pediatric oncology researchers is something I care deeply about, and this fellowship gives an undergraduate student the opportunity to spend the summer immersed in pediatric brain tumor research—developing new lab skills, collaborating with other pediatric cancer researchers, and contributing to new discoveries.”

The fellowship will run from June 29, 2026, through August 31, 2026. This collaboration underscores a shared commitment to fostering young scientific talent while accelerating translational research that moves discoveries from the lab bench to clinical trials.

“We are honored to support Dr. Tsai’s lab,” said Dr. Jaymi Yamoah, co-founder of Hope4ATRT. “It’s always so exciting to see researchers dedicating time and energy into ATRT research. It means the world to us and the families we serve. Together we envision a future where there are better treatments and ultimately a cure for ATRT!”

About the Hope4ATRT Foundation
Hope4ATRT Foundation is a research entity of Out of Zion, Inc, dedicated to supporting families in the fight against ATRT with up-to-date resources and research. Our mission is to provide a centralized site where parents can find the information they need to navigate their child’s diagnosis – what to do, where to go for treatment, what resources/support are available to them, and advancements through ATRT research. Learn more at hope4atrt.org.

About the St. Baldrick’s Foundation

Every 2 minutes, a child somewhere in the world is diagnosed with cancer. In the U.S., 1 in 5 will not survive. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation, the largest charity funder of childhood cancer research grants, has awarded more than $371 million to researchers to Conquer Kids’ Cancer. When you give to St. Baldrick’s, you don’t just give to one hospital – you support every institution with the expertise to treat kids with cancer across the U.S. St. Baldrick’s ensures that children fighting cancer now — and those diagnosed in the future — will have access to the most cutting-edge treatment, by supporting every stage of research, from new ideas in the lab to the training of the next generation of researchers, to lifesaving clinical trials. St. Baldrick’s has played a role in virtually every advancement in the field over the past 25 years and remains essential in advancing progress and fostering innovation in childhood cancer research. Visit StBaldricks.org and help #ConquerKidsCancer.

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