COLUMBUS, Ohio – Efforts to fight childhood cancer received a significant boost as CancerFree KIDS made its largest-ever investment in pediatric cancer research in Columbus.
The organization awarded a $650,000 check to grant recipients at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, part of more than $1.5 million CancerFree KIDS is investing in pediatric cancer research this year.
Dr. Ryan Roberts, principal investigator at the hospital’s Center for Childhood Cancer and one of the grant recipients, said partnerships like these highlight the impact of the hospital’s research.
“I think that people often underestimate what we have right here in our backyard, in terms of science here at Nationwide Children’s Hospital,” Roberts said. “I think people have seen this hospital grow up from the outside for a long time, but often don’t know what’s going on inside, and when people find out, they’re usually amazed about the awesome things we do here.”
According to CancerFree KIDS, private funding is critical, as less than 8 percent of federal research dollars are allocated to pediatric cancer.