We are a clinical-translational lab caring for children with relapsed and refractory solid tumors. Every trial we open is paired with a laboratory program designed to learn from the tumors we treat — and every laboratory finding is tested against whether it can change what we offer the next child.
Our clinical research team responds to family and referring-oncologist inquiries within two business days.
mail Talk to our trials team arrow_forwardIf your child has been diagnosed with a relapsed or refractory pediatric solid tumor, you may be eligible for one of our open studies. Our clinical research team will walk you through every step — eligibility, what the visits look like, what side effects to expect, and what happens if the trial isn't a fit.
Our clinical work is grounded in Phase-I and Phase-I/II trials of targeted-therapy and immunotherapy combinations for children with neuroblastoma, Ewing sarcoma, and atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors. Trials are designed with built-in correlative biology so that every enrollment generates tissue and longitudinal blood samples linked to clinical response.
A parallel laboratory program builds patient-derived organoids and PDX models from consenting trial participants. These models are used to interrogate mechanisms of response and resistance in real time and to nominate combination strategies for subsequent dose-escalation cohorts. The biobank is shared across a national pediatric precision-medicine consortium.
We also develop decision-support tools for pediatric precision oncology, including a multi-omic algorithm that integrates tumor sequencing, organoid drug-response profiling, and clinical context to support tumor-board recommendations. The tool is in prospective clinical validation at three pediatric cancer centers.
Sofia Reyes-Aguilar†, Kavya Anand, Priya Vanderlin*
In a prospective companion study to our MEK + CDK4/6 dose-escalation trial, organoids derived from each enrolled child predicted clinical response with high concordance. Children whose organoids showed combination synergy had longer time to progression than those whose organoids did not — even when single-agent profiles looked similar. The result moves us closer to choosing combinations for the next child based on the tumor in front of us, not on population averages.
link doi.org/10.1016/j.ccell.2026.02.011Phase I L1CAM-directed CAR-T trial opens enrollment at our center.
New paper in Cancer Cell on neuroblastoma organoid response signatures.
Priya named recipient of a national pediatric oncology catalyst award (2026 class).
New patient-derived organoid sharing agreement with a partner pediatric cancer program.
Welcome Sofia Rosales, joining as a Clinical Research Fellow.
We hire research staff, clinical coordinators, and trainees on a rolling basis. Reach out with a one-page note about why this work.