Challice Bonifant, a pediatric oncologist with the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, has been awarded a $110,000 extended scholar grant from St. Baldrick’s Foundation to support her ongoing research related to determining whether engineered T cells can provide better outcomes for young patients with cancer.

Improved treatments have been developed incorporating cell therapies into standard chemotherapy treatment regimens. However, a challenge to maintenance of remission is that the engineered T cells must persist in the patient. The St. Baldrick’s funding supports Bonifant’s research studying ways to stimulate longer persistence in engineered T cells targeted to kill leukemia.