Rally-Funded Discovery: Smarter Cell Therapies For Brain Cancer

When kids are diagnosed with brain cancer, the treatments can be really tough. That’s why scientists are looking for new ways to help the body fight cancer. One of those scientists is Margarita Gutova, Ph.D., at City of Hope. Thanks to early support from the Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research, Dr. Gutova was able to ask bold questions and explore new ideas. 

Fighting Cancer With the Body’s Own Cells 

Dr. Gutova studies advanced treatments like CAR T-cell therapy and stem cell transplants. CAR T-cell therapy takes a patient’s own immune cells and “teaches” them to find and destroy cancer. Stem cell transplants can give patients back healthy cells after harsh treatments like chemotherapy. 

With Rally Foundation’s support, Dr. Gutova launched a clinical study to see how everyday medicines, like the ones kids may already take, interact with these powerful therapies. This helps doctors understand which medicines are safe to use together, so kids have the best chance of success. 

Beyond Fighting Cancer: Helping Kids Heal 

Dr. Gutova didn’t stop there. She also expanded into new projects, like testing CAR T-cells for brain tumors and developing stem cell–based therapies to repair the damage cancer treatments can leave behind. Her goal is not only to treat cancer but also to improve the quality of life for survivors. 

Big Results, Big Impact 

Because of this early Rally funding, Dr. Gutova was able to: 
– Secure major federal research grants 
– Publish important discoveries 
– Collaborate with top scientists 
– Earn a promotion to assistant professor at City of Hope, where she now leads her own lab 

The Bottom Line 

Dr. Gutova’s work is bringing us closer to safer, smarter treatments for children with brain cancer, and it all started with Rally’s belief in her early research. 

This is why early-stage research funding matters. 
This is the power of philanthropic seed investing. 
This is Rally.