A Bold Idea, Backed Early: Rally’s Role in Advancing Leukemia Research

In 2016, Kimberly Stegmaier, M.D., at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute received early research funding from Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research. That support allowed her team to explore a bold question. Could turning off two important enzymes, SHMT1 and SHMT2, slow down or even stop T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a type of childhood blood cancer that is very hard to treat when it returns? 

Dr. Stegmaier and her team tested a compound called RZ-2994 that blocks both SHMT1 and SHMT2. In the lab, leukemia cells stopped dividing. In another cancer called Burkitt lymphoma, many of the cancer cells even died. These discoveries were so important that they were published in the scientific journals Leukemia and Blood. 

While the original compound could not be used in patients, the idea proved powerful. Several companies are now working to create a better version that could one day help children and adults in the clinic. This work also showed that the SHMT pathway matters in many cancers, including Ewing sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, AML, lymphomas, bladder, lung, breast and colon cancers. 

Rally Foundation’s early investment gave Dr. Stegmaier and her team the freedom to take a chance on a new idea. That risk opened doors to discoveries that could one day help many kids with cancer. 

This is why early-stage research funding matters.

This is the power of philanthropic seed investing.

This is Rally.