What Is a Rally Career Development Award?
Career development awards are important. But why? Investigators in their first independent faculty appointment are at a critical career...
What Is a Consortium Grant?
What exactly is a consortium? Let us explain. Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research (Rally) defines a consortium as three or more...
What is an Astrocytoma?
An astrocytoma is a brain tumor that begins in astrocytes—a type of glial cell that supports nerve cells in the brain. Astrocytomas can be...
What is Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (LCH)?
Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare disorder in which the body produces an overabundance of Langerhans cells. These cells, which...
What Is an Independent Investigator Grant?
Independent Investigator Grants are awarded to principal investigators. Let’s begin by explaining the role of a principal investigator....
What is Ependymoma?
Ependymoma is a tumor that appears most often in the brain and sometimes in the spinal cord. It is a type of glioma, meaning it starts in...
What Is a Postdoctoral and Clinical Research Fellow Grant?
Before we get to that, let’s first address the difference between a postdoctoral fellow and a clinical research fellow. It can definitely...
What is Lymphoma?
Lymphoma is a cancer of the body’s lymphatic (lymph) system which is essential to the immune system. The lymphatic system is made up of a...
What Is the Link Between Down Syndrome and Childhood Cancer?
Let’s begin by explaining Down syndrome Down syndrome (DS) occurs in about one in every 700 births worldwide. There is a small change...
What is Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML)?
Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a type of blood cancer that causes an overproduction of white blood cells. These cells grow abnormally...
What Is a Rally Career Development Award?
Career development awards are important. But why? Investigators in their first independent faculty appointment are at a critical career stage where they must establish themselves through research, publications and grant funding. It is important to support the development of independent research by these individuals to move them from mentorship to independence. Career development awards provide the opportunity for investigators to develop independent research by funding a significant portion of...
What Is a Consortium Grant?
What exactly is a consortium? Let us explain. Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research (Rally) defines a consortium as three or more institutions (i.e., university, hospital) collaborating on a grant-supported research project. A principal investigator from the lead institution applies with the support of at least two other collaborating institutions. The success of the project depends on the unique contributions of each collaborating institution. RESEARCH GRANTS Rally helps fund the...
What is an Astrocytoma?
An astrocytoma is a brain tumor that begins in astrocytes—a type of glial cell that supports nerve cells in the brain. Astrocytomas can be benign or malignant and typically occur in the brainstem, cerebellum, cerebrum, hypothalamus or optic nerves. Tumors that start in glial cells are called gliomas and are named for the specific kind of glial cell in which they originate: astrocytes, oligodendrocytes or ependymocytes. Astrocytomas are the most common form of gliomas found in...
What is Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (LCH)?
Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare disorder in which the body produces an overabundance of Langerhans cells. These cells, which are also known as histiocytes, are a type of white blood cell that helps the immune system fight off infections. LCH causes too many of these cells to form, ultimately resulting in a buildup in the body. This accumulation of cells then damages organs, forms tumors, and otherwise disrupts normal tissue functions. According to the Histiocytosis Association,...
What Is an Independent Investigator Grant?
Independent Investigator Grants are awarded to principal investigators. Let’s begin by explaining the role of a principal investigator. Principal investigators are typically faculty members (e.g., professor, associate professor, assistant professor) who lead a research lab as an expert in their field. As the lab leader, they are responsible for developing the research agenda, designing research projects, securing funding (often through grants like Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer...
What is Ependymoma?
Ependymoma is a tumor that appears most often in the brain and sometimes in the spinal cord. It is a type of glioma, meaning it starts in the support cells of the brain. This cancer occurs more frequently in children—accounting for 5-10% of all pediatric brain tumors—but it can also affect adults. Common pediatric subtypes include classic ependymoma, a tumor that most commonly appears in the brain, and anaplastic ependymoma, which tends to spread and has a high chance of recurrence. Each type...