Rally Is Proud to Award $150,000 to Three Outside the Box Grants

Breakthroughs happen with outside-the-box thinking, in science, in medicine and especially in childhood cancer research. At Rally Foundation, we believe that bold ideas deserve a chance, and each one may be that next big breakthrough. That’s why we created the Outside the Box Grant. We want to fund innovative, early-stage research to challenge the status quo and inspire new discoveries.

Each year, the focus of this grant shifts to meet emerging needs in childhood cancer research. For 2026, we invited researchers to explore two specific areas:

• Leverage the use of artificial intelligence to advance the diagnosis, treatment or understanding of cancer in children, adolescents and young adults with a demonstrated potential for clinical translation.
• Advance efficiency, coordination and overall quality of cancer care to improve outcomes for children, adolescents and young adults as well as their families.

Previous Outside the Box Grants have focused on rhabdomyosarcoma, brain cancer, osteosarcoma, red light therapy for treatment-induced neuropathy, and therapies and interventions that improve quality of life. This year continues that tradition of bold innovation. We can’t wait to see how these ambitious scientists and their outside-the-box thinking will bring new ideas to life and hope to kids fighting cancer.

Meet our 2026 Outside the Box Grant recipients:

• The University of Chicago: Mark Applebaum, M.D., for Rapid Histologic Classification of Neuroblastoma With AI
• The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia: Cassie Kline, M.D., for Understanding the Microbiome Role in Pediatric CNS Tumors
• Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center: Meghan McGrady, Ph.D., for Harnessing Health Information Technology to Support Adherence Care