2008 grant round – causes and prevention of childhood leukaemia

Following our conference in April 2008, we launched our third funding round for projects investigating the causes of childhood leukaemia.

We invited applications for projects which would advance our understanding of the causes of childhood leukaemia.

We said that priority would be given to projects investigating the influence of environmental risk factors on the basic biological mechanisms of childhood leukaemia development.

Each funding proposal was reviewed by at least two members of the grant panel.

Grants awarded

Out of 41 applications received, the grant panel recommended the award of grants to seven projects which they felt represented best hope of finding answers to the question of what causes childhood leukaemia. Please click on any of the seven projects below to find out more.

Dr Anand Chokkalingam, University of California, Berkeley.
Mechanistic studies of folate as a risk factor for childhood ALL. £227,181.

Dr Richard Feltbower, University of Leeds.
Leukaemias and other cancers in teenagers and young adults in England: an aetiological analysis using new statistical techniques. £120,351.

Professor Shai Izraeli, Sheba Medical Centre, Israel.
Hematopoietic transcription factors and childhood leukaemia – Down syndrome as a model. £198,432.

Dr Lyndal Kearney, Institute of Cancer Research, London.
Defining the role of JAK2 mutations in the natural history and molecular pathogenesis of ‘excess risk’ ALL in children with Down Syndrome. £128,083.

Professor Stephen Rappaport, University of California, Berkeley.
Pilot study to measure quinone adducts in newborn dried blood spots. £73,957.

Professor Joshua Schiffman, University of Utah.
Identifying and characterizing copy number variation as a risk factor for childhood leukaemia. £183,069.

Dr Joachim Schüz, Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, Copenhagen.
Proximity to power lines and childhood leukaemia in Denmark. £83,135.

Selection process

The grant panel for this funding round was made up of selected members of our Scientific Advisory Committee plus a number of external experts. The final grant panel comprised the following:

Professor Eric Wright (Chair)

Professor Jill Birch

Professor Tariq Enver

Professor Mel Greaves

Professor Denis Henshaw

Professor Victor Hoffbrand

Professor Patricia McKinney

Dr Mike Murphy

Professor Irene Roberts

Professor Bryan Young

Each funding proposal was reviewed by at least two members of the grant panel and all proposals were sent for external peer review.