Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF), a nonprofit dedicated to finding cures for all kids with cancer, has named Ki Moore, R.N./Ph.D. of the University of Arizona as one of four recipients of the Foundation’s 2012 Nurse Research Grants. Moore will receive a Discovery Award for her research into the effects of Central Nervous System (CNS) treatment on antioxidant level, apoptosis and cognitive abilities in children with leukemia. The award will provide Moore with $100,000 over two years.
Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation added the Nursing Grant program to an already successful and innovative pediatric research grant program in 2007. Drawing on experience with founder Alexandra “Alex” Scott through treatment, the Foundation recognizes the importance of investing in research that enables nurses to find better ways to care for children undergoing cancer treatment.
Moore’s research will examine acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), which is the most common pediatric cancer tumor in the United States, and how Central Nervous System (CNS) treatment with methotrexate on the most important brain antioxidant is associated with cognitive abilities in children with ALL. The study is relevant to pediatric cancer research as the findings can provide information about how methotrexate causes brain injury that could be important to cognitive abilities.
“Since inception it has always been our goal to find cures for all kids with cancer. Additionally, we have always looked for ways to improve the lives of childhood cancer patients now, in their day to day lives,” said Jay Scott, father of Foundation creator Alexandra “Alex” Scott and Co-Executive Director. “Nurses have a unique view into the daily lives of children and their families who face childhood cancer, and this insight is valuable to improving and even saving lives.”
This Discovery Award is designed for an experienced nurse researcher to investigate topics and issues related to the quality of nursing care and the quality of life for children with cancer
In addition to Moore’s project, three other Nurse Research Grants were given to nurses across the country. The recipients were Pattianne Belfield, P.N.P. of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; Micah Skeens, P.N.P. of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Katherine Kelly, Ph.D. of the Children’s Research Institute in Washington, DC.
For more information on the Nurse Research Grants, or Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation’s grant program, visit: www.ALSFgrants.org.
