JCVI wins $200,000 St. Baldrick’s grant for childhood leukemia research

The J. Craig Venter Institute received a two-year, $200,000 St. Baldrick’s Foundation grant to study a new approach for MLL-rearranged leukemias in children. The project could help lay the groundwork for a dual-action therapy that both attacks cancer cells and strengthens immune response.

Why it matters: - MLL-rearranged leukemias are among the most common childhood leukemias and carry poor to intermediate outcomes. - Current treatments are not adequate for many young patients. - The JCVI project aims to identify a new therapeutic strategy that could move toward future clinical development.

What happened: - The J. Craig Venter Institute said July 23, 2026, that it received a two-year, $200,000 Emily Beazley Kures for Kids Fund St. Baldrick’s Research Grant. - St. Baldrick’s Childhood Cancer Research Foundation selected the grant as part of its 2026 grant cycle. - The award will support research led by Associate Professor Nan Zhu, Ph.D., at JCVI. - The project focuses on treatments for MLL-rearranged leukemias in children.

The details: - Zhu’s work targets the BAF chromatin remodeling complex, which helps control gene activity inside cells and supports the survival of MLL-rearranged leukemia cells. - The research builds on pilot study findings and previously published research showing that loss of the BAF complex can boost anti-tumor immunity. - Zhu and the JCVI team hypothesize that targeting the BAF complex could have a dual effect: directly killing leukemia cells and strengthening the body’s immune response. - The team will test the approach in laboratory models that better reflect how leukemia behaves in the body, including models derived from human patient samples. - JCVI said the goal is to generate the rationale and foundational evidence needed for a novel dual-action therapy targeting the BAF complex in pediatric MLL-rearranged AML. - Zhu has worked in leukemia research for nearly 20 years.

Between the lines: - The project reflects a broader shift toward therapies that combine direct cancer targeting with immune-based effects. - The grant also shows continued philanthropic support for early-stage childhood cancer research, where lab findings often need long development paths before clinical testing. - St. Baldrick’s said it has invested more than $380 million in grants since its founding.

What’s next: - JCVI and Zhu’s team will continue the lab work and share findings with the pediatric oncology community. - The research is intended to provide the scientific basis for future clinical development. - JCVI said it expects to keep collaborating with St. Baldrick’s as the project progresses.

The bottom line: - JCVI now has funding to test whether blocking the BAF complex can become a new two-pronged treatment strategy for some of the hardest-to-treat childhood leukemias.