Our Research FAQ

CURE prioritizes research that is aimed at solving recurrent or hard-to-treat cancers for which no effective treatment currently exists and is likely to have a therapeutic impact within within 2–3 years. Our goal is to find cures for all cancers that affect children while preserving quality of life. Learn more on Our Research.

CURE invests more than $5.6 million annually in promising childhood cancer research and has invested nearly $50 million over the past decade (with $18 million specifically in precision medicine) at leading pediatric institutions nationwide.

Every year, more than 17,000 children in the United States and 400,000 worldwide are diagnosed with cancer. Although overall survival exceeds 80%, cancer remains the leading cause of death by disease in children, and many treatments are decades old with significant long-term side effects. Childhood cancers receive only a small fraction of federal research funding.

Precision medicine uses genetic sequencing of a child’s tumor to identify the specific mutations driving the cancer, enabling doctors to match targeted therapies to the individual patient rather than relying on one-size-fits-all approaches.

Since 2017, CURE has invested nearly $18 million to expand precision medicine and tumor sequencing programs at leading institutions.

For children who receive tumor sequencing, 85% obtain information that directly impacts their treatment—such as confirming or changing the diagnosis, adjusting risk stratification, identifying inherited mutations, guiding targeted drugs or clinical trials, or revealing therapy resistance.

It costs approximately $3,200 to sequence the genes of one child who has run out of standard treatment options. Donations of any size help fund this life-changing work. Learn more.

In 2025, CURE awarded 13 grants totaling $5.6 million, focused almost entirely on high-grade brain tumors, aggressive leukemias, solid tumors, and metastatic disease – the toughest diagnoses facing children today. View the full list of 2025 awards.

All proposals are rigorously reviewed by our independent Peer Review Committee using NIH-style scoring for scientific merit and alignment with CURE’s priorities. The committee makes recommendations to the Board of Directors, which makes final funding decisions.

For more than two decades, CURE has funded pediatric oncology fellowships at Emory University School of Medicine to train the next generation of clinician-researchers dedicated to childhood cancer.

CURE has funded 24 research fellowships to date. Twenty-three past fellows are now practicing pediatric hematology/oncology and conducting research at top institutions across the country.

Current fellows include physicians researching solid tumors (e.g., neuroblastoma, Ewing sarcoma), cancer vaccines combined with radiation, and immunotherapy approaches. Meet the fellows.

• Translation to CURE (T2C): Up to $330,000 over 2 years (open to investigators at any career stage)
• Early Investigator (EI): Up to $220,000 over 2 years (for early-career researchers within 5 years of completing fellowship or initial faculty appointment).

T2C awards are open to all career stages (Assistant to Full Professor). EI awards are limited to beginning physician-scientists or scientists. Full eligibility and guidelines are on the For Researchers page.

Applications begin with a 1-page Letter of Intent (LOI) submitted via ProposalCentral. Selected applicants are invited to submit full proposals. The request for proposal opens every January. Apply and view full guidelines.

The LOI must cover the rationale, hypothesis, specific aims, experimental design, and innovation/impact, plus references and a biosketch. Full proposals follow detailed instructions provided upon invitation.

The committee consists of leading pediatric oncologists and scientists from institutions including Emory, Dana-Farber, Stanford, Oregon Health & Science University, University of Chicago, University of Pittsburgh, and others. Full committee list.

The committee conducts a thorough scientific review of every proposal, scores them for merit and alignment with CURE’s goals, and provides expert guidance so that every dollar invested has the greatest chance of improving outcomes for children with cancer.

After the LOI and full proposal deadlines, the Peer Review Committee evaluates submissions and makes recommendations. Then CURE’s Board of Directors makes final decisions, with funding typically awarded in June.