Sarcoma Research

The Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative has funded more than $2.3 million in sarcoma research grants at prestigious institutions around the world. The Initiative supports research that is targeted at finding cures for sarcomas, as well as research that attempts to develop more effective treatment regimens than those currently available.

Focusing on Global Collaboration

At the Initiative, we believe that improved outcomes for sarcoma patients are best achieved by teams of dedicated investigators working collaboratively and cohesively towards a common goal. The Initiative has funded several International Collaborative Grants (ICGs). These grants provide financial support that crosses national boundaries in order to advance sarcoma research. The ICG Program brings together global teams of sarcoma specialists to work together on significant research projects. The teams collaboratively employ their resources in order to make more progress than each investigator can make individually. ICGs enable team members to use their individual skills to address specific questions while also contributing to a larger, promising project.

Funding the Best Sarcoma Research - Wherever It's Done

At the Initiative, we believe that quality work should be funded wherever it is being done. We award grants based on the merits of each experimental plan we receive. The best studies come from researchers in a variety of settings around the world. Thus, we have awarded grants to investigators in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and at many institutions within the United States.

Targeting Sarcoma Subtypes

At the Initiative, we believe that work needs to proceed on many types of sarcoma. We welcome targeted donations that can be used to support research on specific sarcomas, including:

Working Together

At the Initiative, we believe in working together to make a difference. We actively seek out sarcoma advocacy groups and individuals to help us fund research studies that have been recommended through our peer-review process. By combining financial resources, organizations can fund more substantive research studies jointly than we could fund independently.

Awarded Sarcoma Research Grants

The Initiative has funded the following peer-reviewed studies. Findings from many of the completed studies have been published in professional journal articles.

2013 Grants

Modeling Treatment Response of NF1-Deleted Sarcoma

$69,000 Grant for a Study led by David Kirsch, MD, PhD
Department of Radiation Oncology at Duke University School of Medicine

Deletion Of Type 4 Collagens in Leiomyosarcomas

$50,000 Grant for a Study led by Bradley J. Quade, MD, PhD
Department of Pathology at Harvard Medical School

2012 Grants

Immunotherapy for Pediatric Sarcomas

$50,000 Grant for a Study led by Steven Highfill, PhD; Rimas Orentas, PhD and Crystal Mackall, MD
Pediatric Oncology Branch of the National Cancer Institute

An International Collaborative Study of Bone Sarcoma Metastasis

$250,000 Grant for a Study led by:

• David Loeb, MD, PhD at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD
• Elizabeth Lawlor, MD, PhD at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI
• Heinrich Kovar, PhD at the Children's Cancer Research Institute in Vienna, Austria
• Katia Scotlandi, PhD at the Instituto Ortopedico Rizzoli in Bologna, Italy

MTAP Dysregulation in Osteosarcoma and Malignant Fibrous Histiocytoma of Bone

$50,000 Grant for a Study led by Olga Camacho-Vanegas, PhD and John Martignetti, MD, PhD
Departments of Genetics and Genomic Sciences at Mount Sinai School of Medicine

The Hippo Pathway in Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma

$50,000 Grant for a Study led by Corinne Linardic MD, PhD
Department of Pediatrics at Duke University

ROCK Inhibition as an Anti-Angiosarcoma Therapeutic

$45,000 Grant for a Study by Brad A. Bryan, PhD
Center of Excellence in Cancer Research at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

An Investigational Platform for the Study of Myxoid Liposarcoma

$250,000 Grant for a Collaborative Study led by:

• Torsten Nielsen, MD, PhD at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada
• Judith Bovée, MD, PhD at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands
• Dina Lev, MD at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas
• Alexander Lazar, MD, PhD at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas

2011 Grants

The WWTR1/CAMTA1 Fusion Protein in Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma

$50,000 Grant for a Study by Brian Rubin, MD, PhD
Lerner Research Institute at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio

International Collaborative Grant on Carcinosarcoma

$50,000 Grant for a Study led by:

• Blaise Clarke, MD at the University of Toronto
• Blake Gilks, MD at the University of British Columbia
• Katherine Hale, PhD at MD Anderson Cancer Center
• and Paul Boutros, PhD at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research
  

Targeting Bone Microenvironment in Ewing’s sarcoma

$90,000 Grant for a Study by Françoise Rédini, PhD 
Université de Nantes 
and led by Nadège Corradini, MD
Mother & Child Hospital in Nantes, France

The Effect of Mir-17-92 Dysregulation in Leiomyosarcoma-Genesis

$50,000 Co-funded Grant for a Study led by Eva Hernando, PhD
New York University School of Medicine in New York, New York

CD99 in Ewing’s Sarcoma

$50,000 Grant for a Study led by Michela Rugolo, PhD 
University of Bologna in Bologna, Italy
and led by Katia Scotlandi, PhD
Rizzoli Institute in Bologna, Italy

Deep Exome Sequencing in Chondrosarcomas

$50,000 Grant for a Study led by Judith V.M.G. Bovée, MD, PhD and Jan Oosting, MD, PhD
Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands

2010 Grants

Translational Research in Well-Differentiated and Dedifferentiated Liposarcoma

$250,000 Grant for a Study led by:

• Robert Maki, MD, PhD at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
• Ola Myklebost, PhD at the Norwegian Radium Hospital
• Jordi Barretina, PhD at MIT's Broad Cancer Program
• David Thomas, FRACP, PhD at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

IGF1R as a Promising Therapeutic Target in MPNST

$50,000 Co-funded Grant for a Study led by Wei Zhang, PhD
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas
and led by Jilong Yang, MD, PhD 
Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital and Institute in China

Targeting the PI3K/AKT Pathway in UPS/MFH 

$50,000 Grant for a Study led by Quan-Sheng Zhu, MD, PhD and Dina Lev, MD 
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas

The Role of Cytoplasmic p27kip1 in Metastatic Osteosarcoma 

$50,000 Grant for a Study by Tsz-Kwong Man, PhD
Department of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas

2009 Grants

A Preclinical Mouse Model for Targeted Therapy in Uterine Leiomyosarcoma

$25,000 Grant for a Study by Sandra Orsulic, PhD and Beth Karlan, MD
Women’s Cancer Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California

Molecular Basis of Genomic Instability in Osteosarcoma 

$50,000 Grant for a Study by Pulivarthi H Rao, PhD and Debananda Pati, PhD
Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas

Tumorigenic Cells in Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumors

$50,000 Grant for a Study led by Sean J. Morrison, PhD
Life Sciences Institute Center for Stem Cell Biology at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan

2008 Grants

Telomere Maintenance Mechanisms in Liposarcomas

$50,000 Grant for a Study led by Dominique Broccoli, PhD
Department of Laboratory Oncology Research at the Curtis and Elizabeth Anderson Cancer Institute, Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah, Georgia

PEDF: A Potential Therapeutic Agent for Osteosarcoma 

$50,000 Grant for a Study led by Professor Peter F. M. Choong, MD 
and involving Crispin R. Dass, PhD
Orthopaedics Department of St. Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia

Analysis of NR0B1 in Ewing’s sarcoma 

$100,000 Grant for a Study led by Stephen L. Lessnick, MD, PhD
Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah

miRNA Profiling for Liposarcoma 

$50,000 Grant for a Study led by Dina Lev, MD
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas
and led by Matt van de Rijn, MD, PhD
Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, California

A Mouse Model for Chordoma 

$25,500 Co-funded Grant for a Study led by Brian Harfe, PhD 
University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida

Deletion of the WWOX Gene in Osteosarcoma 

$50,000 Grant for a Study led by Jilong Yang, MD, PhD
Tianjin Cancer Hospital and Institute in China
and led by Wei Zhang, PhD
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Texas

The Role of CIP4 in Osteosarcoma Metastases 

$50,000 Co-funded Grant for a Study led by Nadezhda V. Koshkina, PhD
and involving Seth J. Corey, MD 
Children's Cancer Hospital at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Small-Molecule Targeting of EWS-FLI1

$50,000 Co-funded Grant for a Study led by Jeffrey A. Toretsky, MD 
and involving Milton L. Brown, MD, PhD
Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University

Identification of the Ewing’s Sarcoma Stem Cell 

$37,800 Grant for a Study led by David M. Loeb, MD, PhD and involving Saul J. Sharkis, PhD, Chi Van Dang, MD, PhD and Jason T. Yustein, MD, Phd
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins Medical School

2007 Grants

MicroRNA Deregulation in Mesenchymal Transformation and Sarcoma-genesis

$50,000 Co-funded Grant for a Study led by Eva Hernando, PhD
New York University School of Medicine

Assessing and Monitoring the Targeted Treatment of Chordoma

$25,000 Grant for a Study led by Dr. Silvana Pilotti
Fondazione IRCCS Istituto dei Tumori in Milan, Italy

2006 Grants

Two Ewing's Sarcoma Research Studies at Huntsman Cancer Institute

$50,000 in Grants for Studies led by Stephen Lessnick, MD, PhD
Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah

Tissue Study in a Phase II Trial of Dasatinib

$25,000 Grant for a Study led by Dr. Scott Schuetze
University of Michigan’s School of Medicine

GIST Research Grants

$10,000 Grant for a Study led by Dr. Sebastian Bauer
West German Cancer Center at the University Hospital in Essen, Germany
and led by Dr. Anette Duensing
Hillman Cancer Center at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute

2005 Grants

Cancer Vaccine Study at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

$50,000 Grant for a Study led by Dr. John Goldberg and Dr. David Fisher

A Pilot Study of Tumor Lysate-Pulsed Dendritic Cell Vaccine

$50,000 Co-funded Grant for a Study led by Dr. James Geiger
Dr. John E. Levine and Dr. Raymond Hutchinson, co-investigators
University of Michigan Medical Center

2004 Grants

Elizabeth Shriver Memorial Research Awards to Study Sarcoma

$25,000 for the Research of Dr. Matt van de Rijn of Stanford University
$25,000 for the Research of Dr. Frederic Barr of the University of Pennsylvania
$25,000 for the Research of Dr. Lisa Wang of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston

2003 Grants

Our First Research Grant

$14,000 for the Research of Dr. Mary Louise Keohan
Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University and New York Presbyterian Hospital

Applying for a Sarcoma Research Grant

The Initiative funds "basic research seed grants" in sarcoma research. We anticipate that results from these "demonstration" or "starter" grants will provide results that will allow the researcher to apply for funding for a larger study.

We are interested in a wide range of research. Some examples are:

• understanding the molecular biology of sarcomas
• exploring "molecular targets" for new sarcoma therapies
• studying chromosomal translocations, the oncogenes they generate and their role in sarcoma development
• translational studies
• studying vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, and mTOR inhibitors
• studying the use of nanotechnology in the diagnosis and treatment of sarcomas
• understanding the basis of radiation-induced sarcoma; modeling of the process of metastases
• exploring the differences in the development of sarcomas in children, adolescents, young adults and adults
• research directed at the early detection and diagnosis of sarcoma

Other areas of research will be considered.

How Grants Can Be Used

Grants can be used for the development of models, conducting experiments, development of sarcoma tissue registries, and similar activities involved in support of research into the causes, origins, development, molecular biology, diagnosis, and treatment of sarcoma. We do not fund clinical trials, but fund basic research that might lead to other research studies or to clinical trials. While not funding clinical trials, proposals that undertake studies with patients undergoing treatment on an investigational study are acceptable.

As our grants are small, they are not intended to support the salary of the investigator nor do they support the indirect costs of the investigator's institution. Investigators selected to receive a grant will need to provide a letter from their institution indicating agreement with these requirements before the award is actually formally made.

The Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative awards research grants to both U.S. and international applicants. The applicant's primary affiliation must be with a nonprofit institution. Grant applications can be submitted at any time and applications will be peer-reviewed in a timely manner. We require a 2-3 page summary of the results of the work at the end of the year and request that the Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative’s grant be acknowledged in any article submitted for publication in which results obtained from the research study are presented.

How to Apply

If you are interested in submitting a research proposal, please contact us using the form below to request a Grant Application Form.

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Research News from the Initiative

This page highlights a few our achievements in research.

$250K Grant for Pediatric Sarcoma Research

October 2012: The Initiative announced the funding of an International Collaborative Grant for bone sarcoma research to a team of investigators from Austria, Italy and the United States. The Initiative published a special announcement about this grant.

Researchers on Video

July 2012: The Initiative has released a collection of videos that features prominent researchers discussing issues in the field. We appreciate their time and willingness to work with us.

$250K Grant for Liposarcoma Research

April 2012: The Initiative awarded an International Collaborative Grant for Myxoid Liposarcoma research to a team of investigators from Canada, the Netherlands and the United States. The University of British Columbia and the Initiative published press releases about the grant.

Partnering with Experts Worldwide to Cure Sarcomas

October 2011: The Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative is pleased to announce that it has funded research in nine countries and published resources in six of the world’s languages. These achievements are a part of the Initiative’s mission to meet the needs of the global sarcoma community.

Funding Ewing's Sarcoma Research in Italy

April 2011: The University of Bologna and the Rizzoli Institute have published announcements about our latest grant for Ewing's sarcoma research.

International Sarcoma Symposium

February 4, 2011: The Initiative participated in the International Sarcoma Symposium today in Oslo, Norway. Visitors are invited to watch the opening remarks by Dr. Ola Myklebost and Bruce Shriver, as well as the outstanding sarcoma research presentations.

Our First $250K Grant

November 12, 2010: The Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative is awarding a $250,000 grant to fund a global collaborative research study on liposarcoma. The unique project will be undertaken by a consortium of four investigators in three countries over the next two years.

New Hope for Deadly Bone Cancer

August 31, 2009: A study at Huntsman Cancer Institute, funded in part by the Initaitive, led to an exciting discovery in Ewing's sarcoma. Researchers discovered that Ewing's sarcoma patients with poor outcomes have tumors with high levels of a protein known as GSTM4, which may suppress the effects of chemotherapy. Learn more.