Children's Cancer Research Fund

Finding Causes of Cancer

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Finding out why children get cancer

With generous support from Children’s Cancer Research Fund, the Pediatric Cancer Epidemiology Research Program at the University of Minnesota is internationally recognized as one of the top research programs in the world investigating the causes of childhood cancer.

Current research includes:

• Molecular epidemiology studies of leukemia, hepatoblastoma, myelodysplastic syndrome, rhabdomyosarcoma, germ cell tumor and osteosarcoma
• Exposure assessment in neonatal blood spots
• Drug therapies targeting cardiometabolic risk factors in severely obese children
• Novel methods to characterize arterial health in children
• Mouse models in relation to exposure-disease relationships relevant to pediatric cancer
• Dietary intervention in pediatric cancer survivors

Research in the Division has a strong focus on the causes of childhood cancer, both environmental and genetic. “Our goal here is really trying to understand why some kids get cancer and whether we can prevent cancers from developing in the first place, says Dr. Julie Ross, Professor of Pediatrics and Division Director. “We share our genetic findings with clinicians and basic scientists so they can investigate genes to understand mechanisms or therapies.”