On September 2, Hyundai Hope On Wheels® and Palo Alto-area Hyundai dealers awarded Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford a $250,000 Hyundai Scholar Grant for pediatric cancer research. The grant will support the work of Michael Cleary, MD, with a focus on identifying scientific insights and potential new therapies for children with specific subsets of acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford is one of 45 recipients across the country to receive a 2015 Hyundai Scholar Grant. In all, Hope On Wheels will award $10.5 million in research grants this September in honor of National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford has received nearly $1.5 million from Hope On Wheels since the program’s launch.
“Hyundai has been a loyal supporter of pediatric cancer research at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford and Stanford University School of Medicine,” said Dr. Cleary, the Lindhard Family Professor in Pediatric Cancer Biology and professor of pathology. “We are deeply appreciative of their ongoing commitment to finding a cure for childhood cancer, and their partnership with us as we work toward that common goal.”
The $250,000 grant to Dr. Cleary was presented at our hospital during a Hope On Wheels Handprint Ceremony, which included remarks from Dr. Cleary, Hyundai representatives, and Zoie Farmer, whose 10-year-old son, Hyrum, is currently receiving care for a rare form of leukemia at our Bass Center for Childhood Cancers and Blood Diseases.
“In the beginning, we weren’t sure how well Hyrum would do on treatment,” recalled Zoie. “So much was unknown about his leukemia. But I know that the road the doctors have taken was inspired and was the perfect one for our Hyrum. I’m so grateful for their service and for the countless others—doctors, nurses, researchers, and generous donors—who give of their time and energy to bless my family and the lives of children and families all over the world.”
