Neuroblastoma research advanced by St. Baldrick's grant

The research of Dr. Nicole Anderson, assistant professor in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology and a member of the Cancer Center and Research Institute at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, will be fueled by $5,000 St. Baldrick’s Foundation Summer Fellows Grant, furthering the study of metastasis in neuroblastoma patients. 

St. Baldrick’s Summer Fellows Grants provide funding for medical or undergraduate students to spend a summer immersed in pediatric oncology research. 

Metastatic disease is the primary cause of death in neuroblastoma patients, and nearly half present with metastases at diagnosis, most commonly in the bone marrow. Yet the biological drivers behind this process remain poorly understood. 

Hematopoietic cells within the bone marrow microenvironment may actively shape metastatic progression. To explore these mechanisms, Anderson’s team uses the zebrafish MYCN_TT model, which mirrors human disease by metastasizing to the kidney marrow, the zebrafish equivalent of bone marrow. The model has already revealed that the metabolic enzyme DLST accelerates metastatic spread. 

This summer, the research will focus on defining how metastatic tumor cells alter the kidney marrow environment and how DLST influences the timing and behavior of metastatic events. Insights from this work could open new avenues for targeting metastasis in children with neuroblastoma. 

In 2025, St. Baldrick’s supported her research with a $330,000 Scholar Grant. 

St. Baldrick’s Foundation’s mission is to find cures for childhood cancers and to give survivors long and healthy lives. The foundation is the largest charity funder of childhood cancer research grants in the U.S.