Dr. Woodfield awarded R01 grant to study hepatoblastoma

Sarah E. Woodfield, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Division of Pediatric Surgery, has received an R01 grant for $2.4 million from the National Cancer Institute for the project “High-risk hepatoblastoma dissemination control by oncogenic NRF2.” The project seeks to define key molecular pathways involved in the dissemination of hepatoblastoma circulating tumor cells and then apply this knowledge to develop targeted therapies to improve survival in patients. Hepatoblastoma is a devastating pediatric liver cancer with a rapidly growing incidence and a dismal survival rate of less than 50% for patients with high-risk disease, including those with metastatic tumors.