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The Emily Whitehead Foundation is proud to announce Amber K. Hamilton, PhD, of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) as its 2024 Nicole Gularte Fight for Cures Embassador Award recipient.

Nicole Gularte was an eight-time leukemia Warrior and among the first patients to be treated with CAR T-cell therapy in the initial groundbreaking clinical trial at the University of Pennsylvania. Following her remission post CAR-T, she became a great friend, patient advocate and keynote speaker, and often traveled with the Emily Whitehead Foundation to inspire others with her story and her mantra to “fight for cures.”

Nicole was especially passionate about advocating for children fighting cancer and was adamant in her belief that no child should have to experience the kinds of side effects from standard treatments that she had suffered through in her adulthood.

Unfortunately, Nicole's cancer returned, and despite participating in two additional clinical trials, she passed away in April 2020.

In 2021, the Emily Whitehead Foundation established the Nicole Gularte Fight for Cures Embassador Award, a research grant to recognize and support the work of young researchers in the field of cellular-based pediatric cancer treatments. It is the Foundation’s hope that this award inspires a generation of researchers to exemplify Nicole’s fighting spirit and not be afraid to take chances along the path to achieving new breakthroughs in cancer research.

Dr. Hamilton is a postdoctoral fellow at CHOP in Drs. John M. Maris’ and Sharon J. Diskin’s laboratories. She received her bachelor’s degree in biology from Arcadia University and her PhD in genomics and computational biology from the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Hamilton was selected for her research in translational immunology for childhood cancers. Hamilton has focused on immunotherapy target discovery using a multi-omics approach; validation of immunotherapeutic targets in neuroblastoma and other pediatric and adult cancers; development of computational applications for data analysis and release to the scientific community; and patient advocacy. Her work not only embodies the fighting spirit of Gularte but also shows a bright future for advanced therapies.

“My grandfather, Emily, all the CAR-T Warriors, and the patients we could not cure, including Nicole, inspire me to dedicate my life to fighting for cures, especially for pediatric patients,” said Dr. Hamilton when she accepted the award at the Foundation’s 2024 Believe Ball.

As a recipient of this award, Dr. Hamilton receives a $50,000 research grant with sponsorship from Cytiva, a global life sciences leader dedicated to advancing and accelerating therapeutics. The funding will support Dr. Hamilton’s work in the development and pre-clinical testing of immunotherapies targeting a new cell surface protein, with the goal of moving into clinical trial.

“This funding comes at a very critical time and will aid in my goal of transitioning to an independent investigator focused on pediatric immunotherapy,” said Dr. Hamilton.

Dr. Hamilton was selected by a committee of world-leading medical scientists and practitioners recognized in their fields of expertise in the development, discovery or delivery of advanced therapies.

Thank you to committee chair Steve Festin, Alpine BioPartners, and committee members Jessica Carmen, RoslinCT; Shannon Eaker, Xcellbio; Carl H. June, MD, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine; Sven Kili, MD, CCRM; Bruce L. Levine, PhD, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine; Marcela Maus, MD, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital; Fyodor Urnov; UC Berkley; and Philip Vanek; Gamma Biosciences.

Past recipients of the award include Philippa Kennedy (2022) and Dr. Jessica Foster (2021).

On behalf of the Whitehead family, the Gularte family, the selection committee and the Foundation, we are proud to support the work of Dr. Hamilton!