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St. Jude Children's Research Hospital®, located in Memphis, Tennessee, is one of the world's premier centers for research and treatment of catastrophic diseases in children, primarily pediatric cancers.

Mission
The mission of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is to find cures for children with catastrophic illnesses through research and treatment.

Research Focus
Research efforts are directed at understanding the molecular, genetic and chemical bases of catastrophic diseases in children, identifying cures for such diseases and promoting their prevention. Research is focused specifically on cancers, acquired and inherited immunodeficiencies and genetic disorders.

Current Research
The current basic and clinical research at St. Jude includes work in bone marrow transplant, chemotherapy, the biochemistry of normal and cancerous cells, radiation treatment, blood diseases, resistance to therapy, viruses, hereditary diseases, influenza, pediatric AIDS and psychological effects of catastrophic illnesses. St. Jude also conducts long-term biostatistical investigations on its patients and is the only pediatric research hospital supported by a National Cancer Institute cancer center support grant.

Expansion Plans
St. Jude continues an extensive expansion program to bolster the hospital’s research/treatment efforts, more than doubling the size of the original St. Jude campus. The expansion includes a recently opened GMP building, the nation’s only pediatric research center on-site facility for production of highly specialized medicines and vaccines; an Integrated Research Center, housing a Children’s Infection Defense Center; and an expanded Immunology Department. Future growth will include a new Integrated Patient Care and Research Building where rapidly evolving CT (computerized tomography) and MR (magnetic resonance) technology will keep St. Jude at the cutting edge for radiation therapy in a pediatric/adolescent setting.

Patients
More than 4,700 patients are in active status. Most are treated on a continuing outpatient basis as part of ongoing research programs. The hospital also maintains 60 beds for patients requiring hospitalization during treatment. To date, St. Jude has treated children from all 50 states and more than 70 foreign countries - from Argentina to China.

QUICK FACTS

Patients at St. Jude are accepted by physician referral when the child or adolescent is newly diagnosed or suspected of having a disease under research and treatment by the St. Jude staff.

St. Jude is the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatments that are not covered by insurance, and families without insurance are never asked to pay.

Founding
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital was founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas and opened in 1962. It is supported primarily by funds from volunteer contributions raised by ALSAC. The national fund-raising organization was established by Danny Thomas expressly for the purpose of funding St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Nobel Prize
One of the most significant events to occur at St. Jude happened in 1996 when Peter Doherty, PhD, and Rolf M. Zinkernagel, M.D., both of the Immunology department, were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. They were recognized for key discoveries they made about the workings of the immune system. It is the highest award a scientist can win.