Summer 2026
By Casey Repasy
Since 1998, Hyundai Hope on Wheels has helped accelerate research for pediatric cancer treatments. Supported by Hyundai Motor America, the nonprofit empowers scientists and researchers to discover new avenues for childhood cancer treatment and prevention. The organization recently awarded $600,000 in grants to advance the research of Wallace Bourgeois, MD, and Lee Gorfinkle, MD, helping to strengthen its partnership with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund.
This grant allows Bourgeois to continue his research to improve treatments for children with leukemia. His work centers on understanding the molecular and genetic drivers of high-risk leukemias, particularly acute myeloid leukemia, and identifying new targeted therapies that more precisely attack cancer cells while reducing toxicity. A key area of his research investigates why promising drugs, such as menin inhibitors used to treat certain genetically defined leukemias, can stop working as cancer cells develop resistance. By studying these resistance mechanisms and testing combination treatment strategies, Bourgeois is working to develop more durable and effective therapies to improve outcomes for children with difficult–to-treat blood cancers.
Gorfinkle will use his grant to advance research focused on improving stem cell transplantation for children with serious blood disorders. His research explores ways to make bone marrow transplants safer and more effective, particularly for children with inherited blood conditions and bone marrow failure syndromes. Gorfinkle is also studying how to reduce complications such as graft-versus-host disease and is working to develop less toxic pre-transplant treatments that can improve long-term outcomes for pediatric patients.
“Hyundai Hope on Wheels is proud to stand with Dana-Farber in advancing care and cures for children with cancer. Drs. Lev Gorfinkel and Wallace Bourgeois embody the expertise and compassion this work demands, and we’re honored to support their efforts to translate discovery into better outcomes for kids and families” said John Guastaferro, executive director, Hyundai Hope on Wheels.