Donate Now: Meshinchi Lab looks to pursue new targets through Project Stella with goal of helping more children with AML. $100,000 Challenge Gift announced to help meet funding goal.

Through a special initiative called Project Stella, scientists at Fred Hutch are developing urgently needed treatments for children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) — the deadliest of all pediatric cancers.

Project Stella is named for Stella Novotny, an unforgettable little girl who lost her life to AML when she was just four years old. Stella’s parents, Casey and Ed, launched Project Stella to help change the outcome for other children and families facing AML.

Thanks to the solid foundation the Novotnys built, Project Stella is able to reach other families affected by AML, such as Christina and Joe Siders. Christina and Joe have also teamed up with Project Stella to fuel cures for their 4-year-old daughter, Ella, who’s being treated for the same form of AML that Stella had.

Thanks to our visionary supporters, as of November 2023 we have received gifts and commitments of $2,019,000. This funding has allowed completion of the development and testing of a new immunotherapy for this deadly leukemia with a clinical trial to start in 2024. While generous Project Stella donors have fueled rapid progress in the research, we cannot allow the momentum to slow, or stop. Although we have exceeded our original $2 million fundraising goal, there is work left to be done. With additional support we will build on our success and extend ongoing work towards building the new CAR-T Immunotherapy treatment options for these rare AML types. Immediately, $500,000 in funding will support ongoing work in advancing and supporting the upcoming clinical trial. Additionally, Dr. Meshinchi and his team see a fantastic opportunity to pursue additional AML targets, including PRAME and WT1 which are expressed in significantly more patients. Your gift will bring us that much closer to our goal and honor Stella's inspiring legacy by helping bring cures to Ella and so many other children. Gifts made between December 1, 2023 and February 28, 2024, will be matched up to the first $100,000.

For questions about making a gift to Project Stella through your Donor Advised Fund or via Stock, please contact:

If you’d like to mail in a check, please make it payable to “Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center” and include “Project Stella” on the memo line. Please mail the check to:

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
1100 Fairview Ave. N., Mail Stop J5-200
Seattle, WA 98109

Meet the Families Impacted by Pediatric AML.