Grant lends helping hand to pediatric sarcoma research
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Tuesday, September 9, 2025 – Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital has been awarded a $100,000 grant from Hyundai Hope on Wheels® to support a groundbreaking research initiative aimed at improving outcomes for children diagnosed with aggressive sarcomas. The announcement was made during a celebratory “handprint ceremony” hosted by Atrium Health Foundation. Together, a young cancer patient – joined by his family and care team – dipped their palms in paint and pressed their handprints onto the Hyundai Hope vehicle.
Impact Award recipient Dr. Kaitlyn Smith with Levine Children’s patient Chase, who added his handprint to the Hyundai Hope vehicle.
The grant builds on the foundational work supported by the 2024 Hyundai Hope on Wheels gift, which helped establish advanced tools for analyzing pediatric tumors.
Kaitlyn Smith, PhD, will serve as the principal investigator of a study that aims to identify early markers of treatment response, metastatic potential, and relapse in pediatric sarcoma patients. Her work will emphasize Ewing sarcoma, osteosarcoma, and rhabdomyosarcoma, which for decades have experienced stagnant survival rates.
“Thanks to Hyundai Hope on Wheels’ continued support, we’re now able to apply our custom cytometry panels to patient samples,” said Dr. Smith. “This will allow us to track how tumors and immune profiles evolve throughout treatment, potentially leading to earlier detection of relapse and more personalized therapies.”
The research will leverage a unique biological sample and data repository study at Levine Children’s, which collects tumor, blood, and other specimens from pediatric cancer patients over the course of their treatment. This longitudinal approach enables the team to study how tumor subpopulations and immune responses shift over time and across metastatic sites.
“This research has the potential to transform how we detect and treat pediatric sarcomas,” said Kellie McGregor, associate vice president at Atrium Health Foundation. “We’re deeply grateful to Hyundai Hope on Wheels for their vision and generosity.”
In the past 27 years, Hyundai Hope on Wheels® has awarded more than $27 million in pediatric cancer research grants, bringing its total lifetime giving to $277 million. Atrium Health Levine Children’s has received over $1.1 million in support from the organization since 2010.
For more information about Hyundai Hope on Wheels and its mission, visit www.hyundaihopeonwheels.org.
About Atrium Health Foundation
Founded in 1959, Atrium Health Foundation is one of the largest charitable foundations in Charlotte. As the point of contact for all contributions benefiting Atrium Health in the Charlotte market, the Foundation inspires transformational giving to improve health, elevate hope, and advance healing – for all. Through its current Giving Hope Campaign, Atrium Health Foundation is supporting Atrium Health’s efforts to create the learning health system of the future by building healthy communities, outstanding education programs, preeminent research and exemplary facilities.
About Hyundai Hope on Wheels
Hyundai Hope on Wheels® is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is committed to finding a cure for childhood cancer. Launched in 1998, Hyundai Hope on Wheels provides grants to eligible institutions nationwide that are pursuing critical research aimed at improving treatments and saving lives. Hyundai Hope on Wheels is one of the largest nonprofit funders of pediatric cancer research in the country. Primary funding for Hyundai Hope on Wheels comes from Hyundai Motor America and its more than 850 U.S. dealers. In 2025, Hyundai Hope on Wheels will reach a lifetime donation total of $277 million in support of more than 1,400 childhood cancer research grants to over 175 hospitals and research institutions.