The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) has announced a “significant gift” from Susan and Steve Kelly, local philanthropists and longtime supporters of CHOP, to establish the Susan S. and Stephen P. Kelly Center for Cancer Immunotherapy. 

The center will enable CHOP to expand pediatric clinical trials and accelerate the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of novel treatments, increase the pipeline of innovative therapeutics and diagnostics, recruit and train top investigators and postdoctoral researchers to become the next generation of cancer immunotherapy experts, and increase equity and access to cell therapy clinical trials for socioeconomically disadvantaged patients. 

“CHOP is now positioned, unlike any other academic medical center, to leverage our clinical and scientific expertise in the cell and gene therapy space to better care for pediatric patients and families in Philadelphia and around the world,” said Stephen Grupp, inaugural director of the Susan S. and Stephen P. Kelly Center for Cancer Immunotherapy, and chief of the cellular therapy and transplant section in the Division of Oncology at CHOP. “The Kellys’ unwavering commitment to CHOP and the cancer center will allow us to forge ahead and identify new therapies for sick children sooner, bringing us one step closer to our ultimate goal: prescribing every child diagnosed with cancer a targeted therapy based on their genetic makeup, their cancer's makeup, and the makeup of their own immune system.” 

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