Earlier this month, Nicklaus Children’s Helen & Jacob Shaham Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute received a $7.5 million budget appropriation to advance pediatric cancer research and care. Governor Ron DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis announced the award under the newly created Cancer Connect Collaborative Research Incubator Fund (Incubator).

The Incubator will provide $150 million to Florida’s four specialty-licensed children’s hospitals over the next five years to cement each hospital’s pediatric cancer program among the nation’s best. Incubator funding will go towards advancing clinical trials, expanding innovative treatments, and keeping children in Florida and closer to home for care.

Nicklaus Children’s is South Florida's leader in diagnosing and treating pediatric cancer. The hospital engages in more than 40 clinical studies related to cancer treatments and has been recognized as a full member of the prestigious Children’s Oncology Group (COG), a nationally funded consortium of pioneering physicians and institutions.

“We are so grateful to Governor DeSantis, First Lady DeSantis and the Florida Legislature for investing in the future of children’s health,” says Matthew A. Love, president and CEO of Nicklaus Children’s Health System. “This investment will further expand our mission to provide breakthroughs in treatment and care to patients with cancer diagnoses right here in Florida.”

Florida houses the third largest pediatric population in the country, and while pediatric cancer accounts for only one percent of cancer cases in the U.S., Floridians account for six percent of all pediatric cancer cases. Through initiatives like the Incubator, Nicklaus Children’s will ensure kids, families, and communities in South Florida and beyond have a hometown answer to pediatric cancer.