Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) has received a $6.4 million gift from the family of Connor Boyle, a Central Bucks East High School graduate who died at age 18 from osteosarcoma. This three-year gift, named “The Connor Initiative: Precision Therapeutics for Osteosarcoma & Rare Cancers,” will support cutting-edge research in osteosarcoma and other rare cancers.
Following Connor’s diagnosis in 2019, his grandparents, David and Patricia Holveck, became deeply invested in advancing science that can better identify and treat patients affected by these cancers. Their support was instrumental in catalyzing the Mitochondria and Cancer Connections Research Program at CHOP, which investigates biological mechanisms behind cellular life and death and brings together key leaders from the hospital’s Mitochondrial Medicine Program and Division of Oncology.
Through the Connor Initiative, the Holveck family hopes to unlock novel therapies that will change the standard of care for osteosarcoma — a disease that has not seen significant change in treatment for more than 30 years…