The mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. Consistent with the vision of our founder Danny Thomas, no child is denied treatment based on race, religion or a family's ability to pay.
Seeking treatment?
Our approach makes us different from most children’s hospitals. Learn more about seeking treatment for your child at St. Jude.
Our history
Founder and entertainer Danny Thomas opened the doors to St. Jude in 1962 with the dream that “no child should die in the dawn of life."
Why support us?
Unlike any other hospital, the majority of our funding comes from individual contributions. And thanks to generous donors, families never receive a bill from St. Jude.
No child should die in the dawn of life.
Cost to family: $0
Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food — because all a family should worry about is helping their child live.
Saving kids worldwide
St. Jude has treated children from all 50 states and from around the world.
Our goal: 100% survival
Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to more than 80% since it opened more than 50 years ago.
Our stories
Meet our patients, families, supporters, and staff and experience the innovative research, pioneering treatments and inspirational stories that happen at St. Jude every day. Experience our stories.
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Meet Alana
Alana has big plans for her future, and she isn't letting a cancer diagnosis get in the way. Neither is St. Jude.
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Meet Lillian
Lillian (nicknamed Lily) and her sister, Emmy, are inspearable, and always on the move. St. Jude is keeping them that way.
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Welcoming all who enter
Janice Ivory has given out tens of thousands of smiles to the patients, staff and families of St. Jude over the last 32 years.
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Celebrating Black History Month
We reflect on our heroes: doctors, patients and supporters who have been a part of our lifesaving mission.
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Meet Declan
Declan and his sister are best friends. So when he had to come to St. Jude for treatment, she was there by his side every step of the way.
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Breaking down barriers
ALSAC President and CEO Richard C. Shadyac Jr. reflects on the African-American leaders throughout history who have furthered the lifesaving mission of St. Jude.
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Teen patients reach for the stars at annual art show
View images from the hospital’s annual Teen Art Show, which gives patients a creative way to express their thoughts and emotions about their treatment.
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Journey to the Jude: Inspired by global adventures, postdoc recruiter Deanna Tremblay seeks world-class scientists
Inspired by her global adventures, postdoc recruiter Deanna Tremblay of Academic Programs seeks world-class scientists.
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Pediatric Cancer Genome Project sparks a decade of discovery
Leaders at St. Jude launched a bold initiative in 2010 to define the genomic landscape of pediatric cancer.
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R is for Robot: Automating Drug Screening
Scientists in the High-Throughput Bioscience Center use robots to automate the screening of hundreds of thousands of compounds to discover potential new drugs.
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LANDO Discovery Has Implications for Cancer Immunotherapy and Alzheimer’s Disease
Activating LANDO, or LC3-associated endocytosis, appears to offer protection against neurodegenerative disease and guard against toxic neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration, including memory problems.
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Cancer Survivors Build Bridge to a Healthy Future
St. Jude helps childhood cancer survivors take control of their health by building lifelong relationships with their primary care providers.
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Scientists Collaborate to Create a Lattice Light-Sheet Microscope
To build a next-generation lattice light-sheet microscope, St. Jude neurobiologists work with a Nobel laureate and a select team of scientists.
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An Added Boost for Medulloblastoma: SJELIOT
SJELIOT, a St. Jude-led clinical trial for medulloblastoma, tests prexasertib, a drug that enhances the power of other chemotherapies.
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Paws at Play: A Message from Puggle
Therapy dogs in the St. Jude Paws at Play program make the day a little easier for patients—whether helping them relax during procedures, demonstrating how to take medicine or climbing on a mock scanner to show them MRIs aren’t scary.