Georgetown Lombardi’s Jeffrey Toretsky, MD, Honored with Hyundai Hope on Wheels Endowed Chair in Pediatric Oncology

A group stands with individuals holding two large checks
Representatives from Hyundai Hope On Wheels and Hyundai Motor America visited Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center on Sept. 17 to present Jeffrey Toretsky, MD, (pictured left) with the inaugural Endowed Chair for Pediatric Oncology Grant and Hyundai Impact Grant and Aykut Üren, MD, (pictured right) with a Hyundai Scholar Hope Grant. Also pictured are Kevin Reilly (B’91) (center), owner and president of Alexandria Hyundai and vice chair for Hyundai Hope On Wheels, and Emmy Cole (center left) and Raynie Clark (center right), Hyundai Hope on Wheels 2024 Youth Ambassadors.

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(September 20, 2024) — Hyundai Hope On Wheels, one of the largest nonprofit funders of pediatric cancer research in the country, has awarded its first Hyundai Hope On Wheels Endowed Chair for Pediatric Oncology to Jeffrey Toretsky, MD, at Georgetown’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Toretsky, a Georgetown professor of pediatrics and oncology, was recognized during a Hyundai Hope On Wheels ceremony Sept. 17 at Georgetown University Medical Center.

Dr. Toretsky speaks from a podium at the event
Jeffrey Toretsky, MD

Funding from Hyundai provides support for Toretsky and his lab to find more effective and less toxic treatments for children with cancer. 

“That’s been my focus and my mission since I started in 1991 as a fellow [at NIH],” he said.

Toretsky’s research centers on discoveries that could lead to new and more targeted therapies for Ewing sarcoma, a rare tumor that occurs in children and young adults. Specifically, his work focuses on EWS-FLI1, a mutation not found in normal cells, which offers the opportunity to create medicines to eliminate tumor growth while sparing normal cells.

Hyundai’s philanthropy on behalf of pediatric cancer research at Georgetown began in 2004.

“Hyundai’s support has been absolutely critical” in filling funding gaps over the years, Toretsky explained. “If those gaps weren’t filled, we wouldn’t have been able to continue our research.”

Kevin Reilly speaks from a podium at the event, two stuffed bulldogs decorate the podium
Kevin Reilly (B’91)

Over the past two decades, Hyundai and the Washington Area Hyundai dealers have collectively pledged more than $7 million in support for pediatric cancer research at Georgetown.

Kevin Reilly (B’91), owner and president of Alexandria Hyundai and vice chair for Hyundai Hope On Wheels, has spearheaded much of the philanthropy work in recent years.

In addition to the endowment, Reilly presented a Hyundai Impact Grant of $100,000 to Toretsky and Hyundai Scholar Hope Grant of $400,000 to Aykut Üren, MD, professor of oncology and also biochemistry and molecular & cellular biology.

Reilly explained that his Georgetown values led him to ask how financial support from Hyundai Hope On Wheels could be of service to others in perpetuity. Funding the endowed chair achieves this goal.

Dr. Beauchamp speaks from a podium at the event, two stuffed bulldogs perch on the podium before him
Norman J. Beauchamp Jr., MD, MHS

“When I think of people in service to others,” he said, “I think of Dr. [Aykut] Üren and Dr. Toretsky, very much in service to others trying to find cures.”

Georgetown’s Executive Vice President for Health Sciences, Norman J. Beauchamp Jr., MD, MHS, explained the impact of the endowed chair.

“[Dr. Toretsky] knows how he wants to proceed to find cures for our children,” he said. “One of the really, really important things is, how does he have the longitudinal support so that he can focus on the work and not be distracted, if you will, by finding the funding. This unbelievable gift helps us in ways where Dr. Toretsky can go directly at what he sees as ways of lessening the challenges for children everywhere.”

Scenes From the 2024 Hyundai Hope On Wheels Event

A group of people hold a ceremonial check made out for $3 million

(From l) Jim Walen, dealer principal, Hyundai of Kirkland, Hyundai of Seattle; Norman J. Beauchamp Jr., MD, MHS, Georgetown’s Executive Vice President for Health Sciences;  Bob Kim, VP of East Sales at Hyundai Motor America; Emmy Cole, Hyundai Hope On Wheels 2024 Youth Ambassador; Raynie Clark, Hyundai Hope On Wheels 2024 Youth Ambassador; Kevin Reilly (B’91), owner and president of Alexandria Hyundai and vice chair for Hyundai Hope On Wheels; John Guastaferro, Executive Director, Hyundai Hope On Wheels

Beauchamp, Reilly, Toretsky, Uren and Atkins stand side by side at the event

(From l) Norman J. Beauchamp Jr., MD, MHS; Kevin Reilly (B’91), owner and president of Alexandria Hyundai and vice chair for Hyundai Hope On Wheels; Jeffrey Toretsky, MD, the inaugural holder of the Hyundai Hope On Wheels Endowed Chair for Pediatric Oncology and recipient of the Hyundai Impact Award; Aykut Üren, MD, recipient of the Hyundai Scholar Hope Grant; and Michael Atkins, MD, Georgetown Lombardi Deputy Director.

Two girls holding stuffed bulldogs stand in front of Hyundai's Tran and Reilly

(From l) Bob Kim, VP of East Sales at Hyundai Motor America;  Emmy Cole, Hyundai Hope On Wheels 2024 Youth Ambassador; Raynie Clark, Hyundai Hope On Wheels 2024 Youth Ambassador; Kevin Reilly (B’91), owner and president of Alexandria Hyundai and vice chair for Hyundai Hope On Wheels

A young cancer patients places a painted hand on a piece of paper while adults look on

As part of the Hyundai’s Hands On Hope ceremony held after the check presentations, children undergoing cancer care at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital were invited to paint their hands and place handprints on paper, doctors’ white coats and a Hyundai vehicle.

A young cancer patient with crutches holds up her painted hand while standing with Dr. Uren near a Hyundai vehicle

Aykut Üren, MD, recipient of the Hyundai Scholar Hope Grant shared a moment with a young patient.

Emmy holds up her painted palm after making a painted handprint on the side of a white Hyundai vehicle

Emmy Cole, Hyundai Hope On Wheels 2024 Youth Ambassador, placed a painted handprint on a Hyundai.