When innovation meets urgency, change becomes possible. The Bardo Foundation is proud to stand as a founding partner in Break Through Cancer’s Defying Osteosarcoma TeamLab, a global research initiative built to fast-track new therapies for osteosarcoma.

We have pledged $500,000 to this landmark $15 million program. This commitment is more than financial support. It is a stake in collaboration, in translational science. The project is bridging breakthroughs from the lab into clinics and in raising osteosarcoma research to the level of urgency it deserves.

For too long, osteosarcoma has been underfunded and underprioritized. Survival rates have barely changed in decades, while children and families wait for progress. TeamLab represents a turning point. It has momentum, energy, and the possibility of lives saved.

What makes this project different?

The Defying Osteosarcoma TeamLab is not a single trial or study. It is a platform that connects leading laboratories, clinical centers, data scientists, patient advocates, and biotech innovators. Its mission is to break down silos and build an engine of discovery.

Project Highlights

• Testing multiple interventions early: Across its platform trials, TeamLab will evaluate a range of new therapies, from antibody-drug conjugates (which target cancer cells at the surface) to DNA damage response agents (which disrupt the genome inside).
• Harnessing canine osteosarcoma: With osteosarcoma occurring ten times more often in dogs than humans, TeamLab will integrate canine and human trials in unprecedented ways. Dogs develop osteosarcoma naturally, making them uniquely powerful models for testing therapies and accelerating discovery.
• A discovery engine for the future: Using single-cell, spatial, and surfaceome profiling, researchers will analyse tumour samples to uncover new therapeutic targets. This “lab-in-the-loop” approach links fresh trial data with retrospective human and canine data — creating an iterative cycle of discovery.
• Data science at the core: By unifying results across institutions, species, and trial types, TeamLab ensures that insights build on each other. This strategy aims to accelerate the path to effective therapies and lay the groundwork for the next generation of osteosarcoma care.

Key Participating Institutions

The project brings together more than 20 researchers from 8 institutions, forming a cross-institutional framework to accelerate osteosarcoma research. These include:

Looking ahead

The Bardo Foundation’s involvement in TeamLab is a continuation of our mission: to bring hope, accelerate research, change the lives of those affected by childhood cancer, and honor the legacy of Bernardo. Together with world-leading partners and other charitable institutions, we are helping to create a future where children diagnosed with osteosarcoma have more options, better outcomes, and the chance at life they deserve.

Join Us in Funding the Future

This pioneering project is only possible through collaboration — between researchers, clinicians, families, and supporters like you. Every contribution helps accelerate the development of new therapies and gives children with osteosarcoma a greater chance of survival.

We welcome donations to support this work 👉thebardofoundation.org/pages/donate