Northwestern University will receive a grant for a summer childhood cancer research project.

The St. Baldrick's Foundation announced $85,000 in awards for the summer fellow grants. The grants will go to support young researchers at Northwestern and 16 other institutions in the country.

Kathleen Ruddy is the executive director of the foundation. Ruddy says exposing medical students to childhood cancer research early is necessary to encourage them to specialize in the field.

Only 4% of all federal cancer research funding is dedicated to childhood cancer research. Foundation awards allow students who might be interested in studying pediatric oncology in medical school to explore the field of childhood cancer research in their summer term.