PANDA (People Acting Now Discover Answers)

Founded in 1999, the Phoenix Women's Board of the Steele Children's Research Center, affectionately known as PANDA (People Acting Now Discover Answers), supports discovery processes to improve treatments and cures for devastating childhood diseases.

PANDA’s year-round fundraising efforts include Pandas for Patients, Lemonade Stand Day, PANDA Prowl Fun Run & Block Party and the marquee event, the “Children Helping Children” Fashion Show & Luncheon in Phoenix presented by Fox Restaurant Concepts with more than 1,200 attendees each year. Since 1999, PANDA has raised more than $26 million for the Steele Children’s Research Center and fueled more than $100 million in grant funding. To learn more about the PANDAs, visit: www.azpanda.org.

PANDA Project Highlights:

2024: The Deep Freeze - A Pediatric Biobank Project

PANDA’s 2024 goal is to bring a first-of-its kind pediatric biobank to The Steele Children’s Research Center. A Biobank, or biorepository, is a complex program that allows doctors and scientists to collect, annotate with pertinent health information, and preserve clinical samples in long-term storage for future research use. It involves a high-tech, continuously monitored deep freezers, where biological material, such as blood, or tissue samples (e.g., biopsies) can be preserved.

2023: PANDA  First 1,000 Days Pediatric Project

PANDA funding supports two areas: translational research into pediatric nutrition, and research to advance technology in congenital heart disease which impacts nearly one in 100 babies. By funding translational research, we move basic science discoveries quickly and efficiently into practice.