Luke TATSU Johnson Foundation

The Luke Tatsu Johnson Foundation (LTJF) is a group of dedicated activists and volunteers committed to honoring the life of Luke by fighting to end childhood cancer and encouraging educational aspirations. We are inspired by Luke's middle name, "TATSU," which is Japanese for "dragon," "get up," "build," "healthy," "strong," and "attain": the words motivate our actions and our aspirations. We have created a vibrant community of supporters who have enthusiastically attended our annual events, which include a golf tournament, dinner, and auction. Since our inception in 2017, we have annually raised money that has allowed us to fund other organizations and research grants that are focused on the battle against pediatric cancer. The LTJF has helped recruit bone marrow donors at Be the Match events, attended other fundraisers and events dedicated to pediatric health and cancer, and run a water station at the Long Beach Marathon. In 2018, the LTJF proudly attended the ribbon cutting and dedication of the Luke Tatsu Johnson Sport Court at Marina Vista Park, where children and families will play and be active for years to come. Because Luke spent much of his treatment at Miller Children's at Long Beach Memorial, the LTJF remains closely connected to the doctors and nurses who worked with Luke, and we actively endeavor to support other families who are also battling cancer. Luke and his family and their supporters are an integral part of Long Beach, and so LTJF is committed to making a difference in Long Beach and beyond as a tribute to the incredible young man Luke was.

Testimonials

"The Luke TATSU Johnson Foundation is proof that Long Beach cares. We have a very personal connection as Luke and our son were friends. When Luke was sick he became part of the MemorialCare family, and family is forever. His legacy lives on through the Luke TATSU Johnson Foundation and it is making a difference with its support of cancer research."

-Claudine Gargaro and John Bishop (CEO, Long Beach Memorial Medical Center)

"I want to reiterate that I have tremendous gratitude to the Luke Tatsu Foundation that has supported our work in these very difficult times. We are more determined than ever to make a difference."

"My lab works on a type of leukemia that afflicts children and young adults. This type of leukemia -which has gene fusions of two distinct genes- can be devastating. Children with these leukemias will not respond to standard therapy. And if at all they do, most kids will relapse and eventually succumb to the disease. Given my long interest in the science of how this disease develops and in wanting to make a difference to these patients, I was delighted that I would be able to tackle this problem head on when I started my lab in La Jolla, California, one of the most exciting places for biomedical research in the world.

As soon as I stared my lab, we set forth on a mission to understand the biological processes that go wrong in these patients and to find ways and means to fix these processes using novel drugs. With startup funds from our Institute, we built new models, got exciting new insights and promising drug candidates. But then funding needed to move forward was not forthcoming. It is during these very difficult times that we received news from the Rally Foundation, that Todd and Rena Johnson's Luke Tatsu Foundation had decided to support our lab for 2 years with grant funding.

This was a much-needed shot-in-the-arm for our lab. We resumed our efforts to find new therapies for these patients with renewed vigor. When Todd and Rena came to visit our lab, I had a great time with the family, learning about Luke's life and interests in Golf and studies, and about the Foundation in general. I took them to a tour of our lab and the Prebys small-molecule screening center at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Discovery Institute.

While we were talking, we came to the surprising realization that Luke had the exact same leukemia that we have been interested in for all these years. We all had goosebumps. There was a palpable silence in the room, because neither the Johnson family nor I were aware of this coincidence when they decided to fund the proposal. In fact, this leukemia is rare enough that even patient samples are extremely hard to find.

For the rest of their visit, as I was describing the progress we have made with ameliorating the disease in mice, our preclinical data, our efforts with small-molecule inhibitor screens, we still had goosebumps. I couldn't but keep thinking about the sheer improbability of it all.

Ani Deshpande, Ph.D. | Assistant Professor,
Tumor Initiation & Maintenance Program
SANFORD BURNHAM PREBYS MEDICAL DISCOVERY INSTITUTE

"[Receiving a scholarship from the Luke TATSU Johnson Foundation] … meant the world to me because I knew the kind of person Luke was. And everyone that ever met him could tell you the same thing, which is he was the most kind, genuine person I've ever met...