M. D. Anderson Receives $35 Gift for Cancer Prevention
May 15, 2008
The Dan L. Duncan Family Foundation has given
The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center $35 million—the institution’s largest gift to the cancer prevention program and its second-largest gift in its 67-year history. The funds will be used to establish the Dan Duncan Family Institute for Cancer Prevention and Risk Assessment.
The Duncan family’s generosity will enable M. D. Anderson to study the incidence and determinants of cancer in medically underserved and minority communities. A major element of the Duncan Family Institute will address cancer-related behavioral and genetic risk factors in medically underserved communities to better develop cancer prevention strategies and ultimately reduce cancer-related deaths in this rapidly growing segment of our population.
The gift also will allow M. D. Anderson to recruit additional researchers and clinicians to implement new or enhance current prevention programs and examine the effects of behavior and lifestyle choices on developing cancer.
Under the direction of Ernest T. Hawk, M.D., M.P.H., vice president of prevention and head of M. D. Anderson’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences, the Duncan Family Institute will bring research and experts together from many disciplines, including epidemiologists, behavioral scientists, biochemists, molecular biologists, computer and information scientists, clinical scientists, and others to leverage and amplify the discoveries of each investigator and laboratory. The Duncan Family Institute will collaborate in related research with
Baylor College of Medicine,
Texas Children’s Hospital and other Houston institutions.
Dan Duncan and his family have supported M. D. Anderson for more than 25 years through financial gifts and volunteer activities. Daughter Randa Duncan Williams has served on the University Cancer Foundation Board of Visitors since 2006 and is a former member of M. D Anderson’s Advance Team.
Houston Medical Leaders Named "Men of Distinction"
May 14, 2008
- 99-year-old heart surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey, Baylor College of Medicine chancellor emeritus and director of the DeBakey Heart Center, who earlier this year was presented with the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award presented by the U.S. Congress
- Dr. Ralph Feigin, chair of the department of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and physician-in-chief at Texas Children's Hospital, who received the prestigious 2007 John Howland Award for lifetime contributions to improve child health care worldwide
The University of Texas Health Science Center Receives Emerging Technology Fund Grant to Create Trauma Research Center
May 9, 2008
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston has received a $5 million grant from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund to create a trauma research center, The Center for Transitional Injury Research. The center will be headed by Dr. John Holcomb, a U.S. Army trauma surgeon. The ETF funds will be used to recruit leading scientists and surgeons in trauma care and new medical technologies.
Dr. Michael E. DeBakey Inducts Dr. Denton A. Cooley Into Michael E. DeBakey International Surgical Society
May 5, 2008
Dr. Michael E. DeBakey, chancellor emeritus of
Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, inducted long-time surgical rival Dr. Denton A. Cooley, president and surgeon-in-chief of the
Texas Heart Institute, last week as an honorary member of the
Michael E. DeBakey International Surgical Society. Dr. DeBakey also gave Dr. Cooley a leather-bound copy of the first medical article the two co-authored.
Half a century ago, the two cooperated on the first successful surgery to repair an aneurysm of the abdominal aorta, the body's main blood vessel.
U.S. Representative Kevin Brady Receives Legislator of the Year Award from BIO
April 28, 2008
The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) awarded Congressman Kevin Brady (R-TX) as Legislator of the Year for 2007-2008. Representative Brady received the award during the BIO Legislative Day Fly-In on April 16, 2008.
Brady, along with U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz, D-Penn., are sponsoring the American Life Sciences Competitiveness Act of 2007, a bill aimed at giving tax incentives for investments in biotechnology research and development, as well as allowing the industry to claim tax credits.
“The life sciences industry provides nearly 80,000 jobs in the state of Texas, which is home to a rapidly expanding biotechnology sector. Representative Brady has demonstrated his commitment to fostering the scientific discovery process by easing the burden on small research-oriented firms, allowing them to invest in their life-saving products,” said Thomas Kowalski, President of the Texas Healthcare & Bioscience Institute
Source: BIO
$100 Million in Grants to Speed Delivery of Breast Cancer Discoveries and Cures Awarded by the Susan G. Komen Foundation
April 21, 2008
Susan G. Komen for the Cure(R) announced more than $100 million in research grants awarded. Komen for the Cure is funding research initiatives exploring key breast cancer issues, including genetic risks, risk modulation, breast cancer stem cells, new targets for breast cancer therapies, therapeutic vaccines, treatment resistance, the molecular basis for chemotherapeutic response, strategies for the reduction of tumor progression, the role of micro-environments, the role of specific proteins in metastasis and treatments for bone metastasis.
The Promise Grants promote collaboration between basic and clinical researchers and different institutions to speed the discovery and delivery of the cures. The awards provide up to $1.5 million per year over five years to address major issues critical to breast cancer. Komen for the Cure is funding more than $35 million in Promise Grants for 2008.
Career Catalyst Research grants is a new award mechanism that provides support for promising young investigators to make the critical transition from training to scientific independence in breast cancer research. The awards offer $300,000 per year for two years, with the option of an additional, performance-based award of $150,000 in year three. Komen is funding $10.8 million in Career Catalyst Research grants for 2008.
Post-doctoral Fellowships support training for investigators who are in the early stages of their research careers. With awards of up to $60,000 per year for two years and performance-based option for an additional $60,000 in year three, the awards are intended to attract new scientists to careers in breast cancer research. Komen for the Cure is funding just over $8 million in Post-doctoral Fellowship grants for 2008.
Komen for the Cure's scientific research portfolio continues to support Investigator Initiated Research projects by providing $600,000 per year for two to three years for the exploration of new ideas and approaches leading to reductions in breast cancer mortality and/or incidence within the next decade. Komen is investing more than $35 million in Investigator-initiated research grants for 2008.
Komen for the Cure also awarded a grant to the American Association of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) to create programs and provide grants that will support tangible improvements in access to and the delivery of cancer care, with special emphasis on addressing disparities in care and participation in clinical trials.
Source: PRNewswire
Dr. Mendelsohn, President of University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Receives Award from American Association for Cancer Research
April 16, 2008
John Mendelsohn, M.D. is the 2008 recipient of the Dorothy P. Landon-AACR prize for Translational Cancer Research—research that moves basic science findings into preclinical investigation and then onto clinical trials—for his research illuminating the role of growth factors in cancer cell proliferation, developing a completely new field of therapy to block that process, and then advancing the first drug of its kind to the clinic. The prize is among the largest awards in the world offered to cancer researchers from a professional society of their peers. Honorees receive an unrestricted cash award of $100,000 and present a scientific lecture at the AACR Annual Meeting.
5th Annual BioHouston Chili Cook-Off a Success!
March 31, 2008
Mrs. Laura Bush Launches Awareness and Research Partnership to Eliminate Breast Cancer, a Collaboration Including University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
March 17, 2008
The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and its partners announced the beginning of work to advance progress against breast cancer in Mexico through the Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research of the Americas at an event with Mrs. Laura Bush. The Collaborative Program involves M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, U.S. Department of State, and Susan G. Komen for the Cure Now Under Way. Working with the collaboration is Asociacion Mexicana contra el Cancer de Mama, A.C. (Fundacion Cim*ab) and Instituto Nacional de Cancerologia (INCAN).
M. D. Anderson is the lead U.S.-based medical partner in the partnership, and will advise the partnership on cancer research, provide educational assessment and serve on a medical steering committee with INCAN to prioritize research and educational initiatives to eliminate breast cancer.
