Sarcoma Foundation of America Announces 2018 Research Grant Awards
DAMASCUS, Md. – May 10, 2018 – The Sarcoma Foundation of America (SFA), an organization dedicated to increased research and awareness for sarcoma, today announced that it has awarded half a million dollars in research funds to deserving scientists as part of its 2018 SFA Research Grant program. Ten research grants, each worth $50,000, have been awarded to researchers who have made it their mission to study sarcoma, a cancer that arises in the body’s soft tissue and bone. All proposals are peer reviewed by members of the SFA Medical Advisory Board who award the grants to the best, most promising research toward the cure for sarcoma.
“The Sarcoma Foundation of America is excited to announce the 10 exceptional recipients of our 2018 research grant awards. These projects are representative of the innovative research taking place in sarcoma today and we are honored to have the opportunity to support this work,” said Richard Rumsey, CEO, Sarcoma Foundation of America. “Our investment in research – and in the scientists who perform this research – is at the foundation of what the SFA does to make a difference in the lives of patients. We are proud that the SFA continues to be a leader in funding research focused on discovering and developing new and effective therapies to treat and eradicate sarcoma.”
Since its inception, the SFA has invested more than $8 million in sarcoma research through its national grant program and collaborative research projects. More information on SFA’s research program can be found at www.curesarcoma.org/research/.
Sarcoma Foundation of America 2018 Research Grants
Bud Lawall Memorial Research Award
Seth Pollack, MD
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
“Elimination of Macrophages to Improve T cell Therapy in Synovial Sarcoma”
Catherine Malatesta Memorial Research Award
Marc Ladanyi, MD
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
“Modeling, Characterizing, and Targeting Aggressive, STAG2-mutated Ewing Sarcoma”
Derek G. Schnapp Memorial Research Award
Robert Schnepp, MD, PhD
Emory University – Winship Cancer Institute
“BMI1 as a Novel Driver and Target in Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma”
Jay Vernon Jackson Memorial Research Award
Anusha Kalbasi, MD
University of California, Los Angeles
“Evaluating myeloid cells as targets to promote anti-tumor immunity in undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma”
Pittsburgh Cure Sarcoma Research Award
Maria Paola Paronetto, PhD
IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation
“Global impact of the DNA/RNA helicase DHX9 on the processing of coding and noncoding transcripts in Ewing sarcoma pathogenesis”
Race to Cure Sarcoma Research Award
Tzipora Eisinger, PhD
University of Pennsylvania
“Clinical Evaluation of BET and HDAC Inhibition in Canine Sarcoma”
Race to Cure Sarcoma Research Award
Matthew Hemming, MD, PhD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
“Exploring sarcoma functional genomics to identify disease-specific vulnerabilities”
Race to Cure Sarcoma Research Award
Charles Keller III, MD
Children’s Cancer Therapy Development Institute
“Plexin-Semaphorin: a new signaling axis in Sarcomas”
STL Cure Sarcoma Research Award
Nancy DeMore, MD
Medical University of South Carolina
“Combination therapy with a novel humanized antibody to secreted frizzled related protein 2 for sarcoma”
Sarcoma Foundation of America Research Award
Brian Van Tine, MD, PhD
Washington University in St. Louis
“Determining Doxorubicin Effects on Plasma Extracellular Vesicles Using Proteomics Analysis”
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About the Sarcoma Foundation of America
The Sarcoma Foundation of America (SFA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization, is an advocate for increased research to find new and better therapies with which to treat patients with sarcoma. The organization raises money to privately fund grants for sarcoma researchers and conducts education and advocacy efforts on behalf of sarcoma patients. For more information, please visit www.curesarcoma.org.
About Sarcoma
Sarcoma is a rare cancer in adults (1 percent of all adult cancers) but rather prevalent in children (about 20 percent of all childhood cancers). At any one time, 50,000 patients and their families are struggling with sarcoma. Every year, nearly 15,000 new cases are diagnosed and about 6,000 people die from the disease.
Contact Information
Lori Hoffman
(301) 253-8687