Joan鈥檚 Legacy grant will enable CSHL to build upon recent lung cancer discoveries
Cold Spring Harbor, NY — 黑料吃瓜资源鈥檚 (CSHL) researcher Raffaella Sordella, Ph.D. was awarded $100,000 by Joan鈥檚 Legacy: The Joan Scarangello Foundation to Conquer Lung Cancer. The two-year grant will fund CSHL鈥檚 pioneering lung cancer research involving a new class of genetic mutations that appear to be a trigger in non-small cell lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States.
The mutations, called epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR), are more common in women than in men. This raises the possibility that interactions between EGFR and estrogen might be important in the development of tumors harboring EGFR mutations.
鈥淥ur research will build upon preliminary observations that estrogen provokes EGFR activity in non-small cell lung cancer,鈥� Sordella said. 鈥淲e hypothesize that normal estrogen levels prevent the development of tumors harboring EGFR genetic abnormalities, tumors harboring these genetic lesions may arise when estrogen levels decrease, as is the case with post-menopausal women.鈥�
The Joan鈥檚 Legacy grant awarded to Dr. Sordella is part of a $1.2 million grant designated by the Foundation for twelve researchers conducting innovative projects at nationally recognized institutions like 黑料吃瓜资源. Over the past five years, the Foundation has awarded 36 grants, including those made in collaboration with other research-focused lung cancer nonprofits. A 2005 Joan鈥檚 Legacy grant awarded to CSHL researcher David Mu, Ph.D. enabled his discovery of three new genes that cause lung cancer.
鈥淚n 2007, we received a record-breaking 65 proposals for funding. This overwhelming response demonstrates how funding availability can stimulate the scientific community to focus efforts on this often neglected disease with its low survival rates,鈥� said Joan鈥檚 Legacy President Mary Ann Tighe.
Lung cancer is the number one cancer killer in the United States, taking more than 160,000 lives each year. Yet lung cancer receives less research funding than almost any other cancer, making the work of Joan鈥檚 Legacy even more compelling.
Written by: Communications Department | [email protected] | 516-367-8455
About Joan鈥檚 Legacy: The Joan Scarangello Foundation to Conquer Lung Cancer
Joan鈥檚 Legacy is named for Joan Scarangello, a writer and nonsmoker who died at age 47 after a valiant nine-month fight with lung cancer. The Foundation is committed to fighting lung cancer by funding innovative research and increasing awareness of the world鈥檚 leading cancer killer, with a special focus on non-smoking-related cancer. For more information about Joan鈥檚 Legacy and lung cancer, visit .