TheWaltherCancerResearchCenterat the University of Notre Dame has raised its $350,000 goal for Walther Cancer InstitutesInvest in Successcampaign and is now eligible to receive the same amount in matching funds from the institute.
The goal and the match will allow the center toproceed with a $700,000 effort to recruit new investigators specializing in cellular oncology and the design of anticancer drugs.
Invest in Successis the institutes first fund raising and awareness campaign and concludesJune 30, 2006. All donations to the campaign are matched dollar-for-dollar, and 100 percent of every donation applies directly to cancer research.
Walther Cancer Institute initiated a cancer research program at Notre Dame in 1994 with the funding of two postdoctoral fellows,Frederick R. Haslam, executive vice president of the institute, said.Today, that program has evolved into the stellarWaltherCancerResearchCenter, where more than 30 faculty members, 15 fellows and a number of researchers conduct cancer research for Walther and Notre Dame.
Campaign funds will be used to continue building theWaltherCancerCenterat Notre Dame, where researchers study a variety of cancers.
The addition of faculty members in cellular oncology and drug design will broaden and strengthen two already strong areas in theWaltherCancerResearchCenterand will provide additional incentives for the securing of training grants and program projects in those areas,said Rudolph Navari, director of the center.
Navari plans to recruit a senior level investigator in cellular oncology to provide leadership to younger faculty members and to serve as a backbone for obtaining outside funding.
The addition of a senior investigator would significantly add to the possibility of attracting a considerable amount of external funding and making cellular oncology one of the main strengths of theWaltherCancerResearchCenter,Navari said.
Navari also will recruit a junior investigator who will work with and learn from established researchers in the design of anticancer drugs.
There are a number of promising individuals completing postdoctoral positions who are doing very exciting work in the use of genetic profiling to develop anticancer agents for both inhibiting primary tumors and inhibiting cancer metastasis,Navari said.
Walther Cancer Institute is an Indianapolis-based nonprofit medical research organization with a mission to eliminate cancer as a cause of suffering and death. TheWaltherCancerResearchCenteris a collaboration between the institute and Notre Dame.
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