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- Posted Wednesday July 15, 2009
Marilyn B. Gula Mountains of Hope Foundation donates $50,000 for TGen's advance-stage breast cancer research
TGen researcher named to Medical Advisory Board of Gula
Foundation; Laboratory research bench at TGen named in memory of
cancer fighter
PHOENIX, Ariz. - July 15, 2009 - The Marilyn B. Gula Mountains of
Hope Foundation has donated an additional $50,000 to the
Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) to fight advanced
stages of breast cancer.
The Foundation's most recent donation brings to $250,000 the amount
it has raised for TGen. The Mountains of Hope Foundation was
established in 2003 in memory of Marilyn B. Gula, who died of
breast cancer in 2006 following a decade-long battle against the
disease.
In addition, Dr. Heather Cunliffe, Head of TGen's Breast &
Ovarian Cancer Research Unit, has been named to the Foundation's
Medical Advisory Board.
And, a laboratory research bench at TGen was dedicated July 9 "In
Loving Memory of Marilyn B. Gula."
The most recent contribution of $50,000 was matched with other
donations to the TGen Foundation, the fundraising arm of the
non-profit biomedical research institute. The funds will enable the
hiring of a bioinformatician to help speed research in TGen's
Molecular Characterization of Circulating Tumor Cells
Project.
This project - directed by Dr. Cunliffe and Dr. Stephen P. Anthony,
Chief Medical Officer of TGen Drug Development Services - aims to
guide chemotherapy choices among women with Metastatic Breast
Cancer, the most advanced stage of this disease.
Metastatic disease is when tumor cells have left the primary breast
cancer site and form often-deadly tumors in other parts of the
body. During this process, tumor cells can circulate through the
bloodstream. Through genomic analysis of these "circulating tumor
cells," or CTCs, researchers hope to guide the optimal treatment
for each patient.
"I'm a big believer in hiring really talented people and giving
them the tools that they need to do exceptional things. TGen fits
that model, perfectly," said Phoenix businessman Allen Gula Jr.,
Chairman of the Mountains of Hope Foundation.
"They (TGen) are hiring some of the best scientists around. They
have a very collaborative model. They have the best technology on
the planet. And they do exceptional things," said Gula, who for
decades was a senior executive in financial services businesses in
Cleveland, Ohio, and in San Mateo and Palo Alto, Calif.
Michael Bassoff, President of the TGen Foundation, praised the work
of the Gula Foundation.
"The latest donation from the Marilyn B. Gula Mountains of Hope
Foundation will add enormously to the ability of TGen to turn
discoveries in the lab into ways of helping breast cancer
patients," Bassoff said. "I know I speak for breast cancer patients
and their families throughout Arizona, and nationwide, when I say
we are extremely thankful for the Mountains of Hope Foundation and
its continuing generosity towards TGen's research."
All donations to the Mountains of Hope Foundation go to breast
cancer research. Gula pays for all of the Foundation's overhead and
administrative costs through a family trust.
"At the Foundation, we believe in investing with organizations that
have the best chance of solving this very difficult problem. It's
exciting that it (TGen) is in our own backyard," said Gula, whose
organization also funds work at the University of California, San
Francisco, and at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New
York, the world's oldest and largest private cancer center.
Dr. Cunliffe joins three other respected doctors and scientists on
the Mountains of Hope Foundation's Medical Advisory Board: Dr.
Cliff Hudis, Chief of Breast Cancer Medical Service, Memorial Sloan
Kettering; Dr. Hope Rugo, co-director of the Breast Oncology
Clinical Trials Program and professor of medicine, UCSF Breast
Cancer Center, San Francisco; and Dr. Cliff Reid, President and
CEO, Complete Genomics, Mountain View, Calif.
"We're honored to have Dr. Cunliffe as the newest member of the
Mountains of Hope Medical Advisory Board," Gula said. "Her
expertise and unwavering commitment to the research and treatment
of advanced breast cancer will be instrumental as the Foundation
continues its mission of making inroads to improve the detection,
treatment and management of this deadly disease."
Dr. Cunliffe said it is a privilege to be invited onto the advisory
board. "The mission of this Foundation aligns with the goals of our
research at TGen. We are both focused on finding rapid solutions
for women with advanced stages of breast cancer, who are truly in a
crisis situation."
*
About Dr. Heather Cunliffe
Dr. Cunliffe received her Ph.D. from the Department of Biochemistry
at University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. She completed her
postdoctoral training in the Cancer Genetics Branch of the National
Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, in
Bethesda, Md., where her research focused on the role of hormones
and growth factors on the development and progression of breast
cancer. Dr. Cunliffe joined TGen in 2004. She holds an adjunct
faculty appointment in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State
University, and is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department
of Basic Medical Sciences, The University of Arizona College of
Medicine-Phoenix in partnership with Arizona State
University.
*
About The Marilyn B. Gula Mountains of Hope Foundation
The Mountains of Hope Foundation (501-c3) was established in 2003
by Marilyn B. Gula, a native of northeast Ohio, who was diagnosed
with breast cancer in 1996. Although controlled by powerful drugs,
the cancer continued to recur until the drugs were ineffective and
she lost her battle with this insidious disease on July 26, 2006.
As a result, the Mountains of Hope Foundation was renamed "The
Marilyn B. Gula Mountains of Hope Foundation" to honor her memory
and continue the work she began. Based in Phoenix, every dollar
donated is applied directly to funding highly regarded researchers
across the nation who study advanced stages of breast cancer, with
the hope of making inroads to improve the detection, treatment and
management of this deadly disease. For more information, visit
www.mountainsofhopefoundation.org
Press Contact:
Allen Gula Jr., Foundation Chairman
The Marilyn B. Gula Mountains of Hope Foundation
650-799-5485
[email protected]
*
About TGen
The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is a Phoenix,
Arizona-based nonprofit organization dedicated to conducting
groundbreaking research with life changing results. Research at
TGen is focused on helping patients with diseases such as cancer,
neurological disorders and diabetes. TGen is on the cutting edge of
translational research where investigators are able to unravel the
genetic components of common and complex diseases. Working with
collaborators in the scientific and medical communities, TGen
believes it can make a substantial contribution to the efficiency
and effectiveness of the translational process. TGen is affiliated
with the Van Andel Research Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
For more information, visit: www.tgen.org.
Press Contact:
Steve Yozwiak
TGen Senior Science Writer
602-343-8704
[email protected]
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