Charitable Foundation Awards Half Million Dollars to Mesothelioma Research
Alexandria, VA (PRWEB) January 31, 2014 -- The Board of Directors of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (Meso Foundation) announced today the completion of the peer-review process and the top five projects to receive a total funding of $500,000.
The application process, which began in April of 2013, yielded 49 research proposals in the area of mesothelioma research. The Science Advisory Board members of the Meso Foundation, comprised of 18 world-renowned mesothelioma experts, evaluated and ranked all proposals through a peer-review process modeled after the National Cancer Institute. The top five proposals to come out of this process will receive funding of $100,000 each, for a total of half a million dollars. The list and description of funded projects is available at http://www.curemeso.org/grants2013.
This brings the Meso Foundation’s total funding awarded to mesothelioma research to over $8.7 million.
The focus of the five projects is varied, as they all attempt to combat mesothelioma through different mechanisms. One of the projects, in particular, seeks to demonstrate that combining immunotherapy with ‘high intensity/fewer doses of radiation’ (which alone appear to have immunotherapeutic effects), increases tumor reduction compared to each therapy alone. Another project funded seeks to target a protein receptor in the mesothelioma cells that regulates the life cycle of the cell itself, the purpose of which is to stop tumor growth.
“All five of these projects are remarkable and hold much promise in their ability to add to our currently limited arsenal for treating mesothelioma,” said the executive director for the Meso Foundation, Mary Hesdorffer, Nurse Practitioner. “I am very proud of the life-saving work our mesothelioma researchers are doing.”
Mesothelioma is a malignant tumor of the lining of the lung, abdomen, or heart known to be caused by exposure to asbestos. Medical experts consider it one of the most aggressive and deadly of all cancers. Approximately 3,500 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma every year and an estimated one-third were exposed while serving in the Navy or working in shipyards.
ABOUT THE MESOTHELIOMA APPLIED RESEARCH FOUNDATION
The Meso Foundation is the only 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to eradicating mesothelioma and easing the suffering caused by this cancer. The Meso Foundation actively seeks philanthropic support to fund peer-reviewed mesothelioma research; provide patient support services and education; and advocate Congress for increased federal funding for mesothelioma research. The Meso Foundation is the only non-government funder of peer reviewed scientific research to establish effective treatments for mesothelioma and, ultimately, a cure for this extremely aggressive cancer. To date, the Foundation has awarded over $8.7 million to research. More information is available at http://www.curemeso.org.
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Maja Belamaric, Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, http://www.curemeso.org/site/c.duIWJfNQKiL8G/b.8598593/k.D685/Homepage.htm, +1 7038793822, [email protected]
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