Momentum Research Award to Overcome Lung Cancer Treatment Resistance in Women Presented to Dr. David Brian Shackelford
Chicago, IL (PRWEB) September 20, 2016 -- The American Lung Association and the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (ALCF) announced today that Dr. David Brian Shackelford, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, has been awarded the first joint Momentum Research Award for his research “Targeting cancer metabolism in therapy-resistant EGFR-mutant lung cancer.” The Momentum Research Award: Defeating Lung Cancer in Women is a two-year, $250,000 award designed to fund an innovative and transformational proposal that shows potential for high impact in diagnosing and treating lung cancer in women.
“More women than ever are dying of lung cancer, and we need to understand why,” said Harold P. Wimmer, National President and CEO of the American Lung Association. “Through the Momentum Research Award, the American Lung Association and the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation hope to drive understanding of gender differences in lung cancer incidence, pathophysiology, treatment outcomes and prognoses, and through this understanding build momentum towards saving lives.”
Under the Momentum Research Award grant, Dr. Shackelford will work to understand the link between cell metabolism and cancer initiation, progression and resistance to therapy, focusing on cancer metabolism in therapy-resistant EGFR mutant lung cancer. The EGFR mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) affects a large percentage of women never smokers and the majority of these patients will develop resistance to first line EGFR inhibitors. It is Dr. Shackelford’s goal to understand this association, and identify ways to overcome treatment resistance - first in preclinical animal models and eventually through a clinical trial. Dr. Shackelford’s approach represents a new strategy for the treatment of lung cancer in women by developing personalized therapeutic strategies that selectively target metabolic needs to overcome therapy resistance.
“I am honored to receive the Momentum Research Award and support for my work to defeat lung cancer in women from the Addario Lung Cancer Foundation and the American Lung Association,” said Dr. Shackelford. “Working together we can identify treatments so more women can have successful lung cancer outcomes.”
This is the first joint award between the two organizations to support an early career scientist conducting research that investigates the particular burden of lung cancer among women. The award is intended to identify brilliant, early career “out-of-the-box” thinkers/researchers who can deliver a meaningful and measurable result examining the unique problem of lung cancer in women.
“Over the last few decades, the rate of new lung cancer cases has approximately doubled among women while decreasing about 30 percent among men. The need for this lifesaving research for lung cancer in women is clear,” said Bonnie J. Addario, an 11-year lung cancer survivor and founder and Chair of the Addario Lung Cancer Foundation. “The Momentum Research Award to support Dr. Shackelford’s research will increase our understanding of treatment resistance and ways to overcome it for women that have EGFR mutant lung cancer.”
For more information about the Momentum Research Award or lung cancer in women, contact the American Lung Association at Media(at)Lung(dot)org or the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation at Samantha(at)lungcancerfoundation(dot)org.
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About the American Lung Association
The American Lung Association is the leading organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease, through research, education and advocacy. The work of the American Lung Association is focused on four strategic imperatives: to defeat lung cancer; to improve the air we breathe; to reduce the burden of lung disease on individuals and their families; and to eliminate tobacco use and tobacco-related diseases.
About the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation
The Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (ALCF) is one of the largest philanthropies (patient-founded, patient-focused, and patient-driven) devoted exclusively to eradicating Lung Cancer through research, early detection, education, and treatment. The Foundation’s goal is to work with a diverse group of physicians, organizations, industry partners, individuals, patients, survivors, and their families to identify solutions and make timely and meaningful change and turn lung cancer into a chronically managed disease by 2023. The ALCF was established on March 1, 2006 as a 501c(3) non-profit organization and has raised nearly $30 million for lung cancer research and related programs. For more information about the ALCF please visit http://www.lungcancerfoundation.org or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.
Allison MacMunn, American Lung Association, http://www.Lung.org, +1 (312) 801-7628, [email protected]
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