MUMC Scientist Awarded $50,000 Cancer Research Grant

Savannah, DC, November 03, 2008 --(PR.com)-- The Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative has awarded a one-year, $50,000 grant to Memorial University Medical Center’s (MUMC) Dominique Broccoli, PhD. The grant will fund Broccoli’s sarcoma cancer research project.

Sarcoma is a cancer of the connective tissues, such as nerves, muscles, or blood vessels. Although rare in adults, it accounts for 15 to 20 percent of all children’s cancers. Sarcoma can occur anywhere in the body and is frequently hidden deep in the limbs. The subject of Broccoli’s research is liposarcoma, one of the most common of all soft-tissue sarcomas.

“This generous grant will allow our liposarcoma research to continue. We hope to identify genes that are useful diagnostic and/or prognostic markers. These markers may predict response to treatment and assist in the search for newer, better sarcoma therapies,” said Broccoli. Broccoli is a Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Cancer Scholar. She leads the cancer biology and genetics program in the William and Iffath Hoskins Center for Biomedical Research at MUMC. Broccoli is also a professor for Mercer University School of Medicine – Savannah Campus.

Bruce and Beverly Shriver, co-founders of the Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative, said they are delighted to fund the work of Dr. Broccoli and hope that her results will be stepping-stones to finding a cure for liposarcoma. The grant is dedicated to Rose Burt, a courageous, inspirational, and tireless advocate for sarcoma who had her own 21-year battle with liposarcoma. The funding of this grant is made possible, in part, by a generous gift from Laura Somerville, M.D., Ph.D.

The Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative of Ossining, New York, undertakes activities that help improve the quality of life for people dealing with sarcoma. Central to this mission are its goals of increasing public awareness of sarcoma and funding sarcoma-related research through a rigorous peer-review grant application process.

Memorial University Medical Center (MUMC) is a two-state healthcare organization serving a 35-county area in southeast Georgia and southern South Carolina. The system includes its flagship hospital, a 530-bed academic medical center; Memorial primary and specialty care physician networks; a major medical education program; business and industry services; and NurseOne, a 24-hour call center.

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