PHILADELPHIA – Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) announced today it will launch a new attack on colorectal cancer, committing up to $7 million (US) for a new Dream Team to find ways to improve treatment of the disease. The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), SU2C’s scientific partner, issued a “Call for Ideas” to invite proposals from the scientific community to form a Dream Team.
“Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death among men and women combined in both the U.S. and Canada,” said Phillip A. Sharp, PhD, the Nobel laureate who is chairman of SU2C’s Scientific Advisory Committee. “We believe that people diagnosed with colorectal cancer now and in the future will benefit from a new, focused effort to implement advances in colorectal cancer research and treatment as rapidly as possible through a collaborative, basic, and translational Dream Team.”
The new team will be the 20th Dream Team launched by SU2C, which has also co-funded six smaller translational research teams. SU2C has also awarded 36 grants to individual, early-career investigators pursuing high-risk, high-reward ideas that might not be funded through traditional sources.
For the colorectal cancer Dream Team, SU2C will provide up to $7 million (US) in funding over three years. The due date for Letters of Intent (LOI) is Dec. 1, with full proposals from those invited to apply due on Feb. 20, 2017. Information about the grant is available at http://www.aacr.org/su2c-colorectal and LOIs and proposals must be submitted through https://proposalcentral.altum.com. There are no citizenship or residency status restrictions.
The team will be the second funded by SU2C focused specifically on colorectal cancer. Last year, SU2C and the Dutch Cancer Society launched a Dream Team based in the Netherlands and the United States devoted to early detection of the disease through measurement of cancer-specific molecular biomarkers.
The new “Call for Ideas” was welcomed by Katie Couric, longtime advocate for colorectal cancer research and awareness and a co-founder of SU2C, who lost her first husband, Jay Monahan, to the disease in 1998. Several years before starting Stand Up To Cancer with eight other women, Couric worked with the Entertainment Industry Foundation to launch the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance (NCCRA), which educates the public about the life-saving value of screening and has raised money for research done by individual scientists.
“Terrific strides have been made in the fight against this disease in the 18 years since it took Jay’s life,” Couric said. “But anyone facing a colorectal cancer diagnosis still needs more treatment options. I am pleased this funding is available for a Dream Team of researchers to take on that challenge.”
The NCCRA’s work in the public awareness arena will continue, with its colorectal cancer research efforts conducted within the Stand Up To Cancer research portfolio going forward.
While many more people are being screened for colorectal cancer through colonoscopy and other methods, the burden of the disease remains high and new treatments are needed. This year, colorectal cancer will cause more than 58,000 cancer deaths among men and women combined in the United States and Canada, according to the National Cancer Institute and the Canadian Cancer Society.
About the Stand Up To Cancer Initiative
Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) raises funds to accelerate the pace of research to get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives now. SU2C, a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, was established in 2008 by film and media leaders who utilize the industry’s resources to engage the public in supporting a new, collaborative model of cancer research, and to increase awareness about cancer prevention as well as progress being made in the fight against the disease. As SU2C’s scientific partner, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and a Scientific Advisory Committee led by Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, PhD, conduct rigorous, competitive review processes to identify the best research proposals to recommend for funding, oversee grants administration, and provide expert review of research progress.
About the American Association for Cancer Research
Founded in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world’s first and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research and its mission to prevent and cure cancer. AACR membership includes more than 37,000 laboratory, translational, and clinical researchers; population scientists; other health care professionals; and patient advocates residing in 108 countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise of the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, biology, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer by annually convening more than 30 conferences and educational workshops, the largest of which is the AACR Annual Meeting with nearly 19,500 attendees. In addition, the AACR publishes eight prestigious, peer-reviewed scientific journals and a magazine for cancer survivors, patients, and their caregivers. The AACR funds meritorious research directly as well as in cooperation with numerous cancer organizations. As the Scientific Partner of Stand Up To Cancer, the AACR provides expert peer review, grants administration, and scientific oversight of team science and individual investigator grants in cancer research that have the potential for near-term patient benefit. The AACR actively communicates with legislators and other policymakers about the value of cancer research and related biomedical science in saving lives from cancer. For more information about the AACR, visit www.AACR.org.
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Media Contacts:
SU2C
Jane Rubenstein
646-386-7969
jrubinstein@eifoundation.org
AACR
Rick Buck
215-446-7162
rick.buck@aacr.org
