In the Spotlight

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Friends of Winship Celebrating 2nd Anniversary
New Endowment Supports Radiation Oncology Fellows
2012 Gala Proceeds Fund Scholar Awards, Research Priorities
Gifts Leveraged to Win $4.2 Million Grant in Cancer Genomics

Friends of Winship Celebrating 2nd Anniversary

Launched just two years ago, Friends of Winship has grown to 300 members and has sponsored many events advocating Winship and supporting its research. Most recently, Friends held a summer social  at Winship, providing natural frozen treats from King of Pops to patients, staff, and caregivers and sponsored a brain tumor educational luncheon in September with an expert panel moderated by Winship executive director Dr. Walter J. Curran, Jr.

FoW Spotlight

Founding Friends of Winship member, Katherine Ohlhausen, and King of Pops catering manager, Matt Tanner, treated Winship patients and staff to a cool summer treat.

Friends is grateful to Northern Trust Bank of Georgia, a Buckhead wealth management firm, and its President/CEO Bob Meier for generously providing meeting space and other in-kind contributions. Meier and his wife Carol are both Friends’ members and he is a new member of Winship’s Advisory Board.

"We support Friends for many reasons," Meier said. "From a business standpoint, we are strong believers that a nationally designated cancer center is an important part of Atlanta’s portfolio. On a personal level, my wife is a cancer survivor. Many of the firm’s partners and clients have also had cancer creep into their lives one way or another. By sponsoring Friends’ educational meetings, we help Winship get its name in front of influential people and help get the latest information about cancer treatment out into the community."

Friends’ second annual meeting will be held November 15th at Northern Trust. From 5 to 6:30 p.m., we’ll review the year, announce the events we have planned in 2013, hear an incredible survivor story, and enjoy meeting other Friends members.

To become a member of Friends of Winship or attend this event, contact Tiffany Siegel at 404-778-1769 or tiffany.d.siegel@emory.edu.

New Endowment Supports Radiation Oncology Fellows

Emory School of Medicine’s department of radiation oncology has established a new endowment, the Lawrence W. Davis Residency Fund, in honor of the department’s former chair. This will be Emory’s first endowed residency fund in radiation oncology, home to one of the largest radiation oncology residency training programs in the country, and it is fitting that it honor Dr. Davis.

During his 17-year tenure as chair, Dr. Davis not only led the department to international prominence but also led the re-establishment of the radiation oncology residency program. He was successful in building a department where young physicians have gained the experiences required to build lifelong professional careers. Many of the outstanding radiation oncologists across metro-Atlanta, the state, and the nation received their residency training at Emory.

"Having the financial resources necessary to attract and retain the best physicians in radiation oncology is critical," said radiation oncology chair and Winship Cancer Institute executive director Dr. Walter J. Curran, Jr. "The Davis Residency Fund is a permanent and tangible way for us to both celebrate the contributions of Dr. Davis and invest in the next generation of radiation oncologists."

Contributions to the Lawrence W. Davis Residency Fund can be made by calling the Winship development office at 404-778-5175.

2012 Gala Proceeds Fund Scholar Awards, Research Priorities

Winship’s 2012 Gala was a tremendous success thanks largely to the tireless efforts of Gala co-chairs Ann Hastings and Leslie Wierman, and the ongoing commitment and dedication of Honorary Chairs, Mary and John Brock, to Winship and its research programs.  Generous individual donors and corporate sponsors contributed over $600,000 to advance cancer research and improve outcomes for cancer patients in Georgia and throughout the southeast.

A highlight of the evening’s program was Winship's executive director, Dr. Walter Curran, Jr.'s, surprise announcement of three grants funded through Gala proceeds to honor our Gala chairs. The Anise McDaniel Brock Scholar Award, a pilot grant for lung cancer research named in honor of John Brock’s late mother who died of lung cancer, was given to Dr. Wei Zhou in recognition of his excellence in the field. The Ann and Paul Hastings Scholar Award, honoring our Gala co-chair and her late husband, was given to Dr. David Kooby in recognition of his expertise in surgical oncology, cancer research, and compassionate care. The fund will be used toward surgical oncology recruitment. The Ellis Jones Scholar in Cancer Biology Graduate Education honors the late Dr. Ellis L. Jones, beloved Emory faculty member, and father of Gala co-chair Leslie Wierman. The scholarship will allow PhD candidate Christina Ward to continue Dr. Jones’ commitment to medical education and training the next generation of cancer researchers through her research in breast cancer and targeted chemotherapy treatments as part of the newly created cancer biology graduate program.

The evening will long be remembered by the 400 cancer survivors and supporters who came together to celebrate the achievements and support the scientific advancements of Winship Cancer Institute, Georgia’s only NCI-designated cancer center.

Gala Proceeds Spotlight

Ann Hastings, Gala co-chair; Mary and John Brock, Honorary co-chairs; and Leslie Wierman, Gala co-chair at Winship's 2012 Gala at the Piedmont Driving Club.

Gifts Leveraged to Win $4.2 Million Grant in Cancer Genomics

Pilot grant money from the 2009 Winship Gala invested in the new Emory cancer genomics center has been leveraged to win a five-year, $4.2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). This will enable the Emory Molecular Interaction Center for Functional Genomics (MicFG) to continue investigating protein network interactions, a new dimension of cancer genome and drug discovery that is challenging, but highly promising.

Led by Dr. Haian Fu, leader of the Winship Drug and Developmental Therapeutics Program, the MicFG will be the only southeastern participant in the NCI’s Cancer Target Discovery and Development (CTD2) nine-member network. Recent large-scale cancer genome initiatives have generated large amounts of data that must be analyzed and translated into effective therapies. The new center aims to bridge this gap by targeting protein-to-protein networks to discover new drugs that can work in combination with conventional patient therapies and to reduce drug resistance. "The focus is on translational cancer biology- directing new drug discoveries into patient therapies," said Dr. Fadlo Khuri, deputy director of Winship and co-leader of the MicFG center. "The ultimate aim is to improve outcomes for not only our cancer patients here in Georgia, but all patients."

Cancer Genomics Spotlight

Members of the new Emory Molecular Interaction Center for Functional Genomics: Dr. Yuhong Du; Dr. Fadlo Khuri, Winship deputy director; Dr. Carlos Moreno; Dr. Haian Fu; Dr. Joel Saltz; and Dr. Maggie Johns.

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