ThyCa Announces 2004 Grant Award for Thyroid Cancer Research

ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. is pleased to announce the awarding of its second grant for thyroid cancer research.

The grant recipient is Sareh Parangi, M.D., Assistant Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass. Dr. Parangi’s project is titled “Antiangiogenic Therapy of Thyroid Cancer.” Her project will focus on growth of blood vessels (angiogenesis) to tumors using a mouse model that closely resembles human thyroid cancer, and on thrombospondin, a natural inhibitor of angiogenesis that appears to be important in thyroid disease.

The grant review and selection process was conducted by the scientific review panel of the American Thyroid Association (ATA), the professional association of clinicians and researchers involved in thyroid diseases. The award was based on a review of the scientific merits of the grant proposals, independent of hospital or institutional affiliation. The grant fundraising was conducted by the volunteers of ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc. through its campaign for thyroid cancer research.

Dr. Parangi earned her M.D. degree at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons after graduating from Barnard College, magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. She did her surgical training in endocrine surgery at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) with Dr. Orlo Clark. She was Chief Resident in Surgery at UCSF in 1997-98. She joined the staff of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School in 1998.

Dr. Parangi’s previous research has focused on angiogenesis in endocrine and non-endocrine pancreatic tumors and the molecular effects of thrombospondin on endothelial apoptosis. The project will examine whether angiogenesis inhibitors can be used singly and in combination to reduce tumor burden and whether novel delivery mechanisms can increase the efficacy of antiangiogenic agents. Associated with Dr. Parangi in the ThyCa-funded research will be Xuefeng Zhang, M.D., Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard Medical School.

Gary Bloom, ThyCa Board Chair, said, “We thank everyone involved in this important effort. We greatly appreciate the American Thyroid Association’s support and involvement in the grant review and selection, as well as ATA’s support for patient and family education and its members’ commitment to the care of thyroid cancer patients.”

“We are proud of this new milestone in our support for research aimed at achieving our dream of a cure for all thyroid cancer. We thank all the wonderful volunteers and donors throughout the country who have supported these important efforts,” said Joni Eskenazi, ThyCa Board Member and Fundraising Chair.

ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc., is an all-volunteer, national nonprofit 501 (c)(3) service organization of thyroid cancer survivors, families, and health care professionals. ThyCa’s mission is education, support, and communication for people at all stages of testing, treatment, and follow-up for all types of thyroid cancer, as well as for their families and friends.

Information about thyroid cancer, ThyCa’s free support services and publications, and the annual conference is available by writing to PO Box 1545, New York, NY 10159-1545, e-mailing to thyca@thyca.org, or visiting the ThyCa web site.