ThyCa Awards New 2009 Research Grants

ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association, Inc., is proud to announce two new 2009 ThyCa Research Grants plus two continuation grants. The grant recipients were selected by an independent expert panel of the American Thyroid Association (ATA).

In addition, ThyCa has awarded two continuation grants to recipients of ThyCa’s 2008 grant awards.

First awarded in 2003, and continuing every year since, ThyCa’s grants are the first-ever thyroid cancer research grants to be funded entirely by thyroid cancer patients, caregivers, and friends. The ThyCa grants are open to researchers and institutions worldwide. They have been awarded to researchers in six states in the United States, as well as in France, Germany, and Switzerland. ThyCa has awarded more than $550,000 for thyroid cancer research.

The 2009 new ThyCa grant recipients are:

  • Dingxie Liu, M.D., Ph.D. of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, for his project “Dually Targeting the MAP Kinase and PI3K Pathways in Thyroid Cancer – Testing of a Novel Therapeutic Approach.”
  • Martin Walter, M.D. of University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland, for his project “Somatostatin-coupled Nanoparticles for Imaging and Therapy of Medullary Thyroid Cancer.”

ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association has also awarded a second year of funding to its two 2008 grant recipients, also selected by ATA’s independent panel:

  • Mike S. Fenton, Ph.D., Assistant Researcher, Endocrinology, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)/Veterans Affairs West Los Angeles Health Care System, Los Angeles, California.
  • Libero Santarpia, M.D., Ph.D., Instructor, Endocrine Neoplasia and Hormonal Disorders, The University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.

ThyCa’s grants, now in their seventh year, are made possible through the contributions from thousands of thyroid cancer survivors, family members, and friends who want to support increased research to find cures for all thyroid cancer, one of the few cancers increasing in incidence.

“ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Association is proud to raise much-needed funds for thyroid cancer research, and grateful to our many donors,” said ThyCa Executive Director Gary Bloom. “We greatly appreciate the opportunity to work with the ATA. We’re especially pleased to support the best thyroid cancer research projects proposed by young investigators, with applications open to researchers and research centers worldwide.”

Grant recipients from 2003 through 2009 include researchers at these institutions:

  • Cochin Institut, Paris, France
  • Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
  • Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
  • Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
  • Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, and Medical University of Gdansk, Poland
  • Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois
  • University of California Los Angeles/Veterans Affairs West Los Angeles Health Care System, Los Angeles, California
  • University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
  • University Hospital Duesseldorf, Duesseldorf, Germany
  • University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas

ThyCa thanks all our generous donors and volunteers for making these grants possible. Together, we are able to accomplish what most of us cannot do individually—fund independently reviewed research toward cures for all thyroid cancers.

ThyCa has two Research Funds. One fund supports research on follicular-cell-derived thyroid cancer, including papillary, follicular, anaplastic, and variants. The other fund supports research on medullary thyroid cancer.

Both funds welcome contributions of any size. ThyCa is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and all donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

ThyCa invites everyone to join us in our quest to find a cure for all thyroid cancer, one of the few cancers increasing in incidence in recent years.

To find out more about our Research Funds, Rally for Research, and opportunities to contribute through the Combined Federal Campaign and other programs, visit our Research Funds page.