Albany Medical Center Receives Childhood Cancer Research Grant

Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact:
Traci Shirk
626-792-8247 ext. 50
traci@stbaldricks.org

Albany Medical Center Receives Childhood Cancer Research Grant

St. Baldrick’s Foundation awards $29,900 to help kids with cancer

ALBANY, N.Y. (December 19, 2011) – It takes life-saving research and access to clinical trials to help children with cancer. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a volunteer-driven charity dedicated to raising money for childhood cancer research, awarded an infrastructure grant of $29,900 to Albany Medical Center. The Foundation’s infrastructure grants provide institutions with resources to enable them to conduct more research and enroll more kids in ongoing clinical trials – their best hope for a cure.

Worldwide, more than 160,000 children are diagnosed with cancer each year and it remains the leading cause of death by disease among children in the United States. With only 4 percent of all federal cancer research funding dedicated to pediatric cancer research, and more than 70 percent of children receiving treatment through clinical trials, St. Baldrick’s Foundation infrastructure grants are critical to finding cures for all childhood cancers.

“The St. Baldrick’s Foundation’s continued support of our research efforts enables the Melodies Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders to offer our patients the latest therapies right here at Albany Medical Center,” said Vikramjit S. Kanwar, M.D., M.R.C.P., Division Chief and Associate professor of pediatric hematology-oncology and principal investigator for all Children’s Oncology Group trials at Albany Medical Center. “Ultimately, their assistance brings our patients one step closer to a cure.”

The fall grants, combined with the more than $19.6 million awarded in June, bring the St. Baldrick’s Foundation’s funding total to more than $21 million awarded in 2011. Infrastructure grants were awarded based on the need of the institution and its patients, anticipated results of the grant and local participation in St. Baldrick’s events.

“I’m involved with St. Baldrick's because I’d like to live in a cancer-free world one day,” said Kaitlyn Rooney, volunteer event organizer of The College of Saint Rose, Albany, N.Y., event. “As a result of the hard work of 10 volunteers and over 30 shavees, The College of Saint Rose was able to raise more than $12,000, which went directly to the St. Baldrick's Foundation to help find a cure for childhood cancer.  The community has been behind us one hundred percent and we thank the city of Albany for the overwhelming support.”

Everyone can do their part to support St. Baldrick’s! To locate or organize an event in your community, sign-up to shave, donate or volunteer, visit www.StBaldricks.org. You can also become a fan on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, join our letsCONQUER movement and visit the Foundation’s YouTube and Vimeo channels.

About the St. Baldrick’s Foundation
The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is a volunteer-driven charity committed to funding the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long and healthy lives. The Foundation funds more in childhood cancer research grants than any organization except the U.S. government. St. Baldrick’s funds are granted to some of the most brilliant childhood cancer research experts in the world and to younger professionals who will be the experts of tomorrow. Funds awarded also enable hundreds of local institutions to participate in national pediatric cancer clinical trials, a child’s best hope for a cure. Since the Foundation’s first grants as an independent charity in 2005, St. Baldrick’s has funded more than $78 million in childhood cancer research. For more information about the St. Baldrick’s Foundation please call 1.888.899.BALD or visit www.StBaldricks.org.