The Sontag Foundation Awards $1.5 million for Brain Cancer Medical Research
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (September 9, 2004) - The Sontag Foundation announces the presentation of three Distinguished Scientist Awards totaling $1.5 million. Each of the three recipients of the award will receive $500,000 funding over a three-year period to support their medical research. Through The Distinguished Scientist Award, The Sontag Foundation seeks to recognize and support the work of outstanding early career scientists in this country whose research has the potential to generate new knowledge relating to the causes, cures or treatments of brain tumors.
The Distinguished Scientist Awards for 2004 were presented to the following scientists: Dr. Anita Lal at University of California, San Francisco, Dr. Mark Johnson at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston, and Dr. Cynthia Wetmore at Mayo Clinic in Rochester.
In response to a published request for applications, thirty-seven scientists submitted applications for the award. The applicants, who hold faculty appointments at thirty-three research and academic institutions throughout the United States, sought the award to support their brain tumor research projects. The selection process focused on each scientist's personal and career goals, professional credentials, recommendations from senior researchers in their respective fields, and evaluation of the research proposals by a scientific review committee appointed by the foundation. The final step of the selection process was a site visit where representatives of The Sontag Foundation interviewed each finalist at his respective institution.
One of the primary motives Rick and Susan Sontag had in establishing The Sontag Foundation was their strong desire to improve the lives of people suffering from brain cancer. This disease has devastating long-range effects for those who endure the ravages of the disease as well as negative effects often resulting from available treatments. The Sontag Foundation Distinguished Scientist Award was created to help meet a critical need for funding for medical research with a goal of improving the prognosis and quality of life of brain tumor patients. It is estimated that over 30,900 new cases of primary brain tumors of all types will be diagnosed in the United States in 2004; approximately 18,000 of those will be malignant. Although the incidence rate for brain tumors is not as high as many other cancers (less than 2% of all cancers diagnosed in a given year), the outcomes are routinely more dismal. . For more information about The Sontag Foundation, log on www.sontagfoundation.org.
Contact:
Kay W. Verble
Executive Director
The Sontag Foundation
904-273-8755
904-273-8745
info[at]sontagfoundation.org
