Our thanks to Oregon & Washington Kiwanis

Today the Oregon and Southern Washington Kiwanis visited the Doernbecher Children's Hospital Cancer Program that they have supported since the 1980's -- first in developing the bone marrow transplant facility, and most recently in supporting the clinical training and research development of bright young physicians training in pediatric hematology-oncology.  The funds raised by the Kiwanis and Key Club groups are hard-earned... a dollar at a time.  For this reason, it means so much more that the Kiwanis can support trainees here and at Seattle Childrens on an ongoing basis.  The Kiwanis dedication to children with cancer in Oregon and Washington is truly unending and without parallel.

To see the video, click here.  

Visiting Speaker, Dr. John Ohlfest

We are grateful to visiting speaker, Dr. John Ohlfest, for his presentation at the Knight Cancer Institute seminar series on the topic, "New Strategies to Generating Effective Immune Responses Against Intracranial Tumors."  Dr. Ohlfest's forward-thinking concepts on model systems and immunotherapy approaches were very well received by a wide audience of neuroscientists, neurosurgeons and neurooncologists.  

Umpqua Bank award honors young researcher

Thomas Russell, MD, a second-year fellow in pediatric hematology/oncology, is the 2011 recipient of the Umpqua Bank Innovation Award for Pediatric Cancer Research.

(L to R) Ray Davis, Umpqua Bank President & CEO, Charles Keller, MD, Thomas Russell, MD, Kelly Johnson, Umpqua Bank Executive Vice President

In 2010, Umpqua Bank pledged $100,000 to make one $10,000 award each year for the next 10 years to promising cancer researchers at the Knight and Doernbecher who are in the early stages of their career. To be eligible to apply, faculty members must be within five years of their first faculty appointment or senior-level trainees (senior post-doctoral fellows without faculty rank of assistant professor). The purpose of this award is to cultivate outstanding cancer research by assisting in the generation of preliminary data for peer-reviewed national funding, career development proposals, or similar. Each summer, leadership at the Knight and at Doernbecher selects the award recipient.

Dr. Russell works with Peter Kurre, MD, an affiliate investigator of  the Pediatric Cancer Biology Program.

Dr. Keller, leader of the Pediatric Cancer Biology Program, and Dr. Russel, along with Knight director Dr. Brian Druker, met Umpqua Bank President & CEO Ray Davis and bank Executive Vice President Kelly Johnson this week, and explained some of their research into pediatric cancer. Dr. Russell expressed his deep gratitude for Umpqua Bank’s gift:

You’re not just helping me learn to be a good scientist and further the goal of OHSU, you’re helping foster an understanding of cancer and cancer biology in a way that will help us help children face cancer in a way that they are not able to do now.

Drs. Keller and Russell hosted a tour of the Pediatric Cancer Biology Laboratories in the biomedical research building, and showed the team from Umpqua Bank some of the tests that are currently under way.

   

reposted from:  KnightNews Blog. 

Spotlight on Phase I Excellence: Rae Acosta, RN

Doernbecher Children's Hospital at OHSU is one of 21 select Children's Oncology Group Phase I Clinical Trials programs.  The excellence of the program begins with the commitment of its people.  Click here to see a video of a day in work of nurse Rae Acosta.