Colleen’s Dream Foundation Gifts $10,000 to Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina to Support Ovarian Cancer Research
Colleen’s Dream Foundation has gifted $10,000 to Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina to fund ovarian cancer research being conducted by Dr. Hiu Wing Cheung, according to Colleen’s Dream Foundation President Billy Cundiff.
“We are excited to support Dr. Cheung’s research efforts,” says Cundiff. “As an organization, we continue to seek out bright young minds in ovarian cancer research and Dr. Cheung is one of the best. Also, we want to support research in South Carolina since both Cleveland Brown’s punter Spencer Lanning and New York Jets’ punter Ryan Quigley were raised in the state.”
According to Cundiff, both Lanning and Quigley were instrumental in helping Kicking for The Dream raise over $40k for Colleen’s Dream Foundation in 2013.
Cheung, an Associate Research Member and Assistant Professor at Hollings Cancer Center, says his work at the Center focuses on developing and applying genome-scale tools to characterize cancer genomes and to systematically study the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer development and vulnerabilities. He says his prior work led to the development of a genome-scale pooled RNA interference screening method, which has been utilized to identify genetic vulnerabilities across one of the most comprehensive panels of cancer cell lines to date.
Cheung says he is very appreciative of the gift fromColleen’s Dream Foundation as it will help expand his current research efforts.
“It’s exciting to be able to expand our ovarian cancer research efforts here at Hollings Cancer Center,” says Cheung. “The funding from Colleen’s Dream will help us to address the need for better detection and improved treatment for ovarian cancer patients everywhere.”
Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina is a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center and the largest academic-based cancer program in South Carolina. In addition to the full range of clinical services, the cancer center has more than $42 million in cancer research funding and more than 200 clinical trials open to patients.
According to Dr. Andrew S. Kraft, the Director of Hollings Cancer Center, it’s gifts like the one given by Colleen’s Dream Foundation that enable the Center to explore new ways to fight ovarian cancer.
“We are grateful that Colleen’s Dream is helping fund Dr. Cheung’s research here at the Hollings Cancer Center,” says Kraft. “By using molecular tools to discover the targets and causes of ovarian cancer, his work is helping develop new targets for therapy for women affected by this disease.”
ABOUT HOLLINGS CANCER CENTER:
Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina is a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center and the largest academic-based cancer program in South Carolina. In addition to the full range of clinical services, the cancer center has more than $42 million in cancer research funding and more than 200 clinical trials open to patients.
Hollings offers state-of-the-art diagnostic capabilities, therapies and surgical techniques with multidisciplinary clinics that include surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation therapists, radiologists, pathologists, psychologists and other specialists equipped to the full range of cancer care. For more information, please visithttp://www.hcc.musc.edu.
ABOUT COLLEEN’S DREAM FOUNDATION:
Colleen’s Dream Foundation started in 2012 and supports research for early detection and improved treatment for ovarian cancer. The story of Colleen’s Dream started in 2007 when Colleen Drury –Nicole Cundiff’ mother and Billy Cundiff’s mother-in-law- was diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer. The family became aware of a new world that was filled with invasive surgery, harsh chemotherapy, and lots of uncertainty, and realized they needed to help others who were dealing with ovarian cancer.
Colleen’s Dream Foundation believes it is important to raise money for research that will lead to reliable early detection testing and improved treatment for ovarian cancer. Because so little is known about ovarian cancer in proportion to other women’s health issues, there is an incredible opportunity for research and education.
Colleen’s Dream Foundation is a qualified 501 (c)(3) tax exempt non-profit organization based in Phoenix, Arizona.