National Foundation for Cancer Research Co-Founder Honored by Google

BETHESDA, Md., Sept. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR) co-founder Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, is being honored today, by Google on his 118th birthday, for his discovery of vitamin-C.   The honor is a tribute to a life full of discoveries.  Dr. Szent-Gyorgyi went on to co-found the NFCR along with entrepreneur Franklin C. Salisbury in 1973, so that scientists could find funding for high-risk, high reward research.  

"Dr. Szent-Gyorgyi was committed to the notion that remarkable scientific discoveries begin when a scientist discovers an unanticipated event  in a research project," said Sujuan Ba, Ph.D., Chief Operating Officer of NFCR.  "Funding to further that research is very, very difficult to find."

Dr. Szent-Gyorgyi received the 1937 Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine for his study on vitamin-C and cell respiration and continued to be a leading advocate for developing resources that provide scientists with the financial support necessary to pursue novel cancer research ideas.  In 1973, he changed the face of cancer research funding by co-founding the National Foundation for Cancer Research.  

Due to that notion, the National Foundation for Cancer Research has now spent over $288 million to provide scientists with the financial support to discover cancer's molecular mysteries and translating these discoveries into therapies that hold the hope for curing cancer. Over 38 years, NFCR has been credited with many breakthroughs leading to new approaches to treating cancer.

Honoring Szent-Gyorgyi

Today, NFCR continues to honor Dr. Szent-Gyorgyi's vision through a research commitment to basic science research discoveries, flexible research grants to encourage scientists to explore unanticipated discoveries and through the annual Albert Szent-Gyorgyi Prize for Progress in Cancer Research, one of the most notable annual prizes in cancer research today.  For more information, visit www.ASGPrize.org

About NFCR

Over the past 38 years, NFCR has provided more than $288 million in direct support of cutting-edge cancer research focused on understanding how and why cells become cancerous and on cancer prevention education for the public. NFCR is dedicated to funding scientists who are unraveling cancer's molecular mysteries and translating their discoveries into therapies that hold the hope for curing cancer.  Visit http://www.NFCR.org or call (800) 321-CURE (2873) for more information.

SOURCE National Foundation for Cancer Research