The Lustgarten Foundation and the AACR Honor Two American Icons Lost to Pancreatic Cancer with New Career Development Awards for Researchers

WOODBURY, N.Y., Jan. 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Lustgarten Foundation and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) have established two new career development awards for both early-career female and under-represented pancreatic cancer researchers, representing a generous commitment of the Lustgarten Foundation of up to $1.8 million. The awards will honor the extraordinary lives and legacies of United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and civil rights icon and 17-term Georgia Congressman John Robert Lewis, two influential and inspiring public figures who died of pancreatic cancer in 2020.

Each year, more than 45,000 American lives are lost to pancreatic cancer—now the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths with a five-year relative survival rate of 10 percent. Recognizing the critical need for more research funding, the Lustgarten Foundation, the world's largest private funder of pancreatic cancer research, and the AACR, the first and largest cancer research organization in the world dedicated to advancing cancer research and its mission to prevent and cure cancer, have established the Lustgarten Foundation-AACR Career Development Award for Pancreatic Cancer Research in Honor of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the Lustgarten Foundation-AACR Career Development Award for Pancreatic Cancer Research in Honor of John Robert Lewis.

Each award consists of a three-year, $300,000 grant supporting our mission to cure pancreatic cancer by funding meritorious basic and clinical research and addressing the ongoing need for greater gender and racial diversity in the pancreatic cancer research community.  Thus, $600,000 has been committed to fund two awards in 2021.

Through these awards, the Lustgarten Foundation and the AACR seek to help close the gap in the number of early-career women and under-represented scientists applying for and receiving funding to conduct research leading to a better understanding and treatment of pancreatic cancer.

"Pancreatic cancer is a particularly challenging disease, we know we need the best and most creative minds to take this on," said Andrew Rakeman, PhD, vice president of research at the Lustgarten Foundation. "These career development awards will allow us to expand our talent pool and attract two of the top early career scientists to our cause while honoring the contributions and legacies of Justice Ginsburg and Representative Lewis."

"Ruth Bader Ginsburg and John R. Lewis were two of the transformative figures of our time, leading our society toward greater diversity, equity, and inclusion," said Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc), chief executive officer of the AACR. "The AACR is very proud to work with the prestigious Lustgarten Foundation and to administer these grants named in the honor of these two remarkable icons. The recipients of these grants will strengthen the diversity of the cancer workforce to address the challenges of this difficult-to-treat disease, which include the elimination of cancer disparities in the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of pancreatic cancer."

This program is being administered by the AACR and is currently accepting submissions. Please see https://www.aacr.org/professionals/research-funding/current-funding-opportunities/

• Lustgarten Foundation-AACR Career Development Award for Pancreatic Cancer Research in Honor of Ruth Bader Ginsburg: To honor Justice Ginsburg, who worked tirelessly to advance gender equality, this award will support the career advancement of an early-career female pancreatic cancer researcher.
• Lustgarten Foundation-AACR Career Development Award for Pancreatic Cancer Research in Honor of John Robert Lewis: Established in honor of Georgia Congressman John Lewis, this award will support the career advancement of an early-career pancreatic cancer researcher from an under-represented minority group.

About the Lustgarten Foundation
Lustgarten Foundation is the largest private funder of pancreatic cancer research in the world. Based in Woodbury, N.Y., the Foundation's mission is to cure pancreatic cancer by funding scientific and clinical research related to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of pancreatic cancer; providing research information and clinical support services to patients, caregivers and individuals at high risk; and increasing public awareness and hope for those dealing with this disease. Since its inception, the Lustgarten Foundation has directed more than $200 million to research and has assembled the best scientific minds with the hope that one day, a cure can be found. Thanks to separate funding to support administrative expenses, 100% of your donation goes directly to pancreatic cancer research. For more information, visit Lustgarten.org.

About the American Association for Cancer Research 
Founded in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world's first and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research and its mission to prevent and cure cancer. AACR membership includes 47,000 laboratory, translational, and clinical researchers; population scientists; other health care professionals; and patient advocates residing in 127 countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise of the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer by annually convening more than 30 conferences and educational workshops—the largest of which is the AACR Annual Meeting, with more than 100,000 attendees for the 2020 virtual meetings and more than 22,500 attendees for past in-person meetings. In addition, the AACR publishes nine prestigious, peer-reviewed scientific journals and a magazine for cancer survivors, patients, and their caregivers. The AACR funds meritorious research directly as well as in cooperation with numerous cancer organizations. As the Scientific Partner of Stand Up To Cancer, the AACR provides expert peer review, grants administration, and scientific oversight of team science and individual investigator grants in cancer research that have the potential for near-term patient benefit. The AACR actively communicates with legislators and other policymakers about the value of cancer research and related biomedical science in saving lives from cancer. For more information about the AACR, visit www.AACR.org.  

For media inquiries, please contact Vanessa Steil, Lustgarten Foundation, at [email protected] or 516-737-1566, or Julia Gunther, AACR, at [email protected] or 770-403-7690.

SOURCE The Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research

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http://www.lustgarten.org