Our Research Grant Recipients: 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006

• Overview
• Apply for a Grant

Overview:

Funding novel research ideas:

Maine Cancer Foundation provides start-up funds for a new researcher or a researcher with a new idea. With a Pilot Grant and one year of funding, the scientist can test a theory and produce evidence worthy of future study. With a Program Accelerator Grant and two years of funding, a researcher can generate the data that will establish a novel approach and qualify it for national grants.

Kevin Mills, PhD of The Jackson Laboratory and Edward Bilsky, PhD of The University of New England are just two MCF-funded researchers who have seen their initial inquiries lead to multimillion dollar grants from the National Institutes of Health, or to the launch of independent Maine-based biotechnology companies that further the treatment of cancer.

Inspiring the next generation of cancer researchers:

In each research lab, students gain experience and credentials under the tutelage of a principal investigator. Predeep Sathyanarayana, Ph.D., after working in Dr. Wojchowski’s lab, was promoted to Scientist I. As an independent MMCRI faculty member, he submitted and received NIH approval for a related project looking at roles of Podocalyxin during the onset of progression of acute myeloid leukemia.

Interpreting new knowledge for clinical care:

For most cases of cancer the exact cause is unknown. However, about 10% of cancer diagnoses can now be traced to inherited genetic alterations. Identifying the underlying genetic basis is an important part of cancer care for the patient. Equally important is cancer prevention for the patient's family members who share a cancer susceptibility gene.

Integrating genetic risk assessment into cancer medicine is becoming a standard of care but that was not the case in 1998 when Maine Cancer Foundation funded the first hereditary cancer risk assessment and prevention program in the state and one of the earliest programs of its kind in the nation.

Support from Maine Cancer Foundation established the cancer genetics program at Maine Center for Cancer Medicine, Scarborough. Maine’s first cancer genetics program continues to serve hundreds of patients and families, reaching every county in Maine.