The Jefferson 2000 Fund

Foundation Grants Bolster Research

Three private local foundations have given their support to Jefferson researchers for scientific investigations that will further the development of new treatments for cancer and spinal-cord injuries.

A $100,000 gift from the Chichester duPont Foundation will strengthen orthopaedic research at Jefferson Medical College (JMC).

The gift from the Wilmington, Delaware, foundation supports the research of Richard A. Balderston, MD, clinical professor of orthopaedic surgery, JMC, into new technologies to help spinal-cord injury patients.

The gift adds to the campaign advancing the work of the Orthopaedic Research Laboratory, directed by Richard H. Rothman, MD, PhD, the James Edwards Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and department chairman. That campaign has now reached a total of $4.9 million, about two-thirds of the way to its Phase-I goal of $7.4 million.

The W. W. Smith Charitable Trust, based in Bryn Mawr, has awarded Jefferson a one-year, $70,000 grant to fund the work of Scott A. Waldman, MD, PhD. Dr. Waldman, medical director of the Clinical Research Unit, division of clinical pharmacology, and associate professor of medicine (pharmacology), JMC, will continue his research into colorectal cancer treatment with the W.W. Smith grant.

Dr. Waldman and his team have previously isolated a protein receptor found only in the intestine. They believe the receptor can target cancer cells outside the intestine, acting as a "magic bullet" to diagnose and treat malignancies. With further study, Dr. Waldman hopes to develop new drug therapies to reduce the grim statistics for colorectal cancer, the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States.

Derrick S. Grant, PhD., an investigator at the Cardeza Foundation for Hematological Research in the department of medicine and assistant professor of medicine, JMC, is the recipient of a $30,000 grant from the Margaret Q. Landenberger Research Foundation.

The one-year Landenberger award funds Dr. Grant's research into the interdependency of tumor growth and the vascular system. Working closely with colleagues at the Jefferson Cancer Center, he aims to develop therapies to regulate the growth of tumor cells more effectively and with fewer side effects.