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Swine Flu - Lastest Updates CDC

Diane | May 1, 2009

Resource:  Centers for Disease Control
H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu)

H1N1 Flu website last updated May 1, 2009, 11:00 AM ET

CDC continues to take aggressive action to respond to an expanding outbreak caused by H1N1 (swine flu). CDC’s response goals are to reduce transmission and illness severity, and provide information to help health care providers, public health officials and the public address the challenges posed by this emergency.

CDC continues to issue and update interim guidance daily in response to the rapidly evolving situation. Early this morning, CDC provided interim guidance on school closures. Supplies from CDC’s Division of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) are being sent to all 50 states and U.S. territories to help them respond to the outbreak. In addition, the Federal Government and manufacturers have begun the process of developing a vaccine against this new virus.

Response actions are aggressive, but they may vary across states and communities depending on local circumstances. Communities, businesses, places of worship, schools and individuals can all take action to slow the spread of this outbreak. People who are sick are urged to stay home from work or school and to avoid contact with others, except to seek medical care. This action can avoid spreading illness further.

 More on the Situation

  • Guidance for Professionals
  • Reports & Publications Apr 30, 2009 10:34 PM ET
  • Press Briefings
  • Travelers and Travel Industry Apr 29, 8:15 PM ET
  • Alert for Institutions of Higher Education May 1, 1:30 AM ET
  • Past Daily Updates on the Situation

General Info on H1N1 Flu

  • Swine Flu & You Apr 29
  • Key Facts Apr 24
  • Swine Flu Video Apr 25
  • Brochure: Swine Influenza in Pigs and People Apr 24
  • Antiviral Drugs Apr 29
  • Audio Public Service Announcements Apr 28

Related Links

  • PandemicFlu.govExternal Web Site Policy.
  • WHO - Influenza-Like Illness in the United States and MexicoExternal Web Site Policy.
  • FDA Press Release: FDA Authorizes Emergency Use of Influenza Medicines, Diagnostic Test in Response to Swine Flu Outbreak in HumansExternal Web Site Policy. Apr 27
  • GenBank Influenza Virus Resource (swine influenza A (H1N1) sequences)External Web Site Policy.

Webcast

  • Sebelius, Napolitano, Besser answer questions from the American people Apr 30, 1:00 PM ET

Note

This is a rapidly evolving situation and current guidance and other web content may contain variations in how this new H1N1 virus of swine origin is referred to.

Over the coming days and weeks, these inconsistencies will be addressed, but in the interests of meeting the agency’s response goals, all guidance will remain posted and new guidance will continue to be issued.

What You Can Do to Stay Healthy

  • Stay informed. This website will be updated regularly as information becomes available.
  • Influenza is thought to spread mainly person-to-person through coughing or sneezing of infected people.
  • Take everyday actions to stay healthy.
    • Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
    • Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hands cleaners are also effective.
    • Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.
    • Stay home if you get sick. CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
  • Follow public health advice regarding school closures, avoiding crowds and other social distancing measures.
  • Develop a family emergency plan as a precaution. This should include storing a supply of food, medicines, facemasks, alcohol-based hand rubs and other essential supplies.
  • Call 1-800-CDC-INFO for more information.
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Obama Agenda on Healthcare

Diane | March 18, 2009

Resource:  WhiteHouse.gov

HEALTH CARE

On health care reform, the American people are too often offered two extremes — government-run health care with higher taxes or letting the insurance companies operate without rules. President Obama and Vice President Biden believe both of these extremes are wrong, and that’s why they’ve proposed a plan that strengthens employer coverage, makes insurance companies accountable and ensures patient choice of doctor and care without government interference.

The Obama-Biden plan provides affordable, accessible health care for all Americans, builds on the existing health care system, and uses existing providers, doctors, and plans. Under the Obama-Biden plan, patients will be able to make health care decisions with their doctors, instead of being blocked by insurance company bureaucrats.

Under the plan, if you like your current health insurance, nothing changes, except your costs will go down by as much as $2,500 per year. If you don’t have health insurance, you will have a choice of new, affordable health insurance options.

Make Health Insurance Work for People and Businesses — Not Just Insurance and Drug Companies.

  • Require insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions so all Americans regardless of their health status or history can get comprehensive benefits at fair and stable premiums.
  • Create a new Small Business Health Tax Credit to help small businesses provide affordable health insurance to their employees.
  • Lower costs for businesses by covering a portion of the catastrophic health costs they pay in return for lower premiums for employees.
  • Prevent insurers from overcharging doctors for their malpractice insurance and invest in proven strategies to reduce preventable medical errors.
  • Make employer contributions more fair by requiring large employers that do not offer coverage or make a meaningful contribution to the cost of quality health coverage for their employees to contribute a percentage of payroll toward the costs of their employees’ health care.
  • Establish a National Health Insurance Exchange with a range of private insurance options as well as a new public plan based on benefits available to members of Congress that will allow individuals and small businesses to buy affordable health coverage.
  • Ensure everyone who needs it will receive a tax credit for their premiums.

Reduce Costs and Save a Typical American Family up to $2,500 as reforms phase in:

  • Lower drug costs by allowing the importation of safe medicines from other developed countries, increasing the use of generic drugs in public programs, and taking on drug companies that block cheaper generic medicines from the market.
  • Require hospitals to collect and report health care cost and quality data.
  • Reduce the costs of catastrophic illnesses for employers and their employees.
  • Reform the insurance market to increase competition by taking on anticompetitive activity that drives up prices without improving quality of care.

The Obama-Biden plan will promote public health. It will require coverage of preventive services, including cancer screenings, and increase state and local preparedness for terrorist attacks and natural disasters.

A Commitment to Fiscal Responsibility: Barack Obama will pay for his $50 - $65 billion health care reform effort by rolling back the Bush tax cuts for Americans earning more than $250,000 per year and retaining the estate tax at its 2009 level.

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Removing Barriers to Responsible Scientific Research Involving Human Stem Cells

Diane | March 15, 2009

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary
_________________________________________
For Immediate Release       March 9, 2009

EXECUTIVE ORDER

- - - - - - -

REMOVING BARRIERS TO RESPONSIBLE SCIENTIFIC
RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN STEM CELLS

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1.  Policy.  Research involving human embryonic stem cells and human non-embryonic stem cells has the potential to lead to better understanding and treatment of many disabling diseases and conditions.  Advances over the past decade in this promising scientific field have been encouraging, leading to broad agreement in the scientific community that the research should be supported by Federal funds.

For the past 8 years, the authority of the Department of Health and Human Services, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to fund and conduct human embryonic stem cell research has been limited by Presidential actions.  The purpose of this order is to remove these limitations on scientific inquiry, to expand NIH support for the exploration of human stem cell research, and in so doing to enhance the contribution of America’s scientists to important new discoveries and new therapies for the benefit of humankind.

Sec. 2.  Research.  The Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary), through the Director of NIH, may support and conduct responsible, scientifically worthy human stem cell research, including human embryonic stem cell research, to the extent permitted by law.

Sec. 3.  Guidance.  Within 120 days from the date of this order, the Secretary, through the Director of NIH, shall review existing NIH guidance and other widely recognized guidelines on human stem cell research, including provisions establishing appropriate safeguards, and issue new NIH guidance on such research that is consistent with this order.  The Secretary, through NIH, shall review and update such guidance periodically, as appropriate.

Sec. 4.  General Provisions.  (a)  This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(b)  Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i)   authority granted by law to an executive department, agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii)  functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(c)  This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity, by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

Sec. 5.  Revocations.  (a)  The Presidential statement of August 9, 2001, limiting Federal funding for research involving human embryonic stem cells, shall have no further effect as a statement of governmental policy.

(b)  Executive Order 13435 of June 20, 2007, which supplements the August 9, 2001, statement on human embryonic stem cell research, is revoked.
 

BARACK OBAMA
 

THE WHITE HOUSE,
March 9, 2009.

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America, BARACK OBAMA, Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Health, Office of Management and Budget, Office of the Press, STEM CELLS, treatment of many disabling diseases, United States, United States of America, WHITE HOUSE
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Obama-Healthcare-Reform.com goes live

Diane | March 10, 2009

Medical researchers interested in the latest information regarding President Obama’s Healthcare Reform legislation may like to start taking a look at www.obama-healthcare-reform.com.  In addition to my work as founder of Global Medical Research.org, I have taken on a new project to help illuminate the progress of President Obama’s work within health care reform.  The Website will report on latest developments and the Obama Health agenda to assist medical researchers understand the current administration’s new policieis.

President Obama recently signed a new stem cell policy which effectively frees United States medical researchers from the previous barriers set up by former President Bush.  Now our scientists can work freely  in making important breakthroughs with embryonic stem cell research.

  Global Medical Research.org currently has 147 major medical researchers and computer scientists from around the world who collaborate together to facilitate medical research.

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The Semantic Web and Medicine - Why or Why not?

Diane | March 4, 2009

The Semantic Web promises us new collaborative possibilities with medical research.  However my question is when will Semantic Web applications be accessible to medical researchers, and what would be the motivator for them to use?  Their time is valuable, and budgets even tighter with today’s economy.  So what does a Semantic Web enthusiast to do?  How can we get this technology out in a better way?  My new goal is to come up with reviews on Semantic Web tools that are actually USEFUL and WANTED by medical researchers.  I will pose this question to all the experts I can find and report back to you on the results.

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TGen, Scottsdale Healthcare, Mayo Clinic study starts for new drug that could bolster the immune systems of cancer victims

Diane | December 29, 2008
TGen, Scottsdale Healthcare, Mayo Clinic study starts for new drug that could bolster the immune systems of cancer victims
Resource: TheTranslational Genomics Research Institute

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Dec. 19, 2008 - The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), Scottsdale Healthcare and Mayo Clinic are testing a new drug that could help cancer patients by stimulating the immune system.

Clinical trials of the drug VTX-2337 are being conducted at TGen Clinical Research Services at Scottsdale Healthcare, a partnership of Phoenix-based TGen and Scottsdale-based Scottsdale Healthcare Corp., and at Mayo Clinic in Arizona.

Dr. Ramesh Ramanathan, Medical Director of TGen Clincal Research Services at Scottsdale Healthcare, said the new drug appears promising.

“VTX-2337 is a new, novel, small molecule aimed at stimulating the immune cells in the blood, lymph nodes, and in and around the tumor. It represents an exciting new class of agents for cancer therapy with good preclinical evidence of activity,” Dr. Ramanathan said.

The Phase I trial, a yearlong first-in-humans test, will study the drug’s safety. If successful, a Phase II trial will test the drug’s effectiveness on tumors.

A weakened immune system is often the result of advanced cancer. The hope is that this new drug will actually help enable the immune system to slow down the growth of tumors, and perhaps even shrink them, Dr. Ramanathan said.

VTX-2337 is the first drug of its kind developed by San Diego-based VentiRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. The biopharmaceutical company is focused on the development of new Toll-Like Receptor 8 (TLR8) agonists, which are small molecules that prompt a response in the body’s immune system. The drugs are intended to treat cancer, respiratory and autoimmune diseases.

“VentiRx is very excited to be working with TGen, Scottsdale Healthcare and Mayo Clinic on this important and novel program,” said Michael Kamdar, Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer at VentiRx. “Entering Phase I clinical trials represents a significant milestone for VentiRx and our TLR efforts in that we have rapidly advanced into a clinical development company with a novel molecule that may play an important role and have broad application in the treatment of cancer.”

VTX-2337 is a small molecule TLR8 agonist that is expected to be used in combination with standard of care for the treatment of patients with cancer. Preclinical evaluation of VTX-2337 suggests that it may play a key role in augmenting the innate arm of the immune system.

There are two broad components of the immune system, the innate arm, and the adaptive arm. Both generally aim to eliminate viruses and bacteria.

– The innate arm senses infectious agents as they infect the body by recognizing structures they have in common, such as lipids, proteins, sugars, and nucleic acids (DNA and RNA). This is an initial rapid response, which is not precise but potent.

– The adaptive arm of the immune system is instructed by the innate arm to devise more specific responses to unique components of the invading pathogens. This is a more precise response and takes longer, especially when an infectious agent is encountered for the first time.

The first clinical trial at TCRS at Scottsdale Healthcare will investigate the safety and pharmacology of multiple doses of VTX-2337 in patients with late-stage cancer. For more information about this clinical trial, please call Joyce Ingold, R.N., research patient care coordinator for Scottsdale Healthcare, at 480-323-1339.

The clinical trial coordinator for Mayo Clinic is Dianna Boughter, who can be reached at 480-301-9875.

“VTX-2337 is the first selective TLR8 compound to reach the clinic, and we are hopeful that modulation of the innate immune response will provide a benefit to patients in a number of oncology indications,” said Dr. Robert Hershberg, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at VentiRx.

# # #

About TGen
The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) is a non-profit organization dedicated to conducting groundbreaking research with life changing results. Research at TGen is focused on helping patients with diseases such as cancer, neurological disorders and diabetes. TGen is on the cutting edge of translational research where investigators are able to unravel the genetic components of common and complex diseases. Working with collaborators in the scientific and medical communities, TGen believes it can make a substantial contribution to the efficiency and effectiveness of the translational process. For more information, visit: www.tgen.org.

Press Contact:
Steve Yozwiak
TGen Senior Science Writer
602-343-8704
syozwiak@tgen.org

About Scottsdale Healthcare
Scottsdale Healthcare is a primary clinical research site for TGen. TGen Clinical Research Services (TCRS) at Scottsdale Healthcare is housed in the Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center at Scottsdale Healthcare, located on the Scottsdale Healthcare Shea medical campus. Scottsdale Healthcare is the not-for-profit parent organization of the Scottsdale Healthcare Shea, Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn and Scottsdale Healthcare Thompson Peak hospitals, Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center, Scottsdale Clinical Research Institute, TGen Clinical Research Services at Scottsdale Healthcare, Scottsdale Healthcare Home Health Services, Scottsdale Healthcare Community Health Services, and Scottsdale Healthcare Foundation. For additional information, visit www.shc.org.

Contact:
Alice Sluga
Public Relations Coordinator
Scottsdale Healthcare
480-882-4915
asluga@shc.org

About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic Cancer Center is one of only 39 U.S. medical centers that have been named as a National Cancer Institute (NCI) Comprehensive Cancer Center. To receive this designation, an institution must meet rigorous standards demonstrating scientific excellence and the ability to integrate diverse research approaches to address the problem of cancer. Mayo Clinic Cancer Center is the only national, multi-site center with the NCI’s Comprehensive Cancer Center designation. In Arizona, Mayo’s clinical and research experts work together to address the complex needs of cancer patients, with a dedication to understanding the biology of cancer; discovering new ways to predict, prevent, diagnose and treat cancer; and transforming the quality of life for cancer patients today and in the future.

About VentiRx Pharmaceuticals
VentiRx Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company committed to the development and commercialization of novel medicines for the treatment of cancer, respiratory and autoimmune diseases. The company’s initial focus is on developing small molecule TLR-based product candidates for oncology and allergy. VentiRx is a privately held organization headquartered in San Diego with operations in Seattle. For additional information, visit www.ventirx.com.

Contact:
Michael Kamdar
VentiRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(858) 436-1525
mkamdar@ventirx.com

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Heart Disease Leading Cause of Death Worldwide

Diane | September 19, 2008
Resource:  America.gov:

Global research projects seek to end preventable heart attacks, strokes

By Erika Gebel
Special Correspondent

Washington — Despite dramatic medical advances over the past 50 years, heart disease remains a leading cause of death globally and the Number 1 cause of death in the United States.

Heart disease, or cardiovascular disease, accounts for 30 percent of deaths worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In the United States, almost 700,000 people die from heart disease each year. In 2006, the American Heart Association estimated heart disease would cost Americans more than $258 billion.

Heart disease encompasses several specific heart ailments. One of the most common is coronary heart disease, which accounted for 71 percent of U.S. heart disease fatalities in 2002 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Other common cardiovascular diseases are congenital heart disease, congestive heart failure, pulmonary heart disease and rheumatic heart disease.

Coronary heart disease is caused by a narrowing of the blood vessels that lead to the heart. This occurs when fatty deposits, called atherosclerosis, form along the vessel walls. If these fatty deposits become thick enough to stop blood flow, a heart attack or myocardial infarction results, which can lead to disability or death.

The risk of heart disease can be reduced through lifestyle changes — a healthy diet, physical activity and elimination of tobacco use. Risk indicators like cholesterol levels and blood pressure can be monitored to assess the effectiveness of drug treatments and lifestyle changes in reducing the chances of heart disease. Diabetes and obesity are also heart disease risks. (See “Diabetes Threatens Lives Worldwide” and “Obesity Becoming Worldwide Health Threat.”)

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ON RESEARCH

WHO and the Global Forum for Health Research began a cardiovascular disease research initiative in November 1998. The initiative has six research projects, including community-based interventions and clinical management programs. Researchers from Switzerland, Australia, Finland and the United States are cooperating in this effort.

WHO also sponsors a project called INTER-HEART, a global study that seeks to identify traditional and emerging heart attack risk factors, and to use that information to help develop more effective health policies.

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), a division of the National Institutes of Health, is conducting clinical and basic research programs. Basic research is exploratory and involves experiments and studies in a laboratory setting. Clinical trials involve volunteers on whom experimental drugs and devices are tested to ascertain their efficacy and safety.

One research project involves improving the use of magnetic resonance imaging to observe the heart. NHLBI researcher Elliott McVeigh is developing strategies to overcome the two major obstacles to obtaining a good image. One problem is that the heart moves; the other is that the need for imaging often coincides with a health emergency, McVeigh told America.gov.

Imaging helps heart disease patients because it allows doctors to “to better determine which treatment is the best for each patient,” McVeigh said. “Sometimes, the treatment itself can be delivered more precisely and more effectively under direct image guidance.”

One of McVeigh’s research projects involves trying to see the shape of the scar, or “myocardial infarct,” that develops after a person has a heart attack. “The relationship of the shape of that scar to the propensity for a fatal arrhythmia at a later time is unknown. We would like to discover that relationship so that we can determine which patients need defibrillators.”

An arrhythmia, or erratic heart beat, can be treated with a defibrillator, a device that uses electrical signals to help the heart regain a healthy rhythm.

PREVENTING HEART DISEASE

Treatment and management can help address the heart disease problem, but another effective strategy for curbing this chronic illness is prevention.

In the United States, the CDC operates programs to prevent heart disease in 33 states. The programs promote heart health by educating the public, monitoring risk factors and identifying promising strategies for promoting heart-healthy interventions.

“Our research is about heart disease and stroke prevention. It begins with prevention of the risk factors themselves,” Dr. Darwin Labarthe, director of the CDC Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, told America.gov. “We are working with the World Health Organization in efforts to reduce the intake of salt to prevent high blood pressure or reduce high blood pressure.”

Prevention strategies and treatment options for heart disease are having positive effects. In the United States, the overall death rate from heart disease has decreased since the 1960s but the gains have not been consistent across demographic groups.

For instance, “[t]he gap between blacks and whites has widened in the United States,” Labarthe said. According to the CDC, in 2002, the death rate for heart disease was 30 percent higher among blacks than among whites in the United States.

“The challenges that we face today,” he said, “are to eliminate all preventable heart attacks and strokes beginning with the risk factors themselves and achieving that for all members of the population.”

Reference:

Erika Gebel. (July 24, 2008). America.gov: Heart disease a leading cause of death worldwide
global research projects seek to end preventable heart attacks, strokes.  Retrieved September 15, 2008, from
http://www.america.gov/st/health-english/2008/July/20080724175631abretnuh0.9819757.html

Other Useful Links:

Coronary Heart Disease Explained:  National Heart Lung Blood Institute
Medicine Net.com:  Coronary Artery Disease
MedLine: Heart Disease
HealthLine Heart Disease Health Channel: Physician Reviewed

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National Cancer Institute: caBIG

Diane | September 16, 2008

Resource:  National Cancer Institute - Cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid

caBIG™ stands for the cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid™. caBIG™ is an information network enabling all constituencies in the cancer community – researchers, physicians, and patients – to share data and knowledge.  The components of caBIG™ are widely applicable beyond cancer as well.

The mission of caBIG™ is to develop a truly collaborative information network that accelerates the discovery of new approaches for the detection, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cancer, ultimately improving patient outcomes.

The goals of caBIG™ are to:

  • Connect scientists and practitioners through a shareable and interoperable infrastructure
  • Develop standard rules and a common language to more easily share information
  • Build or adapt tools for collecting, analyzing, integrating, and disseminating information associated with cancer research and care.

Since its inception, caBIG™ has committed to the following cornerstones:

  • Federated: caBIG™ software and resources are widely distributed, interlinked, and available to everyone in the cancer research community, but institutions maintain local control over their own resources and data.
  • Open-development: caBIG™ tools and infrastructure are being developed through an open, participatory process. caBIG™ leverages existing resources whenever possible, rather than building new tools in every case.
  • Open-access:caBIG™ resources are freely obtainable by the cancer community to ensure broad data-sharing and collaboration.
  • Open-source: The caBIG™ source code is available to view, alter, and redistribute.

 

Learn concepts and terminology critical for working with caBIG™

  • “caBIG™ Essentials” Overview   (interactive, uses Adobe Flash)
    Introduces important terminology, key concepts, and describes different ways of connecting with caBIG™.

    • Alternative format:   “caBIG™ Essentials” Overview Slides
  • caBIG™ Core Concepts
    There are a number of vital concepts to both understand and connect with caBIG™. They are introduced briefly here.
  • How It Works
    Describes how caBIG™ is organized and operates.
  • caBIG™ Primer
    Complete high-level overview of the program’s vision and mission, organization, activities, and challenges.

Look up acronyms and unfamiliar terms

  • Visit the glossary: The Glossary of Acronyms and Terms has definitions for caBIG™ acronyms and common bioinformatics terms.
  • View definitions as you read:. Terms in the glossary are underlined with blue dots. Roll your mouse over the term and it’s definition will show. E.g., rest your mouse on this term - Domain Analysis Model
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Stand up to Cancer

Diane | September 14, 2008

Stand Up To Cancer

has announced an innovative approach to research designed to bring together the best and brightest investigators from leading institutions around the world. This unique initiative, which will foster scientific collaboration and accelerate the discovery of new therapies, will be administered by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) under the direction of a Scientific Advisory Committee led by Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT.

>>

Streaming link to the Stand Up to Cancer Program held September 5, 2008.



Video of I’m to Young for This Foundation, founded by Matthew Zachary. He is a cancer survivor and advocate for those suffering from cancer under the age of 40.


Every day, cancer kills 1,500 Americans— one person every minute. This year, more than 550,000 Americans and six million people worldwide will succumb to this vicious disease. One out of three women and one in every two men will be diagnosed in their lifetimes. With advances in technology and research, scientists are close to pushing cancer from a disease that all too often takes lives to one people largely triumph over. This is where the end of cancer begins.

Stand Up To Cancer has announced an innovative approach to research designed to bring together the best and brightest investigators from leading institutions around the world. This unique initiative, which will foster scientific collaboration and accelerate the discovery of new therapies, will be administered by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) under the direction of a Scientific Advisory Committee led by Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT.

Many leading philanthropists, organizations and corporations support the Stand Up To Cancer mission, including the Sidney Kimmel Foundation as well as Major League Baseball, Amgen, AARP, Bloomberg Philanthropies, GlaxoSmithKline, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Revlon, Wallis Annenberg & The Annenberg Foundation, Alliance for Global Good, Lee Jeans, New York Giants, Philips, Saks Fifth Avenue, Steve Tisch, Stonyfield Farm, The Island Def Jam Music Group and many others. In addition to ABC, CBS and NBC, SU2C major media partners include AOL, Condé Nast Media Group, eBay Inc., Facebook, Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Hearst Corporation, Los Angeles Times, Meredith Corporation, Paypal, The New York Times Company, Time Inc., and WebMD.

Stand Up To Cancer is a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, and was established by a group of media, entertainment and philanthropic leaders, whose lives have all been affected by cancer in significant ways.

Stand Up To Cancer’s leadership team includes Laura Ziskin; Katie Couric; the Entertainment Industry Foundation, represented by Board of Directors Chairperson Sherry Lansing (who is also Founder of the Sherry Lansing Foundation), CEO Lisa Paulsen, and Vice President Kathleen Lobb; the Noreen Fraser Foundation and its executives Noreen Fraser (who is also a cancer survivor) and Woody Fraser, and Rusty Robertson and Sue Schwartz also of the Robertson Schwartz Agency; and nonprofit executive Ellen Ziffren, whose husband, noted L.A. attorney Ken Ziffren, played a pivotal role in bringing together the three networks for the broadcast special.

About AACR
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the oldest and largest scientific organization in the world focusing on every aspect of high-quality, innovative cancer research. Its reputation for scientific breadth and excellence attracts the premier researchers in the field. By accelerating the growth and spread of new knowledge about cancer, the AACR is on the front lines in the quest for the prevention and cure of cancer.

About the Entertainment Industry Foundation
The Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), the collective philanthropic organization for the television and film businesses, has distributed hundreds of millions of dollars to support programs addressing critical health, education and social issues.

About the Noreen Fraser Foundation
The Noreen Fraser Foundation utilizes film, television and web technologies to raise money for research as well as to educate and raise awareness about women’s cancers. The funds raised will be used to provide large grants to uniquely qualified cancer researchers.

 

MEDIA CONTACT:

Chet Mehta, ID - LA — 323-822-4812 cmehta@id-pr.com

Brooke Lawer, ID - NY — 212-774-6146 blawer@id-pr.com

Sherri Goldberg, ID - NY — 212-774-6151 sgoldberg@id-pr.com

 


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Semantic Web Search Engines

Diane | August 7, 2008

The following represent a listing of Semantic Web Search Engines that you may be interested in trying. I will be reviewing in an upcoming posting.

Semantic Web Search Engine (SWSE)
Watson
Yahoo! Microsearch
Falcons
Swoogle
Semantic Web Search
Zitgist Search

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