Winter 2004 Newsletter: A BIRTHDAY PRESENT FOR BERNICE GOLDBLATT TOPS OFF THE CAMPAIGN FOR CHILDREN

The Cancer Research Foundation has made a $500,000 grant to name the Bernice Goldblatt Cancer Pavilion in the Comer Children’s Hospital in honor of Bernice Goldblatt’s 90th birthday. The grant, which tops off At the Forefront: The Campaign for Children, will support research led by Ramamoorthy Nagasubramanian, M.D., a fellow in Pediatrics, whose work explores the pharmacogenetics of pediatric and adolescent sarcomas.

The gift exemplifies the Goldblatt family’s long-standing commitment to the University of Chicago’s cancer programs through the Cancer Research Foundation. For more than a half-century, the Goldblatt family and the Cancer Research Foundation (CRF) have been a driving force behind the University’s cancer research effort, funding innovative projects and supporting young investigators as they pursue cancers in cutting-edge science and medicine.

Since its inception, in 1947, by Mrs. Goldblatt’s late husband, Maurice, the CRF has funded more than 150 University of Chicago researchers through gifts totaling more than $15 million.

“The Cancer Research Foundation has been a consistent source of support for our young scientists at the most critical time in their careers,” said Richard Schilsky, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Associate Dean for Clinical Research in the Biological Sciences and medical consultant to the CRF. “The Goldblatt family is wholeheartedly dedicated to the University of Chicago, helping us to maintain an environment in which scientific curiosity can be cultivated into discovery.”

Through the CRF, the Goldblatts have provided the impetus for discoveries at the University of Chicago that have advanced cancer treatments worldwide.

In 2002, for example, the CRF funded Axel Rosengart, M.D., Assistant Professor of Neurology, who uses nanotechnology techniques to deliver anti-stroke medications directly into cells. “The CRF had the foresight to know that Dr. Rosengart’s work could lead to breakthroughs in cancer research,” said Nicholas Vogelzang, M.D., the Fred C. Buffett Professor and Director of the University of Chicago Cancer Research Center. “Not many prople would have made this connection and recognized the exciting potential of this work.”