Press Releases

ATLANTA –September 10, 2010—Nineteen individuals with a strong personal interest in cancer have been chosen to participate in the American Cancer Society’s research grants peer review process. Their terms begin in January 2011. “Stakeholders” have been part the Society’s grant review process since 1999. All have a personal connection to the disease, such as having had a family member with cancer, having acted as a caregiver, or having had a personal battle with the disease. Their participation brings an important real-world perspective to the grant review process.

“These stakeholders ensure that every one of the hundreds of research proposals we review is considered not only by scientists, but by those directly impacted by progress in cancer research,” said Alan G. Thorson, M.D., FACS, American Cancer Society national volunteer president. “Their voice is a much-welcome addition to these panels, which also include top experts in the field of cancer research and clinical medicine.”

No formal science training is required to serve as a stakeholder. They join clinicians, researchers, and other scientists for a two-year term to help decide which of the more than 1,600 applications received each year are worthy of funding. Stakeholders are recruited from around the United States to be trained and assigned to one or more of the approximately 20 peer review committees in the Society’s Extramural Grants Division. In addition to stakeholders, each committee includes five to 20 researchers, clinicians, and other experts. Together, the review committees identify the most outstanding applications for funding.

Since its inception in 1946, the American Cancer Society's Research and Training Program has funded more than $3.5 billion in cancer research and health professional training. As the largest private source of cancer research funding in the U.S., the Society funds approximately $120 million in grants annually. The program has funded 44 researchers who have won the Nobel Prize.

Stakeholders chosen to participate in the upcoming grants cycle are:

• Kathy Azevedo, Norco, Calif., Cell Structure and Metastasis peer review committee
• David Wesley, Placerville, Calif., Cell Cycle and Growth Control peer review committee
• Roberta “Bobby” Rose, Scarsdale, N.Y., DNA Mechanisms in Cancer peer review committee
• Tiffani Cox, Midland, Ore., Development, Differentiation, and Cancer peer review committee
• Arthur Dunham, III, Whittemore, Mich., Carcinogenesis, Nutrition and the Environment peer review committee
• Heidi Floyd, Warsaw, Ind., Tumor Biology and Genomics peer review committee
• Edward Joseph “Joe” Eyring, Park City, Utah, Tumor Biochemistry and Endocrinology peer review committee
• Jennifer Richardson, Kansas City, Mo., Microbial Pathogenesis and Cancer peer review committee
• Amy Geschwender, Lincoln, Neb., Psychosocial and Behavioral Research peer review committee
• John Bergstrom, Palatine, Ill., Clinical Research, Cancer control, and Epidemiology peer review committee
• Hanna Jon “H. J.” Ingram, Hampton Cove, Ala., Palliative Care and Symptom Management Research peer review committee
• Christine Patterson, Redfield, Ark., Cancer Drug Discovery peer review committee
• Joyce McCollum, Green Bay, Wis., Health Policy and Health Services Research peer review committee
• Kristen Angell, Watertown, Mass., Cell Structure and Metastasis peer review committee
• Rosemary Brady Panza, Watertown, Mass., Ad-Hoc
• Benjamin “Ben” Floyd, Cincinnati, Ohio, Health Policy and Health Services Research peer review committee
• Bonnie McFarland, Gallipolis, Ohio, Ad-Hoc
• Gerri Angoli, Morgantown, W. Va., RNA Mechanisms in Cancer peer review committee
• Carolee Polek, Neward, Del., Leukemia, Immunology, and Blood Cell Development peer review committee
   

The nomination period for 2012 stakeholders is now open. Interested parties can read more about the program, including how to apply, at http://www.cancer.org/stakeholders.

The next Stakeholder nomination period ends December 30, 2010.

About the American Cancer Society

The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end suffering from cancer. As a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We save lives by helping people stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early; helping people get well by being there for them during and after a cancer diagnosis; by finding cures through investment in groundbreaking discovery; and by fighting back by rallying lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and by rallying communities worldwide to join the fight. As the nation’s largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing about $3.4 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, more than 11 million people in America who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year. To learn more about us or to get help, call us any time, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.