Bethpage, NY and Cold Spring Harbor, NY — The Lustgarten Foundation, the nation’s largest private foundation dedicated to funding pancreatic cancer research, and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), the world-renowned cancer research institution, today announced the opening of the Lustgarten Foundation Pancreatic Cancer Research Laboratory. The laboratory will focus exclusively on pancreatic cancer research, with initial studies centered on early detection, drug development and drug delivery.
Dr. David Tuveson, M.D., Ph.D., who serves jointly as the Foundation’s director of research and CSHL professor, will direct and lead research efforts at the laboratory. Dr. Tuveson, working with The Lustgarten Foundation and its Pancreatic Cancer Research Consortium of six, world-class medical institutions, will identify, prioritize and develop targeted research aimed at finding a cure for this deadly disease.
The research conducted at the laboratory will focus initially on three key aspects of pancreatic cancer:
- Developing ways to detect pancreatic cancer early: The presence of cancer in the pancreas causes changes in a person’s system that may be detected in bodily fluids, such as blood or urine. These changes will be identified so that they can be used to routinely test patients for the presence of pancreatic cancer in its earliest stages.
- Identifying new targets for drug development: New pathways will be explored that could potentially uncover new therapeutic approaches for drug development to kill and eliminate pancreatic cancers.
- Using more effective approaches to deliver drugs directly to pancreatic cancers: Existing research shows that pancreatic tumors are difficult to penetrate with chemotherapy, so new methods will be developed to ensure that the chemotherapy reaches the tumor for more effective treatment.
“Too few laboratories in the world are dedicated solely to pancreatic cancer research. The Foundation welcomes the opportunity to establish one at a world-class facility such as Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory,” said Lustgarten Foundation Executive Director Kerri Kaplan. “Pancreatic cancer is the most lethal of all cancers. That’s why we remain dedicated to advancing pancreatic cancer research in order to detect the disease earlier, develop better treatments and, ultimately, find a cure.”
“As a National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center for more than 25 years, CSHL has been at the forefront of research to improve diagnosis and next-generation therapeutics for many cancers and we are grateful for our partnership with The Lustgarten Foundation that will allow for a concentrated effort in combating pancreatic cancer,” said Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory President Bruce Stillman, Ph.D.
CSHL Professor Tuveson is the deputy director of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cancer Center, and serves as director of The Lustgarten Foundation Pancreatic Cancer Research Laboratory as well as director of research for The Lustgarten Foundation. He also has an appointment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, where he will conduct clinical trials with patients. As a physician-scientist, he will merge his laboratory research with his clinical research, bringing new options to patients more rapidly.
The establishment of the new laboratory by The Lustgarten Foundation is due in large part to support from Cablevision Systems Corporation, which made a multi-year commitment to underwrite all of the Foundation’s administrative costs so that 100 percent of every donation to the Foundation can go directly to funding scientific research.
Written by: Dagnia Zeidlickis, Vice President, Communications | zeidlick@cshl.edu | 516-367-8455
About The Lustgarten Foundation and Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic cancer is swift and silent, often undetected until it’s too late. More than 37,000 people will die from it this year. The overall five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is six percent and most with advanced cancer die within a year. There are no early detection tests, no effective long-term treatments and, unless the cancer is surgically removed in its earliest stages, no cure. It is the fourth-leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States.
The Lustgarten Foundation is America’s largest private foundation dedicated to funding pancreatic cancer research. Based in Bethpage, New York, the Foundation supports research to find a cure for pancreatic cancer, facilitates dialogue within the medical and scientific community, and educates the public about the disease through awareness campaigns and fundraising events. The Foundation has provided millions of research dollars and assembled the best scientific minds with the hope that one day, a cure can be found. Cablevision Systems Corporation, a leading media and telecommunications company, underwrites all of The Lustgarten Foundation’s administrative costs, so that 100 percent of every dollar donated to the Foundation goes directly to pancreatic cancer research. Learn more at www.lustgarten.org.