Canadian Cancer Society Pledges $36,000 for Graduate Scholarship
The PEI Division of the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) has pledged $36,000 to continue a graduate student award that it established at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) two years ago. Since 2003, the PEI Division of the CCS has funded a graduate student whose studies have focused on cancer research.
The value of the 2005 Canadian Cancer Society Graduate Student Research Award is $18,000, and it is renewable for a second year based on the submission of a satisfactory annual report. The recipient is Eddie Francis, a candidate in the Master of Science program at UPEI. Under the supervision of Professor Robert Hurta, Francis will investigate the expression and suppression of tumour cell activation to contribute to the understanding of how they work.
"Supporting quality cancer research is one of the key commitments of the Canadian Cancer Society," says Dawn Binns, Executive Director of the PEI Division. "Researchers at UPEI are conducting excellent and exciting cancer research, and it is our desire to support them and see their work grow. By assisting young researchers, we hope to continue to see a strong PEI cancer research community into the future. This is vital as we work towards our mission of the eradication of cancer and the enhancement of the quality of life of people living with cancer."
The award will be administered through the PEI Health Research Institute (PEI HRI). Based at UPEI, the PEI HRI carries out activities to support, promote, and enhance health-related research in Prince Edward Island. "A key element for building excellence in research is investing in people," says Donna Murnaghan, Director. "We congratulate our partner organization, the PEI Division of the Canadian Cancer Society, for choosing to invest in our young, bright scholars. By doing so they are helping to strengthen our health research community for the future."
The Canadian Cancer Society is the single largest charitable founder of cancer research in Canada. Since 1958 the PEI Division, solely through the generosity of Islanders, has been transforming powerful research knowledge into information and programs and#150;helping Islanders to understand, prevent, and reduce the risk of cancer. Research funded by the CCS produces new knowledge to enhance understanding of the causes of cancer. The discoveries over the last 20 years have set the stage for a new era in cancer research over the continuum, from prevention to palliation reducing the burden of cancer.
