Goal of the Pink
Published 8:48 am Wednesday, January 10, 2018
- Cheri Krejci is introduced Tuesday night during the Paint the Town Pink, Hormel Institute Business After Hours at The Hormel Institute. Krejci is this year’s PTTP chambassador. She also brought with her a check for $10,000 from the Blooming Prairie Cancer Group. Photos by Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
Members of the Paint the Town Pink committee are asking all who care about finding answers to cancer to help them achieve another ambitious goal this year.
The goal is to raise $300,000 or more to fund the innovative cancer research at The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota. The official kickoff for the 2018 campaign was held during the Austin Area Chamber of Commerce’s Business After Hours held in the Ray Live Learning Center and co-hosted by Austin Hy-Vee.
In its eighth year, this year’s campaign is Jan. 27-Feb 11, with 2018 Ambassador Cheri Krejci of Blooming Prairie Cancer Group at the helm.
On Tuesday, she urged everyone and all communities to get involved and support events; or start a new event.
PTTP started in 2011 with a $23,000 fundraiser “Paint the Rink Pink” founded by the Austin Bruins. The Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau expanded the initiative the following year, and now nearly $1.2 million has been raised for cancer research.
Austin Bruins co-owner Craig Patrick speaks Tuesday night at The Hormel Institute and Business After Hours.
A portion of PTTP funds support instruments and technologies that can be used by all the institute’s research faculty. Thanks to the annual support from The Hormel Foundation, 100 percent of every cancer research donation is applied to research.
“We are deeply honored by Paint the Town Pink and thankful to every group and every person who supports it,” said Dr. Zigang Dong, executive director of The Hormel Institute. “It raises awareness about personal healthcare and early detection and the funds raised are so important to further research.
“We know lives are extended and therapies improved and cancer prevented altogether because of research. These donations are how people can help and we thank our generous communities.”
For more on events, go to: hi.umn.edu and “Click for PINK.”
The grants that heal
Last year’s PTTP campaign funded eight, $25,000 grants to fund innovative research to some of the cancer research professors of The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota.
The grants awarded were:
•Dr. Rhoderick Rick Brown: “Role of Inflammation in Breast Cancer Initiation and Progression: Intervention Potential by Sphingolipid Transfer Proteins”
•Dr. Yibin Deng: “Targeting Therapy for BRCA1/Trp53 Mutation-Driven Triple-Negative Breast Cancer in vivo”
•Dr. Sergio Gradilone: “CILIOTHERAPY: Restoration of Primary Cilia as a Targeted Therapy in Breast Cancer”
•Dr. Edward Hinchcliffe: “The role of Repo-Man/PP1γ in regulating chromosome instability”
•Dr. Luke Hoeppner: “New treatments that promote recovery from radiation dermatitis are necessary to improve the quality of life and clinical outcome of breast cancer patients by alleviating painful short- and long-term radiation side effects to ensure completion of radiation therapy regimens”
•Dr. Shujun Liu: “The clinical implications of the FABP4-DNMT1 cascade in breast cancer”
•Dr. Rebecca Morris: “Blood epithelial trafficking in mammary cancer”
•Dr. Anna Sundborger: “EGFR down-regulation may be a superior strategy to develop efficient EGFR based treatment option for triple negative breast cancer”
