Adelson Medical Research Foundation Funds International Collaborations in Cancer and Neurology

NEEDHAM, MA--(Marketwire - Nov 1, 2012) - The Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation (AMRF), a private foundation funding collaborative translational science, announced today a new round of funding for global research programs in cancer and neurological disease. AMRF has just funded 13 collaborations involving 96 interacting projects.These two-year awards will help support 58 biomedical researchers conducting translational research in oncology and neurology at 32 leading academic institutions in the U.S. and Israel.

"Our foundation emphasizes research that is intended to have a significant impact on patient care in a reasonable period of time," said Dr. Miriam Adelson, Trustee of the Foundation. Dr. Adelson is a dedicated physician-scientist who oversees clinics for the treatment of addictive diseases in Las Vegas and Tel Aviv. "AMRF encourages teams of renowned scientists across multiple disciplines and institutions to pursue significant new research goals rather than incremental progress," noted Sheldon G. Adelson, Trustee of the Foundation and Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp.

"The foundation's updated research programs will explore the leading edge of translational research in melanoma, ovarian cancer, and neural repair for treating stroke, spinal cord injury and neuropathy," explained Dr. Kenneth H. Fasman, Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of AMRF. "Our collaborating teams of scientists and clinicians, supported by state-of-the-art platforms for genomics, proteomics, epigenomics, and informatics, are able to pursue high-risk, high-reward research strategies that are difficult to get backing for via more conventional funding programs."

"The Adelson Medical Research Foundation has developed a creative model that fosters collaboration over competition in important areas of biomedical research," stated Aaron Ciechanover, M.D., D.Sc., Distinguished Research Professor at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology's Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine.Dr. Ciechanover, a 2004 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, co-directs AMRF's Program in Cancer Research. "The support provided by the foundation is truly unique, as it stems from an intensely collaborative set of interactions among leading scientists towards a goal of initiating breakthrough studies of brain, spinal cord and nerve repair," added S. Thomas Carmichael, M.D., Ph.D., Professor and Vice Chair for Research and Programs in the Department of Neurology at UCLA's Geffen School of Medicine.Dr. Carmichael leads AMRF's Program in Neural Repair and Rehabilitation.

The Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation, established in 2006, is a private foundation committed to a model of open and highly integrated collaboration among outstanding investigators who participate in goal-directed basic and clinical research to prevent, reduce or eliminate disabling and life-threatening illness. The Foundation creates a culture of scientific discovery, evaluation, and clinical application directed by the experiences of scientists who are not bound by searching for the cure of any single disease. Programs within the Foundation are defined in broad terms. The Adelson Program in Cancer Research pursues therapies targeted to the mechanisms that make cells malignant, and the Adelson Program in Neural Repair and Rehabilitation seeks to manipulate the regeneration of neurons in the brain, spinal cord and periphery.

For additional information on the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation, please visit http://www.adelsonfoundation.org/amrfphil.html.

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Adelson Medical Research Foundation Funds International Collaborations in Cancer and Neurology