For Immediate Release

Joan’s Legacy Awards Eleven New Lung Cancer Research Grants

Foundation’s Research Funding Totals $2.4 Million in Four Years
For Groundbreaking Projects at Top U.S. Cancer Centers

(New York, NY – October 31, 2006) Joan’s Legacy: The Joan Scarangello Foundation to Conquer Lung Cancer announced its funding of $1,100,000 in grants for new research into lung cancer. The 2006 grants, which include five $100,000 grants made in collaboration with other research-focused lung cancer nonprofits, will support eleven different research projects at nationally recognized institutions and bring the foundation’s total research funding to $2,400,000 in less than four years.

“We received dozens of strong grant proposals from the nation’s leading cancer centers, and we are honored to fund eleven new and important projects this year,” said Patrick McNeive, the foundation’s president. “We are especially pleased to partner with both the Thomas G. Labrecque Foundation and the LUNGevity Foundation for a second year, and to have as a new partner the Felice Lipit Jentis Memorial BAC Research Trust. We believe collaboration is incredibly important in gaining momentum and winning the fight against lung cancer.”

This year, in keeping with its commitment to fund groundbreaking research, and maintain a special focus on non-smoking lung cancer, Joan’s Legacy will fund the following projects:

	Ruth A. Gjerset, Ph.D., Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center: Novel Gene Delivery Strategy for Lung Cancer Treatment
	He Biao, Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco: Identification of Novel Wnt Signaling-Related Therapeutic Targets Against Bronchioalveolar Carcinoma
	Christopher R. Herzog, Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine: Study of FOX03a in Lung Cancer Therapy
	Carolyn Klinge, Ph.D., University of Louisville School of Medicine: Estrogen Receptor Beta Interacting Proteins in Lung Adenocarcinoma. Recipient of the LUNGevity Foundation/Joan’s Legacy Research Grant. Funded equally by Joan's Legacy and the LUNGevity Foundation.
	Ite A. Laird-Offringa, Ph.D., USC/Norris Cancer Center: Epigenetic Alterations During Progression from Atypical Adenomatous Hyperplasia to Brochioalveolar Carcinoma and Lung Adenocarcinoma This grant is being fully funded by the Thomas G. Labrecque Foundation, through the Joan’s Legacy Grant Program.
	Edwina C. Lerner, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh: Targeting the X-Linked Gene Gastrin Releasing Peptide Receptor in Combination with Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Inhibitors in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
	Viji Shridhar, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic College of Medicine: Functional Characterization of HSulf-1 Loss in Bronchioalveolar Carcinoma Recipient of the The Felice Lipit Jentis Memorial/Joan’s Legacy Research Grant. Funded equally by Joan's Legacy and the Felice Lipit Jentis Memorial BAC Research Trust.
	Masaaki Tamura , D.V.M., Ph.D., Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine: IFN-Beta Expressing Stem Cell Therapy for Bronchioalveolar Carcinoma
	J. Clifford Waldrep, Ph.D., Harry S. Truman VA Hospital, Research Division: Tolerance and Safety of Direct Targeted Aerosol Chemotherapy
	Dennis A. Wigle, B.Sc., M.Sc., M.D., Ph.D., Mayo Clinic: A Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) Association Study to Investigate the Genetic Basis of Bronchioalveolar Carcinoma This grant is being fully funded by the Thomas G. Labrecque Foundation, through the Joan’s Legacy Grant Program.
	William W. Young, Jr., Ph.D., University of Louisville Research Foundation: MUC1 Splice Variants and Estrogen Receptors in Lung Adenocarcinoma This grant is being fully funded by the Thomas G. Labrecque Foundation, through the Joan’s Legacy Grant Program.

Joan’s Legacy is named for Joan Scarangello, a writer and nonsmoker who died at age 47 after a valiant nine-month fight with lung cancer. Joan’s Legacy is committed to fighting lung cancer by searching for a cure and focusing greater attention on the world’s leading cancer killer. Funding $2.4 Million in new and cutting-edge research in only four years, Joan’s Legacy is fast becoming the " venture capital" source for lung cancer research.

Lung cancer is the number one cancer killer in the United States, taking more than 160,000 lives each year. Yet lung cancer receives less research funding than almost any other cancer, making the work of Joan’s Legacy even more compelling.

Joan’s Legacy will make grant awards every Fall. The Foundation also hosts a benefit every November (Lung Cancer Awareness Month), which helps to fund its research initiatives. For more information about Joan’s Legacy and lung cancer, please visit www.joanslegacy.org.