The Pap Corps’ Impact
The Pap Corps continues to have a significant impact on South Florida and the cancer research community. Over the years, The Pap Corps has donated over $110 million, including a historic 10-year, $50 million pledge to cancer research. Annually, The Pap Corps donates over $3.6 million to Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. All funds are used for groundbreaking cancer research and to bring in world-renown cancer researchers to work on eradicating all forms of cancer. All of the funds raised stay here locally and impact cancer patients in our own backyard. Over 83 cents of every dollar raised funds cancer research.
2018 Impact on Cancer Research
Fiscal Year 2018 (June 1, 2017 – May 31, 2018) was another busy and productive year for The Pap Corps. Our members raised an impressive $3.6 million for Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. Support from The Pap Corps has helped facilitate the recruitment of top-notch physicians and scientists, support several research initiatives and advance research within several programs. These programs include:
The goal of the TB Program is to advance the understanding of cancer biology in ways that can support translational research in line with Sylvester’s strategic plan while striving to catalyze high-impact discoveries that will specifically address the diverse needs of Sylvester’s catchment area and beyond.
- Cancer Research Faculty Pilot Fund Awards – The purpose of this award is to develop new research directed towards basic, translational, or clinical discoveries in cancer and in addition to help facilitate inter-programmatic collaborations.
The Cancer Epigenetics (CE) research program, co-led by Ramin Shiekhattar, PhD and Maria Figueroa, MD, aims to incorporate basic and clinical research in the field of cancer epigenetics, taking into account the diverse needs present within Sylvester’s catchment area, and to pinpoint epigenetic factors that contribute to cancer risk, initiation, progression, and treatment response.
Precision Medicine is a new method of approaching cancer care. Thanks to the advances in molecular testing, an individual patients’ tumor can be analyzed for unique biomarkers that can then direct therapy choices.
The objective of the Cancer Control (CC) research program, co-led by Frank J. Penedo, PhD and Erin Kobetz, PhD, MPH, is to advance the science of cancer control, particularly for the diverse communities that comprise South Florida, Sylvester’s catchment area.
The funds allocated to Pediatric Cancer have helped support Dr. Julio C. Barredo, Professor for the Department of Pediatrics, in order to enable him to continue doing research that focuses on the molecular mechanisms leading to cancer cell sensitivity and resistance to conventional chemotherapy and molecular targeted agents.
Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) is one of the fastest growing and most aggressive types of brain tumors in adults that is formed in the supportive tissue of the brain. The funds allocated to GBM have helped support the research showing that HOTAIR levels are controlled by an epigenetic regulator named BRD4.
Find out more about these groundbreaking programs and their impact on their community.