ThyCa News

Proposals Due January 31, 2008, for ThyCa's 2008 Thyroid Cancer Research Grants

05/2007

In 2008, for the sixth year in a row, ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors' Association, Inc. will award new grants for thyroid cancer research, ThyCa Executive Director Gary Bloom has announced.

ThyCa will award two new grants in 2008. Each grant will be for 2 years. One grant will support research on follicular-cell-derived thyroid cancer, including papillary, follicular, anaplastic, and variants. The other grant will support research on medullary thyroid cancer.

The ThyCa Research grants are open to all researchers and institutions worldwide. An independent expert panel of the American Thyroid Association (ATA) will select the grant recipients. ATA is the professional association of clinicians and researchers concerned with thyroid diseases.

The Call for Proposals and eligibility requirements are available on the ATA web site on this page:http://thyroid.org/professionals/education/grants_thyca.html.

The deadline for submission of a proposal summary to the ATA is January 31, 2008. The ATA Research Committee will rank proposals according to their scientific merit. ATA will notify the authors of selected proposals by early March and will invite them to submit complete grant applications.

“Research offers hope for finding cures for all types of thyroid cancer, and more thyroid cancer research is urgently needed. We greatly appreciate the ATA’s support in our research grant process,” said ThyCa Executive Director Gary Bloom. "We are grateful all our generous donors and volunteers for making these grants possible."

The ThyCa grants, begun in 2003, are the first-ever thyroid cancer research grants to be funded entirely by thyroid cancer patients, caregivers, and friends.

ThyCa has awarded its grants to researchers at the following institutions:

  • Cochin Institut, Paris, France
  • Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
  • Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
  • Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio and Medical University of Gdansk, Poland
  • Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
  • Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois
  • University Hospital Duesseldorf in Duesseldorf, Germany
  • University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas

ThyCa has two Research Funds. One fund supports research of follicular-cell-derived thyroid cancer, including papillary, follicular, anaplastic, and variants. The other research fund supports research of medullary thyroid cancer.

ThyCa is a national nonprofit 501 (c)(3) service organization of thyroid cancer survivors, families, and health care professionals advised by nationally recognized experts on thyroid cancer and dedicated to education, support, communication, awareness for early detection, and thyroid cancer research fundraising and research grants.

ThyCa sponsors free support services and resources including ThyCa’s award-winning educational web site, the ThyCa Person To Person Network, more than 70 local support groups, ten e-mail support groups, a toll-free survivors’ telephone number, a free online newsletter, the free downloadable Low-Iodine Cookbook, the cookbook plus many other materials in Spanish, and regional one-day workshops. ThyCa also sponsors Thyroid Cancer Awareness Month, as well as year-round awareness campaigns.

In addition, ThyCa’s annual international conference brings together thyroid cancer survivors, families, and experts in thyroid cancer treatment and research. The 10th International Thyroid Cancer Survivors’ Conference will take place October 17-19, 2008, in St. Louis, Missouri, at the Sheraton Westport Hotel.

Information about thyroid cancer, ThyCa's free support services and publications, and its events is available by writing to P.O. Box 1102, Olney, MD 20830-1102, e-mailing to thyca@thyca.org, calling 877-588-7904, faxing to 630-604-6078, or visiting the ThyCa web site.