Funded Research

October 15, 2008: The Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative is pleased to announce that it is funding a 1-year, $50,000 research study, "Expression profiles of liposarcomas that have activated different telomere maintenance mechanisms." The study is being conducted by Dominique Broccoli, Ph.D, who is in the Department of Laboratory Oncology Research at the Curtis and Elizabeth Anderson Cancer Institute, Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah, Georgia. You can read about Dr. Broccoli’s work in her article, "Telomere maintenance mechanisms in liposarcomas." The funding of this grant is made possible, in part, by a generous gift from Laura Somerville, MD, PhD.

Rose BurtWe are dedicating this grant to Rose Burt, a courageous, inspirational, and tireless advocate for sarcoma. She was a wonderfully warm and compassionate person who impacted the lives of many hundreds of sarcoma patients, caregivers, and survivors. In the midst of her own 21-year battle with liposarcoma, Rose spent countless hours providing information, referrals, resources and a listening ear as the list manager for some of the online sarcoma support lists of the Association of Cancer Online Resources (ACOR). She was often one of the first persons the newly diagnosed patients would meet in their online quest for answers and hope.

Rose was honored with the 2007 Leadership in Courage Award by the Sarcoma Foundation of America for her support of others living with sarcoma. She was a member of the Sarcoma Advocacy Advisory Committee of the Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative and offered many useful comments and creative suggestions about the information we provide and the projects that we undertake.

Rose and her husband Bill participated in the 2007 Team Sarcoma Bike tour in Vermont. Although we had been communicating with Rose for over three years before then, we had not met her face-to-face. It was a blessing for us to have spent this week with her and Bill.

Rose died Monday, Sept. 15, 2008, at age 71 at Trinity Pathway Hospice in Bettendorf, Iowa, after her courageous battle with sarcoma. She was a very special person and is missed by all those who knew her. Rose, we are all in your debt.

Peace,

Bruce and Bev Shriver
Co-founders, Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative

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