St. Baldrick’s Foundation awards $50,000 grant to the Health Science Center San Antonio

Media Contact: Traci Shirk, 626-792-8247 ext. 50

Local grant is part of more than $21 million awarded in grants in 2011

SAN ANTONIO (January 11, 2012) – It takes life-saving research and access to clinical trials to Conquer Kids’ Cancer! The St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a volunteer-driven charity dedicated to raising money for ,a href=http://www.stbaldricks.org/where-the-money-goes/research-priorities>childhood cancer research, awarded an infrastructure grant of $50,000 to The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. The Foundation’s infrastructure grants provide institutions with resources to enable them to conduct more research and enroll more kids in ongoing clinical trials – their best hope for a cure.

Worldwide, more than 160,000 children are diagnosed with cancer each year and it remains the leading cause of death by disease among children in the United States. With only 4 percent of all federal cancer research funding dedicated to pediatric cancer research, and more than 70 percent of children receiving treatment through clinical trials, St. Baldrick’s Foundation infrastructure grants are critical to finding cures for all childhood cancers.

“The St. Baldrick’s grant will help us enroll children on clinical trials in the San Antonio and South Texas Region,” said Dr. Gregory Aune, M.D., Ph.D., a pediatric oncologist in the School of Medicine at the UT Health Science Center and a researcher in the Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute there. “In partnership with CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital, the UT Health Science Center provides care for a population that is historically underrepresented in childhood cancer research studies. Continuing to build our research and clinical services will ultimately result in important findings that help our own pediatric cancer patients. We are grateful that organizations such as The St. Baldrick’s Foundation can support our local efforts through this much-needed financial support.”

The fall grants, combined with the more than $19.6 million awarded in June, bring the St. Baldrick’s Foundation’s funding total to more than $21 million awarded in 2011. Infrastructure grants were awarded based on the need of the institution and its patients, anticipated results of the grant and local participation in St. Baldrick’s events.

Everyone can do their part to support St. Baldrick’s. To locate or ,a href=http://www.stbaldricks.org/get_involved/event_organizer.php>organize an event in your community, sign-up to shave, donate or volunteer, visit www.StBaldricks.org. You can also become a fan on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, join our letsCONQUER movement and visit the Foundation’s YouTube and Vimeo channels.

The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is a volunteer-driven charity committed to funding the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long and healthy lives. The Foundation funds more in childhood cancer research grants than any organization except the U.S. government. St. Baldrick’s funds are granted to some of the most brilliant childhood cancer research experts in the world and to younger professionals who will be the experts of tomorrow. Funds awarded also enable hundreds of local institutions to participate in national pediatric cancer clinical trials, a child’s best hope for a cure. Since the Foundation’s first grants as an independent charity in 2005, St. Baldrick’s has funded more than $78 million in childhood cancer research. For more information about the St. Baldrick’s Foundation please call 1.888.899.BALD or visit www.StBaldricks.org.


The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, one of the country’s leading health sciences universities, ranks in the top 3 percent of all institutions worldwide receiving federal funding. Research and other sponsored program activity totaled $228 million in fiscal year 2010. The university’s schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions and graduate biomedical sciences have produced approximately 26,000 graduates. The $744 million operating budget supports eight campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. For more information on the many ways “We make lives better®,” visit www.uthscsa.edu.



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