V Foundation Grant Will Grow New Generation of Cancer Researchers

Jim Oblinger, Nick Valvano and John Cavanagh announced the Jimmy V-NC State Cancer Therapeutics Training Program at a news conference.

There are so many things that excite Nick Valvano about the Jimmy V-NC State Cancer Therapeutics Training Program, which was approved Friday by the NC State Board of Trustees.

It provides the opportunity for young students – from high school to undergraduates to graduate students – to get on a path toward cancer research. He believes his late brother, former NC State basketball coach and athletics director Jim Valvano, would be proud of that.

It is also the chance for NC State and the V Foundation for Cancer Research, founded by Jim Valvano just months before he died on April 28, 1993, to collaborate on cutting-edge research to fulfill Valvano's dying wish – to find a cure for cancer.

Finally, it creates a permanent legacy for Valvano at NC State.

"NC State is honored to have a program such as this one to be the first gift named for Jimmy V on our campus," Chancellor James Oblinger said during a news conference announcing the program. "It is quite appropriate that NC State honor Jim Valvano's memory and his legacy through a program that will enhance cancer education through cancer research."

Nick Valvano, chief executive officer of the V Foundation, says that the collaboration with NC State makes sense.

"What's so exciting is that this program plays to the strengths of NC State in its scientific research," Valvano says. "It makes me proud to say we're doing this with NC State and that it has Jim's name on it."

The partnership, funded by a $1 million award from the V Foundation will get students – high schoolers, undergraduates and graduate students – out of the classroom and into different NC State research labs involved in cancer therapeutics.

"This unique program will give a variety of students a broad look at cancer and expose them to real research projects engaged in all stages of cancer therapeutics," says Dr. John Cavanagh, professor of molecular and structural biochemistry and the leader of the project. "The most effective way to get students excited about the prospect of going into scientific research is by letting them get their hands wet and do real science – that's what this program is all about."

The program will initially fund 15 to 20 students who will be selected after a competitive application process. While most program students will be undergraduates, Cavanagh says that high-school students from Wake County – especially underrepresented students – will have the opportunity to work in the labs, as will graduate students and post-doctoral students, who will serve as mentors.

Students will be initially exposed to four ongoing NC State cancer therapeutic research projects in the laboratories of Cavanagh, Dr. Christian Melander (assistant professor of chemistry), Dr. Jonathan Lindsey (Glaxo Distinguished University Professor of Chemistry) and Dr. Jonathan Horowitz (associate professor of oncology). These collaborating core faculty work in an array of cancer areas, providing students with a very broad view of cancer research.

"These projects present different stages in the drug-design process, ranging from the identification of important target pathways to synthesizing molecules that have already shown great promise in cancer treatment," Cavanagh says. "By such broad exposure, students will find a particular area of interest and, hopefully, become tomorrow's generation of cancer researchers."

The V Foundation funding also includes resources for an undergraduate research lab – where undergraduates and high-school students can practice and learn more about working in a research lab – and for travel expenses to attend scholarly meetings to present research findings.

"I will tell you, this will be the proudest thing I have ever done with the V Foundation," Valvano said. "Of all the projects we have funded and all the careers we have begun, I'll be most proud of this."