Wednesday, April 15, 2009
The University’s potential recognition as having a nationally designated cancer institute will offer Kansas the opportunity to conduct world-class reasearch. But it will also offer Adam Duerfeldt the opportunity to honor his best friend, who died of pancreatic cancer at age 18.
Duerfeldt, Urbandale, Iowa, graduate student in medicinal chemistry, said losing his childhood baseball buddy solidified his desire to pursue cancer research.
“Tim might have lost his battle, but the qualities I’ve learned have given me the confidence and determination to help fight the war,” Duerfeldt wrote in his personal statement when he applied to graduate school in 2006. The statement is posted on NCAA.org.
Duerfeldt said he knew the University had a focus on cancer research, which led to his decision to apply for graduate school.
The KU Cancer Center is planning to apply for a National Cancer Institute Designation in 2011. If accepted, the center would become the 64th NCI-designated facility, joining the ranks of cancer research institutions such as Stanford and Baylor, the two most recent designates.
“I knew there were big plans in making KU a national powerhouse,” Duerfeldt said.
The KU Cancer Center is officially counting down the days until it can apply for National Cancer Institute designation. According to the countdown on the center’s Web site, 893 days remain.
The NCI awards cancer centers with research grants to further their studies. In 2005, Chancellor Robert Hemenway said cancer research would become the University’s top priority. Currently, the University is on track to become the 64th NCI-designated center, just after Stanford and Baylor.
Roy Jensen, director of the University’s cancer center, said the University would need the 893 days to prepare for the extensive application process. The NCI designation is considered the highest recognition for an academic cancer center.
“We have such an incredibly strong school of pharmacy and an incredibly rich history of drug discovery and development,” Jensen said.
On Monday, Jensen told U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.) that the University housed the expertise to fuel strong relationships between researchers and drug developers, which would make the KU Cancer Center an ideal candidate for NCI designation.
Jensen said he thought bringing NCI designation to Kansas would elevate the overall level of patient care by providing local facilities for treatment. He said the designation would also help create thousands of jobs in the state.
A study published in 2005 by the Perryman Group, a corporate financial analysis firm, predicted that the KU Cancer Center would generate 9,400 jobs in 10 years.
Erica Brown, communications director for the Cancer Center, said the center’s first objective was to recruit world-class cancer researchers.
“In order to attract them you have to be able to house their research,” Brown said. She said the University currently had limited space to accommodate the research.
“Bricks, mortar and equipment are important, but the only reason they’re important is the people who use them,” Provost Richard Lariviere said. Lariviere said it was important to provide researchers with the necessary tools and accommodations in order to obtain NCI designation.
The KU Cancer Center currently has ties with hospitals around the state, a relationship called the Midwest Cancer Alliance, to address the 12,500 cases of cancer diagnosed in Kansas each year. Jensen said 5,300 Kansans died each year from cancer.
“Right now we’re in the middle of a hole where a huge part of our region is under served,” Brown said. She said the cancer center was trying to close the hole.
Duerfeldt said he would continue on his path to find cures for cancer and said losing his best friend to pancreatic cancer and his grandmother to lung cancer had made him eternally dedicated to drug research and development.
“It seems like no matter how old you get you know someone with the disease,” he said. “It constantly gives you motivation.”
— — Edited by Grant Treaster
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