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Posted on August 22, 2006 Entire Community Endows Cancer Research Fund The UC Davis Cancer Center in Sacramento has announced the establishment of the Auburn Community Cancer Endowment Fund, the first at the University of California, Davis to be named in honor of an entire community. Begun in the spring of 2001, the effort to build an endowment was supported by more than twenty individual fundraising events by people in Auburn and Placer County who'd had their own experiences with cancer. "From this small core, the effort expanded and eventually touched all aspects of our community," said Bart O'Brien, a local school superintendent who chairs the fund's board of directors. In reaching $1.5 million, the endowment will support basic cancer research at the cancer center in perpetuity, and earnings from the fund are expected to be about $60,000 to $70,000 annually. The information gathered from basic research is essential for translating or applying new knowledge to patient care. At UC Davis Cancer Center, research will include a focus on cell signaling, DNA repair, and animal tumor biology. According to center officials, the endowment comes at a critical moment in cancer research, with federal support flattening out despite scientists getting close to understanding the disease at the molecular level. "The endowment is a tremendous legacy for the people of Auburn and Placer County, and a model for other cancer centers nationwide," said cancer center director Ralph deVere White. "[This] endowment...will reap important scientific, medical, and economic dividends for everyone in our region for generations to come." “Auburn Residents Raise $1.5 Million for Historic Cancer Research Endowment.” UC Davis Cancer Center Press Release 8/17/06. Primary Subject: Health Secondary Subject(s): Medical Research Location(s): Auburn, California, Davis, Placer County FC009401

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