Ahmanson Foundation Gift Supports Specimen Repository

February 14, 2017

The specimen repository housed at the John Wayne Cancer Institute is a priceless resource for cancer research worldwide. A recent gift from The Ahmanson Foundation will help ensure the modernization and expansion of this unique laboratory.

The Ahmanson Foundation’s $500,000 gift recently facilitated the purchase of new freezers to store more than 1.6 million vials of serum and tissue. The new freezers are more energy- and space-efficient and are designed with state-of-the-art safeguards to ensure around-the-clock protection of these irreplaceable samples.

Used by researchers in studies on both prognostic and diagnostic biomarkers in cancer, genetic and molecular analysis of the tissue has allowed research to better match a patient’s disease with personalized treatments. The medical information regarding each of the patients who have donated specimens has also been carefully maintained. Knowledge of how the patients fared allows researchers to analyze biological markers or genetic patterns.

In accordance with the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Resource Sharing Policy, the Institute is committed to making specimens available to qualified outside researchers for use in major collaborative studies across the globe.

The Ahmanson Foundation is a highly regarded philanthropic foundation based in Los Angeles and is a long-time supporter of the Institute and Providence Saint John’s Health Center.

“Gifts like this help us to maintain John Wayne’s legacy,” says Mark B. Faries, MD, director of the Complex General Surgical Oncology Fellowship, director of the Donald L. Morton, MD, Melanoma Research Program and director of therapeutic immunology at the Institute. “The repository is a treasure and allows our scientists to pursue innovative research that is difficult or impossible to do anywhere else. We are extremely grateful to The Ahmanson Foundation and other philanthropic individuals who understand the importance of supporting the repository. This is an investment in the future of cancer research.”

For more information on supporting the specimen repository, please contact Michael Avila in the Office of Development at 310-829-8351.

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