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Celebrate Hope

Celebrate Hope to fund research into ovarian, breast cancer

Celebrate Hope, set for Nov. 21 at USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute, will raise funds for research on new therapies for ovarian and breast cancer.

Published Nov 11th, 2019

Two cancer research projects – one targeting ovarian cancer and the other focused on breast cancer – will receive funding from the 11th annual Celebrate Hope, set for Nov. 21 at USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute.

“Since Celebrate Hope began as one of the signature events in Mobile, it has raised more than $3 million for basic cancer research, early detection and technology at the Mitchell Cancer Institute,” said Kelly McCarron, associate vice president for medical affairs and development at USA Health. “We have selected these two projects as this year’s recipients because they could have significant impacts on women in our region and beyond.”

The annual gala features dishes by local chefs. A sponsor-only event beginning at 5:30 p.m. features an exclusive tasting with James Beard Award winner Chef Chris Hastings, co-owner of Hot & Hot Fish Club and OvenBird in Birmingham.

Tickets ($175) and sponsorships ($1,000 and up) can be purchased at usahealthsystem.com/events/celebrate-hope or by contacting Casey Hitson at 251-460-6209 or caseyhitson@southalabama.edu.

The ovarian cancer research project seeks to explore whether measuring DNA damage in a patient’s tumor can predict how she will respond to treatment. “Currently, there are no easy-to-use tools to measure DNA damage and DNA repair defects in patient samples,” said Natalie Gassman, Ph.D., assistant professor of physiology and cell biology at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine.

“We have developed the Repair Assisted Damage Detection method to measure DNA damage,” Gassman said. “We plan to develop a clinical assay for measuring DNA damage in ovarian cancer patients and demonstrate that this mechanism can be used in a clinical setting to stratify patients for treatment.”

The goal is to better tailor treatments to individual patients, she said. Gassman will collaborate with Jennifer Scalici, M.D., associate professor of clinical oncology at the Mitchell Cancer Institute, and Dongquan Chen, Ph.D., associate professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The breast cancer project involves a novel therapy intended to reduce tumor progression and metastasis. Researchers will deliver a DNA repair fusion protein into the mitochondria of breast cancer cells to prevent oxidative stress, which can fuel cancer.

Lyudmila Rachek, Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmacology at the USA College of Medicine, said the goal is to establish the feasibility of a new breast cancer drug. Rachek will collaborate with Lalita Shevde, Ph.D., professor of pathology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Celebrate Hope will showcase dishes from a variety of local restaurants and caterers: Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, Pour Baby, Von’s Bistro, Five, Georgia Roussos, Half Shell Oyster House, Chef Cassie Powers, FlourGirls Bakery, Wintzell’s Oyster House and Wai Wai Poke Café.

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