Volunteers to provide patient and caregiver perspective to foundation’s grant award process
NEW YORK, NY (August 29, 2023) – The Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) is pleased to announce the appointment of a select group of volunteers as its Research Advocates. These dedicated individuals are patients, survivors, caregivers, healthcare professionals, and advocates committed to identifying and funding innovative lung cancer research.
This group is tasked with playing a significant role in determining areas of research to fund, drafting requests for proposals (RFPs), reviewing, and providing input on grant applications, and supporting education, awareness, and funding efforts.
“It is important to include the patient voice in everything we do as an organization,” remarked Aubrey Rhodes, LCRF’s Executive Director. “Patient involvement in the decision-making process surrounding LCRF’s research investments ensures funding for the most promising projects with the greatest potential impact on patient outcomes.”
“At its core, research is about creating better outcomes for patients, so enabling us to participate in the process – from prioritizing areas of research to focus on through helping identify the most promising grant submissions – will help advance research that has the greatest chance of changing people’s lives,” says Bruce Dunbar, LCRF board member, chair of LCRF’s Corporate Development Committee, and Research Advocate. “The scope of innovative thinking and high-potential research in lung cancer science today is unprecedented and I’m excited to work with this prestigious group to advance the research in patient-centric ways.”
LCRF’s Research Advocates
Aaron Andersen, MD — Waukesha, WI
Emergency Medicine Physician
Emergency Medical Associates of Waukesha, WI
Lung Cancer Patient Advocate
Sarah Christ — Long Island, NY
Lung Cancer Patient/Survivor & Advocate
Colleen Conner Ziegler — Rochester, NY
LCRF Board of Directors, LCRF Scientific Executive Committee
Lung Cancer Patient/Survivor & Advocate
Denise Cutlip – Ypsilanti, MI
LCRF Education and Engagement Committee
Lung Cancer Patient/Survivor & Advocate
Dusty Donaldson — High Point, NC
Founder, Dusty Joy Foundation
Lung Cancer Patient/Survivor & Advocate
Bruce Dunbar — New Rochelle, NY
LCRF Board of Directors, LCRF Corporate Development Committee Chair
Lung Cancer Patient/Survivor & Advocate
Kristen H. Kimball, MS, MEM — Boston, MA
Educator, UCONN
Lung Cancer Patient Advocate
Barbara LaMonaca — Falls Church, VA
BSN, Speech Pathology & Audiology, Retired
Lung Cancer Patient/Survivor & Advocate
Sulaiha Masten, PhD — Fairfax, VA
Clinical Psychologist, Retired
Lung Cancer Patient/Survivor & Advocate
Frank McKenna, MS Ed — Virginia Beach, VA
Cancer Exercise Specialist
Founder, Beach Better Bodies
Lung Cancer Patient/Survivor & Advocate
Emily Venanzi, PhD – Newton, MA
ALK Positive Inc. Medical Committee
Lung Cancer Patient/Survivor & Advocate
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About the Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF)
The Lung Cancer Research Foundation® (LCRF) is the leading nonprofit organization focused on funding innovative, high-reward research with the potential to extend survival and improve quality of life for people with lung cancer. LCRF’s mission is to improve lung cancer outcomes by funding research for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure of lung cancer. To date, LCRF has funded 409 research grants, totaling more than $42 million, the highest amount provided by a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding lung cancer research. For more information, visit LCRF.org.