Volunteers Provide Patient and Caregiver Perspective to Foundation's Grant Award Process

NEW YORK, June 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) is pleased to announce the expansion of its Research Advocate group. This select group of volunteers 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.

"Research is how we will improve patients' lives," remarked Dr. Antoinette Wozniak, LCRF's Chief Scientific Officer. "Patient involvement in LCRF's research grant process, from identifying areas of unmet need to helping identify the most promising projects to fund, ensures that we are investing in projects that have the greatest chance of making an impact on lung cancer and patient outcomes."

"It is important to have the patient perspective when reviewing submissions for lung cancer research grants," says Dusty Donaldson, Founder of Dusty Joy Foundation and LCRF Research Advocate. "Being part of the grant review process is both empowering and hopeful, as we see first-hand the innovative thinking that lung cancer scientists are using to make the future brighter for everyone impacted by lung cancer. I am thrilled to work with these dedicated volunteers in advancing research in patient-centric ways and welcome our new colleagues to the group."

LCRF's Research Advocates:

New Members (2024)

Caroline Blanchard, DNP, FNP-C – Metairie, LA
Urologic Oncology Nurse Practitioner
Lung Cancer Patient/Survivor & Advocate

Stephen Huff – Franklin, TN
Founder of The Huff Project
Lung Cancer Patient/Survivor & Advocate

Tiffini Joseph, RN – Pembroke Pines, FL
Pediatric CVICU, Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital
Lung Cancer Patient Advocate

Barbara Marsh DSW, MSW – Miamisburg, OH
Social Worker
Caregiver/Lung Cancer Patient Advocate

Aileen Murgatroyd – Sprotbrough, UK
Lung Cancer Patient Advocate

Marc Tannenbaum, MD – New York, NY 
Caregiver/Lung Cancer Patient Advocate

Randi Warren, MD – New York, NY 
Lung Cancer Patient/Survivor & Advocate

Existing Members:

Aaron Andersen, MD—Waukesha, WI
Emergency Medicine Physician
Emergency Medical Associates of Waukesha, WI
Lung Cancer Patient 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

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

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 419 research grants, totaling nearly $44 million, the highest amount provided by a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding lung cancer research. For more information, visit lcrf.org.

Contact:
Sheila Sullivan
Sr. Director, Marketing & Communications, LCRF
ssullivan@lcrf.org

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SOURCE Lung Cancer Research Foundation