Taylor-Wharton Partners For Life Awards Freezer to Comprehensive Cancer Center at University of Alabama at Birmingham

Taylor-Wharton is pleased to announce the winner of the Partners For Life Achievement Program for 2012 is the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Dr. William Grizzle.

In 2012, the goal of the campaign was to support the ongoing challenge of finding a cure for breast cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, 226,870 individuals are expected to be diagnosed with this terrible disease in the United States this year. In addition, approximately 39,510 U.S. deaths are expected to be attributed to breast cancer in 2012 alone.

A panel of six experts in the biotechnology field determined the University of Alabama at Birmingham the most worthy recipient of the Taylor-Wharton 2012 Breast Cancer LABS unit, a liquid nitrogen freezer capable of holding 20,000 samples, valued at over $22,000. The inaugural Partners For Life campaign took an active role to help develop a cure to reduce these tragic statistics, and future campaigns will support varying medical research fields each year.

Dr. William E.Grizzle, Professor of Pathology, and Director, Tissue Procurement and Banking Facility at the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center said, “The Tissue Collection and Banking Facility (TCBF) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is very excited to have been awarded the Taylor-Wharton ‘pink’ liquid nitrogen freezer. This freezer will provide us with an opportunity to expand human tissue collection for our SPORE (Specialized Program of Research Excellence) in Breast Cancer and to expand our efforts in both breast and ovarian cancer via the Cooperative Human Tissue Network (CHTN); both our Breast SPORE and the CHTN, which provides specimens to researchers throughout North America, will expand research focused on the use of human tissue from breast and ovarian cancers. It is extremely generous of Taylor-Wharton to provide this freezer as a resource to support research in major cancers that affect women and we are very pleased to have been selected to be part of this effort.”

Luke Bradshaw, CryoScience Sales Manager for the Americas, stated, “The quality of applicants for the inaugural campaign was exceptional, leading to our continuation and expansion of the program in 2013. We would also like to thank the panel for their time, expertise and help on this project, and look forward to continuing the Partners For Life program.”