Letter from the President
Kelly Shanahan, M.D.
I am writing this from an airport, a place I’ve been spending a lot of time in over the past 6 to 8 weeks. Between traveling 1100 miles each way for a clinical trial, and participating in conferences and advocacy events, with a spa weekend with my daughter thrown in there, I feel like all I do is unpack my suitcase, do laundry, and then put the clothes back in the suitcase.
Some of you are in the midst of reviewing letters of intent for the 2026 grant cycle. Thank you! Once again we received a record number of LoIs, with 3/4 of them being for the $450,000 translational award mechanism. We cannot do this without both scientific reviewers and patient advocate reviewers, and we can’t award a single dollar without the support of you, our generous supporters. We have had lofty goals in the past for how much money we want to raise for research, but with the uncertainty in the world we are being a little bit more realistic, but still our goal is $3.75 million this year. If you can, give up a fancy coffee, and donate! Every little bit counts!
-Kelly