Sea to Sea for MBC was very fortunate to be invited to present at a community event at the Peoples Church, in East Lansing, Michigan on Monday, April 27. Issuing the invitation was the church’s recently retired pastor, Penelope Barnett Swartz, a childhood friend of our own CJ Corneliussen-James. Penny and CJ hadn’t seen each other in many years, so the reunion in the attractive community room at the church was a bonus to the program.
For the first time in two weeks, Kelly Lange got a break from presenting as she turned her Sea to Sea for MBC responsibilities over to CJ and Lisa Schofield. Following a presentation by CJ, Dr. Eran Andrechek, Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology at Michigan State University and a METAvivor grant recipient, generously gave his second talk of the day. Earlier that day both Kelly and Eran had spoken before an audience at Michigan State University.
In addition to reviewing his study area, identifying driver mutations that regulate metastasis, comparing tumors that do and do not metastasize and identifying genes that drive tumors to metastasize, Eran detailed some of the challenges faced by researchers in the fight against MBC. The most glaring is the lack of funds – the problem that instigated the founding of METAvivor in 2009. Not only does the lack of funding prevent many excellent research concepts from ever getting off the ground, it also causes an exodus of talented researchers, who are unable to make a living in their chosen field.
Another issue is the difficulty involved in getting research into publications. “Publishing” is critical for many reasons. Not only does it help get the research out there for others to see and utilize, but it helps establish the researcher in his field, which increases his ability to obtain the additional grants necessary to proceed with his work. However, it is not easy to publish. Submitted papers are often kicked back several times for additional clarification – even at times for additional research. Each reviewer might have a different requirement resulting in multiple rewrites. And IF ultimately accepted, applicants must pay up to $2000 for inclusion in the publication; even more, if graphics are to appear in color.
Another obstacle for researchers is the amount of grant money withheld by the institutions where they are employed. The reality is that researchers are expected to bring in part of their salary in grants and facilities need funding just to stay afloat. Fifty-percent withholding is not uncommon and it can go as high as 80%. Eran praised Michigan State for its nine-month salary program, meaning that he must bring in only three months of his salary in grant withholding. That is considered low. (NOTE: Non-profits can specify or negotiate the amount of withholding. METAvivor limits withholding to 5% of grant money received by a facility. Those institutions that do not accept this arrangement are not eligible for METAvivor funding.)
Eran learned about METAvivor at a conference where 2011 grant recipient, Alana Welm, credited METAvivor as a funder of her research. Eran became curious, checked out our website and decided to apply. We are glad that he did!
