Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer Is Set to Award $150,000 in Research Grants at the 10th Annual Dream Makers Gala

DDF Announces Award Recipients and Generous Donors of 2019 Stomach Cancer Research Grants

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Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer

Apr 24, 2019, 08:33 ET

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., April 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer (DDF) announced that three $50,000 research grants would be awarded at the 10^th annual Dream Makers Gala. The event will take place on Saturday, May 4, 2019, from 7 p.m. to 12 a.m. at Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort in Hollywood, Florida. Each research grant is the result of generous donations made to DDF in honor of those who lost their life to stomach cancer. Grants will be awarded to researchers who are conducting studies in areas specific to gastric cancer as follows:

Photo: (l to r) DDF Board President Michael Ehren with DDF-AACR 2019 Grant Recipients Ankur Nagaraja, Youn-Sang Jung, and Katsumi Yamaguchi, and DDF Executive Director Andrea Eidelman

$50,000 Debbie's Dream Foundation-AACR Gastric Cancer Research Fellowship in honor of Debbie Zelman will be awarded to Katsumi Yamaguchi, Ph.D. of Johns Hopkins University-School of Medicine. Dr. Yamaguchi's research project is exploring the role of LINE-1 retrotransposition in gastric cancer.
$50,000 Debbie's Dream Foundation-Stupid Strong-AACR Gastric Cancer Research Fellowship in honor of Candace Netzer will be awarded to Ankur Nagaraja, MD, Ph.D. of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Nagaraja is assessing replication stress as a therapeutic vulnerability in gastric cancer.
$50,000 Debbie's Dream Foundation-AACR Gastric Cancer Research Fellowship in honor of Petros Palandjian will be awarded to Youn-Sang Jung, Ph.D. of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Jung is exploring CRAD, a cytoskeletal tumor suppressor, in diffuse-type gastric cancer.

This year's list of generous donors include Andrew Guttman and family who donated $50,000 in honor of his late wife and DDF Founder Debbie Zelman; former tennis player and successful businessman Peter Palandjian who gave $50,000 in recognition of his late father Petros Palandjian; and Stupid Strong, an organization dedicated to raising awareness about stomach cancer, who gave $50,000 in honor of late Stupid Strong Founder Candace Netzer.

"Every year we host our Gala to achieve our mission which is to one day help find a cure for gastric cancer," said DDF Executive Director Andrea Eidelman. "These young researchers give us hope that their work will yield significant developments that will eventually lead to alternative and better treatments for patients. These opportunities are afforded thanks to the generosity of our donors who so passionately support and believe in DDF's mission."

For more information about the 10^th Annual Dream Makers Gala, DDF's research grant program, or to learn more about DDF, visit www.DebbiesDream.org.

About Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer

DDF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about gastric cancer, advancing funding for research, and providing education and support internationally to patients, families, and caregivers. DDF seeks as its ultimate goal to make the cure for stomach cancer a reality.

DDF was founded in 2009 by Debbie Zelman after she was diagnosed with stage IV incurable gastric cancer in 2008 and given only weeks to live. Debbie is considered a pioneer by many for bringing awareness to the plight of stomach cancer patients worldwide and to the lack of federal funding for stomach cancer research. She did all of this while receiving hundreds of rounds of chemo, in addition to daily oral treatments. Debbie passed away on December 23, 2017, at the age of 50, almost a decade later. As a result of her leadership, DDF now has a Scientific and Medical Advisory Board of world-renowned doctors and chapters throughout the United States and in Canada and Germany. DDF strives to continue Debbie's mission and make her dream a reality. To learn more about DDF, please visit us at www.DebbiesDream.org.

Media Contact:
Brittnay Starks
Communications Coordinator
Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer
(954) 475-1200
[email protected]

SOURCE Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer