VOLUNTEERS DOCTORS DONORS 2004 Annual Report ESPN: The V Foundation Founding Partner The V Foundation’s relationship with founding sponsor ESPN continues to be one of the single most important keys to The Foundation’s success. From the day in 1993 that then-ESPN President Steve Bornstein suggested to Jim and Pam Valvano that ESPN would start a foundation for cancer research with Jim, to today’s leadership under President George Bodenheimer, ESPN offers The Foundation immeasurable support and visibility. What started as a commitment from Jim Valvano’s television colleagues has grown to company-wide involvement with input from every single arm of the company. To attempt to cite every example of support or to try to capture the scope of exposure, promotion and resources offered to The Foundation would be a daunting task. The V Foundation will always be indebted to the ESPN family. From the day they provided a forum for Jim Valvano to utter the now famous “Don’t Give Up…Don’t Ever Give Up!”® speech at the inaugural ESPY Awards, to their unprecedented support of The Foundation on a daily basis, ESPN is truly the foundation of The V Foundation. Board of Directors Jim Allegro Robert E. Lloyd Pamela Valvano Strasser Retired Executive Vice President, ESPN, Inc. Chairman, The V Foundation Chairwoman, The V Foundation Robert C. Bast Jr., M.D. Michael C. Mac Donald Nicholas P. Valvano Vice President for Translational Research, President, CEO, The V Foundation MD Anderson Cancer Center Global Accounts and Marketing Operations, Xerox Corporation Robert Valvano George Bodenheimer Sports Commentator President, ABC Sports and ESPN, Inc. Geoffrey S. Mason President and CEO, Lesley Visser Steven M. Bornstein Mainstay Communications, Ltd. Sports Commentator, CBS and HBO President and CEO, NFL Television Joseph O. Moore, M.D. Dick Vitale Bill Cosby Professor, Hematology & Oncology, Sports Commentator, ESPN and ABC Sports Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center George W. Dennis III R.C. “Bucky” Waters Managing Partner, Robert C. Nakasone Retired Vice Chancellor for Special Projects, Teague, Campbell, Dennis, & Gorham, LLP Former CEO, Toys “R” Us Duke University Medical Center Sports Commentator, Peggy Fleming Jenkins Lawrence F. Probst III ESPN & Madison Square Garden Sports Commentator, ABC Sports Chairman and CEO, Electronic Arts Dereck Whittenburg Rosa M. Gatti Harry E. Rhoads, Jr. Head Coach, Men’s Basketball, Senior Vice President, President, Washington Speakers Bureau Fordham University Corporate Communications and Outreach, ESPN, Inc. John Saunders David W. Williams Sports Commentator, Former Senior Vice President, Philip H. Knight ESPN and ABC Sports Whirlpool Corporation Chairman of the Board, Nike, Inc. Dr. Anthony F. Smith Michael K. Krzyzewski Managing Director, Head Coach, Men’s Basketball, Duke University Leadership Research Institute Scientific Review Committee Martin D. Abeloff, M.D. Paul F. Engstrom, M.D. Joseph O. Moore, M.D. Director, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Senior Vice President for Population Science, Professor, Hematology and Oncology, Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins Fox Chase Cancer Center Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center Baltimore, Md. Philadelphia, Pa. Durham, N.C. Robert C. Bast, Jr., M.D. Olivera J. Finn, Ph.D. David E. Schuller, M.D. Vice President for Translational Research, Director of Immunology Program, Director, Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute Richard J. Solove Research Institute, University of Texas Department Chair and Professor, The Ohio State University Houston, Texas Dept. of Immunology, Columbus, Ohio University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine William T. Beck, Ph.D. Jonathan W. Simons, M.D. Professor and Head, Richard I. Fisher, M.D. Director, Winship Cancer Institute, Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, Director, James P. Wilmot Cancer Center, Emory University School of Medicine University of Illinois University of Rochester Medical Center Atlanta, Ga. Chicago, Ill. Rochester, N.Y. Margaret A. Tempero, M.D. Gerold Bepler M.D., Ph.D. James M. Ford, M.D. Director of Clinical Sciences and Deputy Director, Program Leader, Thoracic Oncology, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Genetics, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Professor of Medicine and Oncology, Stanford University School of Medicine University of California at San Francisco H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Stanford, Calif. San Francisco, Calif. Research Institute Tampa, Fla. D. Gary Gilliland, M.D., Ph.D. Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ronald A. DePinho, M.D. Professor, Harvard Institutes of Medicine, Professor of Medicine and Genetics, Boston, Mass. Harvard Medical School, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Lynn M. Matrisian, Ph.D Boston, Mass. Professor and Chair, Department of Cancer Biology, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center Nashville, Tenn. Dear Friends, As we take time to reflect upon 2004 and look with eager anticipation at the years ahead, we do so with excitement. Last year was significant for The V Foundation for Cancer Research in many ways. With the generous support and tireless effort of countless donors and volunteers, we were able to award approximately $3.3 million in cancer research grants to tal- ented scientists and doctors nationwide. Equally important are the strides the Foundation made towards becoming fully endowed. We are now 75 percent towards reaching our endowment goal. As we intensify the efforts to complete our endowment drive this spring, we do so with the hope of being fully endowed by the end of 2006. We are proud that an average of 83 cents of each dollar we receive is avail- able for cancer research, but once we reach our endowment goal every cent given to The V Foundation will go directly towards research. Now in our second decade, we have raised more than $45 million and awarded more than 200 cancer research grants nationwide since The Foundation’s inception. Our Scientific Review Committee, which consists of top physicians and research scientists from prominent universities and cancer centers nationwide, assures that only the finest research projects with the most potential are funded. We watch with anticipation and gratefulness as those doctors we have funded make progress in the fight against cancer and we look forward to the day when we can join them in victory. It has been 12 years since Jim organized his team to wage war on cancer and announced the formation of The V Foundation at the inaugural ESPY Awards. While much has been accomplished since then, there is still much more to be done. In 2005, “Friends of V” affiliate organizations are continuing to join forces in the fight against cancer. Friends of The V Foundation are uniting on a grassroots level to help increase funding for The Foundation and share the urgency of fighting this disease with others. Money raised by “Friends of V” affiliates helps fund cancer research grants on a local basis. Additionally, for the first time we are hosting a “Spirit of Jimmy V Gala” in New York City on April 22. The Honorable Rudolph W. Giuliani will be recognized as the first “Spirit of Jimmy V Honoree.” Duke University head basketball coach and V Foundation board member Mike Krzyzewski will serve as the evening’s featured speaker while fellow board member John Saunders of ESPN and ABC Sports will host the event. We are pleased that the spirit of Jim, who so eloquently said “Don’t Give Up…Don’t Ever Give Up!”®, continues to endure in the lives of so many. We appreciate your contributions and support. And we urge you to continue to join us in the battle against this disease until we can all celebrate that Jim’s final dream to conquer cancer has become reality. Sincerely, Nick Valvano Bob Lloyd Chief Executive Officer Chairman 106 Towerview Court, Cary, NC 27513 • 919/380-9505 • 919/380-0025 • www.jimmyv.org V Scholars: Provides funds directly to young scientists who are develop- resilience of GBM tumors: cell growth, cell survival ing their own independent laboratory research projects. (particularly in the face of chemotherapy) and cell These grants allow the V Scholar to determine how to best death. Since receiving her V Scholar award in 1999, use the funds in his or her research project. The grants, Chin has been awarded more than $7.5 million in addi- $100,000 two-year commitments, are chosen through a tional funding, including a grant from the NIH for more competitive process. than $5 million. Additionally, Chin was elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), a These grants are the backbone of The V Foundation funding, select group of physician-scientists recognized for their enabling talented young scientists to establish their labora- scholarly achievements in biomedical research, in 2004. tories and gain a competitive edge necessary to earn ASCI selects fewer than 100 physicians per year. additional funding from other sources. • Quoting Blossom Damania, Ph.D., 2001 V Scholar, UNC • Four of the last five AACR-Gertrude B. Elion Cancer Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center: “I really want Research Award recipients have also been V Scholars. to emphasize the importance of The V Foundation grants, Steven B. McMahon, Ph.D. (2000 V Scholar, 2000 Elion especially for junior investigators who are just starting. Award), Lisa M. Coussens, Ph.D. (2000 V Scholar, 2001 The funding rates for junior investigators are abysmal. Elion Award), Yi Zhang, Ph.D. (2000 V Scholar, 2003 The V Foundation supporting all these junior investigators Elion Award) and Blossom A. Damania (2001 V Scholar, gives them a stepping stone to get where they need to be. 2004 Elion Award) have each received a $50,000 grant There’s no special pool at NIH for just junior investigators; from the AACR. The Gertrude Award fosters meritorious everybody’s equal. So if you’ve been in the field for 40 basic, translational or clinical cancer research by a years or you’ve been in the field for two months, you’re all tenure-track scientist at the level of Assistant professor.