Boots and Bikers
Important research efforts relating to the causes and treatment of cancer are happening right here in Shreveport.
The community has supported many of these efforts over the past 20 years through the Feist-Weiller Cancer Center’s annual Life Savers Gala.
The 21st annual Life Savers Gala is Sept. 15 at Sam’s Town Hotel and Casino. This year is a casual one with the theme being Boots & Bikers. Attire for this year’s event is coordinated with the Boots & Bikers theme – jeans and T-shirts are encouraged!
“Life Savers is something we look forward to every year. The life-saving cancer research that takes place at Feist- Weiller is able to happen thanks to the generous support of our community,” said Dr. Glenn Mills, director of Feist-Weiller Cancer Center. “Our doctors and scientists have been able to study various causes and types of cancer, as well as investigate innovative treatments to help fight cancer, making sure we continue providing the best possible care to our patients.”
Feist-Weiller Cancer Center is a designated Center of Excellence at LSU Health Shreveport. Funded through a partnership with the state of Louisiana, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and a generous philanthropic donation from the Feist and Weiller families in 1997, the center is a tribute to them and their support of the health sciences center in Shreveport, along with the medical research that takes places on campus.
Research is a significant aspect of Feist- Weiller’s mission. In addition to providing first-class cancer care and cancer education, clinical physicians are able to collaborate with scientific researchers to study the causes of cancer, as well as treatments and prevention methods.
One way Feist-Weiller supports cancer research efforts is through the Idea Grant Program, which is fully funded with proceeds from the annual Life Savers Gala. In the 20 years of Life Savers, 33 Idea Grants have been awarded to LSU Health Shreveport and Feist-Weiller faculty physicians and researchers, $1.8 million. They have in turn leveraged this local money to compete for national research funding, with more than $12 million awarded in national grants.
Local Event, National Impact
One Feist-Weiller doctor who has received research funding thanks to Life Savers and the Idea Grant Program is Dr. Cherie-Ann Nathan, director of head & neck surgical oncology and cancer research at Feist-Weiller Cancer Center. Dr. Nathan was recently awarded a fiveyear research project grant for $1.96 million from the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Cancer Institute to study the role of fibroblast growth factor receptor-2 (FGFR-2) in the prevention and treatment of squamous cell skin cancer. Her research looks at cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) in particular, which affects 200,000 American annually.
A Feist-Weiller Cancer Center Idea Grant allowed Dr. Nathan and her team to conduct the initial research needed to have a strong application for the NIH grant.
“NIH funding is getting tighter. It requires a significant amount of preliminary data [to apply for a grant] because if the NIH is going to invest money in you, they want to make sure you can produce the results,” said Dr. Nathan.
Dr. Nathan’s Idea Grant allowed her to take her research to the next level and provided strong preliminary data for the NIH grant, which could one day lead to finding a treatment for or a way to prevent cSSC skin cancer.
Dr. Nathan’s research started earlier this year, and her team includes Dr. Alok Khandelwal, Tara Moore, Dr. Xiaohua Ma and Xiaohua Rong. They will collaborate with Dr. John DiGiovanni and his team at the University of Texas-Austin.
Dr. Jason Bodily, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology, is also an Idea Grant recipient. Dr. Bodily’s research focus is human papilloma virus, or HPV. In his Idea Grant-funded research, he studied why HPV infection increases the levels of a cellular protein that is involved in cancer and how that increase occurred.
“The function of this protein is to help cells communicate with their neighbors. More specifically, it helps skin cells talk to cells in the dermis, or stroma, during wound healing and other situations. This led us to the question of whether HPV infection involves communication with the dermis, and we found that it did,” said Dr. Bodily of his research.
The observations from the initial research led Dr. Bodily to apply for a national grant, which he was awarded. His Idea Grant laid the groundwork to make this happen, and helped pay for the people and supplies that made his research possible.
Evening Highlights
Mary O’Neal and Dr. Destin Black are the co-chairs of this year’s Life Savers Gala.
“I agreed to chair Feist-Weiller Life Savers because it was time for me to give back to my community and help raise funding for cancer treatment and research in our own city. A few months into my commitment, I realized and was humbled by the fact that I am involved in a small way in something that has such a large and lasting impact on other people whom I do not even know. This has become my passion,” said Mary O’Neal of her involvement in the planning process.
“Destin and I met when she became one of my art students. We share a special connection that goes beyond the few years we have known each other. She is a little dynamo when it comes to her passion for the betterment of women’s health. She ‘gives of self’ every day with her cancer patients and is a role model for me,” said O’Neal of her co-chair.
Dr. Destin Black is a gynecologic oncologist in Shreveport.
“Feist-Weiller Cancer Center has one of the largest hematology/oncology fellowship training programs in the southeast United States with 17 fellows. It is larger, by far, than other programs in Louisiana. Many remain in the state, and not just in Shreveport, but also practice in New Orleans, Alexandria, Monroe, Lafayette, Thibodaux and rural areas. This is a very impactful program,” said Dr. Black.
The Life Savers silent auction has an array of items for attendees to bid on. Fabulous trips, beautiful jewelry, artwork and stylish outdoor seating are all silent auction items up for grabs. Smile for the camera in the Argent Trust Company photo area. An event highlight returning this year is the chance to win one of six gift certificates from Lee Michaels. Only 200 tickets will be sold that can be placed in a Lee Michaels red box. There will be one winner per box – but you could win every one with multiple entries!
A delicious dinner menu and open bar are included with tickets. The talented cover band The Wonderfuls will be providing live musical entertainment.
HOW TO ATTEND
Life Savers 2018 will be Sept. 15 at Sam’s Town Hotel and Casino in the Riverfront Ballroom. Doors open at 7 p.m., and dinner will begin at 8 p.m. Individual tickets are $200 per person, which include dinner and access to an open bar. Sponsorships are available from $2,000 for a table of 10. For more information, visit www.feistweiller.org/ lifesavers or contact Darlene Whitaker at (318) 813-1485, or email dwhita@lsuhsc.edu.
