Kansas City, Mo. (May 1, 2007) – Chunying Du, Ph.D., Assistant Investigator, has been awarded a grant from Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The award of $300,000 over three years will support Dr. Du’s research into the possibility of treating chemotherapy-resistant breast cancer by reducing the level of a protein (BRUCE) that is believed to contribute to chemotherapy-resistance in cancerous cells.

     Susan G. Komen for the Cure awarded nearly $82 million in scientific research grants this year — a 41 percent increase over 2006 funding.

     “I am honored to receive this grant from Susan G. Komen for the Cure,” said Dr. Du. “This funding will allow my lab to give special attention to the exciting possibility that reducing the levels of the BRUCE protein will improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy in cases of breast cancer that demonstrate a resistance to treatment.”

     “Dr. Du is the first Stowers Institute researcher to benefit from the generous funding of Susan G. Komen for the Cure,” said William B. Neaves, President and CEO of the Stowers Institute. “Komen for the Cure shares the Stowers Institute’s commitment to supporting basic research in the quest to eliminate diseases like breast cancer. Dr. Du and her team are conducting innovative research, and I believe it has great potential to change the way we understand breast cancer and its treatment.”

     Dr. Du joined the Stowers Institute from a Howard Hughes Medical Institute postdoctoral fellowship in the lab of Dr. Xiaodong Wang at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. She has a Ph.D. in molecular, cellular, and developmental biology from Iowa State University. Dr. Du holds an academic appointment as Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at The University of Kansas School of Medicine.

About the Stowers Institute
     Housed in a 600,000 square-foot state-of-the-art facility on a 10-acre campus in the heart of Kansas City, Missouri, the Stowers Institute for Medical Research conducts basic research on fundamental processes of cellular life. Through its commitment to collaborative research and the use of cutting-edge technology, the Institute seeks more effective means of preventing and curing disease. The Institute was founded by Jim and Virginia Stowers, two cancer survivors who have created combined endowments of $2 billion in support of basic research of the highest quality.