CONTACT: Emily Kumlien
(608) 266-8199
(608) 516-9154
MADISON, WI –The Lions Club of Wisconsin, Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) and Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer, Inc. (MACC Fund) donated $200,000 to the American Family Children’s Hospital to purchase a Flow Cytometer—a machine used to analyze cells for cancer immunotherapy and other forms of cancer treatment. Immunotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses the immune system to help fight cancer.
There will be a presentation and a tour tomorrow, Tuesday February 11 from 12-1 p.m. Media is welcome to attend. Please meet in the clinics entrance of UW Hospital, 600 Highland Avenue, by 11:50 a.m. to be escorted to the lab.
The University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center (UWCCC) has a Flow Cytometer available for all researchers in the core facility, but now pediatric cancer researchers have their own equipment available machine, which is located in their own lab space.
“We are pushing ahead to develop safer and more effective cancer treatments for kids and this Flow Cytometer will make a big impact, said Dr. Mario Otto, a UW Health pediatric oncologist. “This instrument will enhance our research capabilities and move us forward faster.”
UW’s pediatric cancer program is known for its innovative clinical trials and applied anti-cancer immunotherapies for children with cancer. The University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center and American Family Children’s Hospital dream team members are: Drs. Paul Sondel, Ken DeSantes, Mario Otto, and Christian Capitini. All are pediatric cancer physician researchers.
In 2017, Lions across the globe turned their focus to curing childhood cancer bringing about the Wisconsin Lions partnership with MACC Fund. This is the first flow cytometer that the Wisconsin Lions, LCIF & MACC Fund have donated to pediatric cancer researchers in Madison and the second one in the state. Learn more about Lions fighting children’s cancer at https://lionsclubs.org/en/start-our-global-causes/childhood-cancer
The MACC Fund was founded in 1976 with the specific goal of finding a cure for childhood cancer and related blood disorders. To date, it has given almost $70 million for cancer research.
