Eagles Cancer Telethon auction and on-air this week

Funds raised furthers cancer research at The Hormel Institute, UMN and Mayo Clinic

AUSTIN, Minn – January 19, 2020 – The Eagles Cancer Telethon will look slightly different this year, but the mission is the same – support for FURTHER CANCER RESEARCH discoveries.  The spirit of generosity and passion for fighting cancer remains the same and the public is invited to join the telethon on KTTC on Saturday, January 23 from 2-10pm. This year the Telethon will broadcast from KTTC studios rather than Mayo Civic Center as they adapt to social distancing guidelines.

“Together with our generous community we are furthering answers to cancer so people can live longer. That is what we care about and that is what we are doing,” said Teresa Chapman, Eagles Cancer Telethon director.

“We are so thankful to be able to take this event and these donations and turn it into research and discoveries thanks to the cancer research experts at The Hormel Institute, Mayo Clinic, and Masonic Cancer Center.”

There is an online auction available, full of items ranging from fun food baskets and gift cards to golf packages, handmade quilts and much, much more. The auction preview starts Tuesday, January 19, with bidding to begin January 20 at noon and run through January 23 at 7pm.

Visit eaglescancertelethon.org for additional Telethon and auction details.

Lyle Area Cancer is also changing their annual auction into a Free Will Donation Drive-Thru Meal of Smoak BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, Mrs. Gerry’s mac and cheese, and Kwik Trip chocolate chip cookies. All proceeds will be donated to the Eagles Cancer Telethon. The drive-thru will be open 4-7pm on Saturday, January 23 at the Lyle Legion.

The Eagles Cancer Telethon is the longest running telethon in the United States. Dollars raised supports cancer research at The Hormel Institute, Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, and Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota.

The Hormel Institute has received over $3.5 million in cancer research funding from the Eagles Cancer Telethon since 1999. This funding has brought innovative technology to The Hormel Institute and allowed scientists to accelerate their research. In 2019 the Eagles Cancer Telethon Postdoctoral Fellowship was introduced with three fellowships awarded each year to support new research projects from postdoctoral researchers at The Hormel Institute. Postdoctoral researchers are scientists who have recently received their Ph.D. and are working in research labs to gain more experience and begin their research careers.

List of Eagles Cancer Telethon Postdoctoral Fellowships at The Hormel Institute:

2020-2021 Fellowships:

Dr. Danushka Arachchige with Dr. Jarrod French – “Elucidating the relationship between purine biosynthetic protein overexpression and liver cancer prognosis”       FY2021-2022

Dr. Bindeshwar Sah with Dr. Liang Liu and Dr. Rebecca Morris – “Role of the Epigenetic Regulator HR in UV-induced Skin Inflammation and Tumorigenesis

Dr. Changli Zhou with Dr. Shujun Liu – “Role of the FTO-m6A axis in regulating clonal evolution of leukemia under drug selection”

2019-2020 Fellowships:

Dr. Sk Kayum Alam with Dr. Luke Hoeppner – “Understanding the molecular mechanisms of DARPP-32-regulated tumor initiation and growth in EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer”

Dr. Le Le with Dr. Amer Alam – “Studies of MDR1 to support development of improved cancer diagnostics and therapies”

Dr. Tingyou Wang with Dr. Rendong Yang – “Identifying cryptic exon as a source of neoepitopes in human cancers”

Dr. Yuanguo Wang with Dr. Ningling Kang – “Targeting VASP-β1-integrin/FAK-YAP1/TAZ signaling pathway to inhibit colorectal liver metastasis”