📢 Research Update! We’re excited to share that a research project funded through a Project Bubaloo Research Grant has just been published in the Journal of Radiation Research! 🧬✨ The study, “Advancing cell-free DNA as a biomarker of damage to heart caused by ionizing radiation,” explores how radiation exposure during cancer treatment and cardiac imaging can affect heart health. Here is a brief update from grant recipient, John Baker, PhD: "Ionizing radiation is widely used for cancer therapy and diagnostic cardiac imaging, which directly exposes the heart to radiation. Determining the health implications of ionizing radiation at the organ level would require an assay specific to radiation exposure. Currently, there is no clinical method for determining risk of radiation toxicity to the heart in a patient receiving radiotherapy for a tumor within the thorax. We are developing an assay to measure nuclear and mitochondrial cell-free DNA in rat plasma and show increases resulting from exposure of the heart to doses of radiation used for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Our overall objective is to translate our findings to children who need cardiac catheterization as part of their medical treatment" We’re proud to support groundbreaking work like this! 💙 (fb)

We recently had the opportunity to speak at the Franklin Lions Club where they presented us with a check for $1,000 to support our Research Fund! Thank you so much for inviting us to speak and supporting our mission! 💙 (fb)