The V Foundation for Cancer Research (2024)

Cancer is a disease that continues to rob the world of love, laughter, and life. Jim Valvano, most remembered as a successful basketball coach and award-winning sports commentator, was forced to face this horrible disease when he was diagnosed with terminal cancer on June 15, 1992. Cancer was the first foe that refused to be vanquished by his enduring spirit. And yet, it is his very spirit that allows The V Foundation for Cancer Research to continue the battle against cancer today.

In January of 1993, Steve Bornstein, then President of ESPN, and John Lack, then Executive Vice President of ESPN, invited Jim and Pam Valvano to lunch. Steve offered the support of ESPN in creating a foundation that would fund cancer research. Always the coach, Jim then began to develop a plan that would lead his team to victory. A simple yellow pad contained the initial game plan that would one day become the groundwork for The V Foundation. On March 4, 1993, Jim Valvano received the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at ESPN's first American Sports Award Show. The weakened Jim Valvano proved that the strength of his dream would endure as he announced that with the help of ESPN, he was starting The V Foundation for Cancer Research. He proclaimed that the motto would be “Don't Give Up… Don't Ever Give Up!” Jim died on April 28, 1993, but he had already set his dream in motion.

Without a doubt, The V Foundation's mission to find a cure for cancer is predicated on generating the requisite funds to support research. Equally important is our ability to identify quality researchers, lend financial resources, and increase the awareness and visibility of the success of our funding process.

The V Foundation distributes Requests for Proposals to the 60 National Cancer Institute designated facilities conducting cancer research. We also welcome proposals from other facilities conducting quality cancer research. After the proposals for funding are submitted, our Scientific Review Committee convenes to select the best available proposals and awards grants to researchers deemed most worthy from the candidate pool. The recipients of these 2-year $100,000 grants are designated as V Scholars. Our Scientific Review Committee not only annually reviews grant proposals, but also continues to identify new and alternative ways to become a leader in the field of cancer research. In 2000, The V Foundation will create a matching grant program that will include aspects of both translational and clinical research. Our existing and new funding initiatives will bring us one step closer to a cure.

Today, The V Foundation is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors consisting of individuals from the world of sports, business, entertainment, and medicine. Since 1994, we have funded 52 research grants and four research facilities. Our Scientific Review Committee is comprised of an internationally recognized group of research physicians. The Foundation operates efficiently, with 74% of income available for research grants. Funding quality cancer research will continue to be our top priority.

For more information regarding The V Foundation, please visit www.jimmyv.org or call 1-800-4-JimmyV.

Past V Scholars Speak Out

The V Foundation works hard to establish and maintain a personal relationship with every scientist that we fund. Often times, we first meet a doctor at the beginning stages of their career and the impact of our grant is not truly seen until years later. The following V Scholars communicate the impact that the Foundation's support had on their careers.

Gerold Bepler, M.D., Ph.D. Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center Durham, North Carolina Funded 1994–1997

The V Foundation has provided crucial seed money to help me generate sufficient preliminary data to be able to successfully obtain funding from the National Institute of Health/National Cancer Institute. Without the help of The V Foundation, this would have not been possible. Their help and support has resulted in many publications in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at National and International meetings. Thanks to their help, we were able to locate and identify a gene crucially involved in the metastatic spread and progression of lung cancer.

Paul Dent, Ph.D. Massey Cancer Center Virginia Commonwealth University Funded 1997–1999

As a young investigator, The V Foundation was the first organization to show belief in my ability. I truly cannot say how much this means to me. By their funding, I have been able to quickly build the research base of my laboratory and obtain two grants from the Federal Government. These grants are actively pursuing both the mechanisms of how normal cells become cancerous, and also how we can increase the ability of radiation to kill cancer cells. The discoveries made in the latter of the two projects, with V Foundation support, can be applied to cancers from the diverse backgrounds of leukemia, breast, vulval, brain, and prostate. Without the key support of The V Foundation, it is unlikely that I would have achieved as much so rapidly. Even though my funding runs out this year, I will continue to acknowledge The V Foundation in my scientific papers for years to come; this is my way of saying thank you, while also continuing to raise awareness of the Foundation within the scientific community.

On a personal level, The V Foundation has been very nurturing in terms of encouragement from the Valvano family, Foundation Awards Committee Members, as well as developing interactions/meetings between foundation scholars. The Foundation makes you part of a big extended family; the feeling is one of “it takes a village to beat cancer” and we are all part of that village. Being selected for a V Foundation award also makes you painfully aware of what cancer costs a family; every day I go to work and see children without hair, women of 50 who look 90. My own father survived thyroid cancer; a schoolmate died of leukemia last year. If these things do not give you a reason to get up in the morning, I know of nothing that will!

Scientific Review Committee

Karen Antman, M.D. Director, Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center Chief, Division of Medical Oncology Columbia University

Robert C. Bast, Jr., M.D. Head, Division of Medicine M.D. Anderson Cancer Center University of Texas

Gerold Bepler, M.D., Ph.D. Associate Professor of Medicine and Cancer Genetics Director, Lung Cancer Program Roswell Park Cancer Institute

Ronald Levy, M.D. Chief, Division of Medical Oncology Stanford University Medical School

Edison Liu, M.D. Director, Division of Clinical Science National Cancer Institute National Institute of Health

Joseph O. Moore, M.D. Professor, Hematology and Oncology Department of Medicine Duke University Medical Center

David E. Schuller, M.D. Director, Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute Deputy Director, Comprehensive Cancer Center The Ohio State University