Skip to main content

Philanthropy at Work

None of this important work could be done without the philanthropic support of individuals and nonprofit groups. Private funding can help turn ideas into reality for UNC Lineberger’s bladder cancer team. Philanthropy has been instrumental in allowing us to conduct state of the art bladder cancer research with true clinical applicability.

Two researchers wearing white coats and gloves review a panel

While large portions of the research budget are funded by government and foundation-based research grants, they are limited to specific project-level uses and do not cover the much needed personnel and administrative costs.

Bringing in and retaining the best and brightest minds to UNC Lineberger is a priority. Philanthropy has allowed us to recruit outstanding bladder cancer faculty and staff, such as Jeffrey Damrauer,  PhD, our bladder cancer program manager and bioinformatics lead scientist.

Damrauer, as a graduate student in the laboratory of UNC Lineberger’s William Kim, MD, was instrumental in many of seminal works of the Kim Lab, including leading the research which identified the molecular subtypes of bladder cancer. He has since continued his work in understanding the molecular heterogeneity of cancer including the identification of predictive biomarkers for Bacillus Calmette-Guérin therapy. It was directly the result of philanthropy that we were able to recruit Damrauer back the Bladder Cancer Center of Excellence to oversee and lead our translational science efforts.

Make a Gift

Patients and Research

There are many ways to help fuel innovation in our program. One of the most precious gifts to our program is patient enrollment in clinical trials and the donation of tissue samples that were obtained during course of standard treatment.

These samples not only aid in the understanding of tumor biology, but also help researchers and patients alike by identifying specific tumor characteristics. This process will better match patients with the best current and future therapies.