• The V Scholar Program provides funds directly to young scientists who are developing their own independent laboratory research projects. These grants allow the V Scholar to determine how to best use the funds in his/her research project. The grants, $200,000 two-year commitments, are chosen through a competitive process. Selection is made through peer review by The V Foundation Scientific Advisory Board.
  
  
• The Translational-Clinical Grant Program encourages research facilities to create a collaborative multi-discipline research team to develop advances made by scientists during basic cancer research. Translational Grants are $600,000 three-year commitments. The V Foundation Scientific Advisory Board selects these grants through a competitive process.
  
  
• The Designated Grant Program funds projects in communities or regions local to the fundraising area. Fundraisers and donors work with The Foundation to identify a specific project, facility, or awareness program for review and selection by the Scientific Advisory Board.
  
  
  
  

About 2008 Grants

The V Foundation for cancer research awarded 33 grants in 2008.  Eleven grants worth $5 million were Designated; seven grants worth $4.2 million were Translational, and fifteen grants worth $1.5 million were V Scholars.  Two of these prestigious grants were awarded with money raised from the 15th Annual Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic.  

The V Foundation awarded a $100,000 V Scholar Grant in to Angelique Whitehurst, Ph.D. at UNC Lineberger Cancer Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.  Dr. Whitehurst’s research involves harnessing functional genomics to reveal cancer specific determinants of mitosis.  This V Scholar Grant was given in honor of Mike Howard and was the 2008 Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic Volunteer Grant.

In addition, The V Foundation awarded a $225,000 Translational Grant to fund the Jim Valvano Fellowship in Pediatric Cancer at Duke Children’s Hospital and Health Center in Durham, North Carolina. This Translational Grant was funded by the Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic and the Junior Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic.

About 2007 Grants

The V Foundation for Cancer Research awarded two of its 30 research grants in 2007 with money raised from the 14^th Annual Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic.  The V Foundation’s collaborations with FirstHealth – Moore Regional Hospital and Rex Cancer Center were funded by this golf event.

The V Foundation has awarded FirstHealth a $50,000 grant to fund public health initiatives in North Carolina.  These initiatives follow an important common thread of public awareness, educational opportunities, and printed materials regarding prostate cancer.  The funding will allow the hospital to promote outreach education, community screenings, and clinical treatment to increase the survivorship of prostate cancer throughout North Carolina.

“We are very excited to begin a relationship with FirstHealth,” said Nick Valvano, CEO of The V Foundation.  “We hope that through our collaboration with their organization we can make large strides in our fight against cancer.”

The V Foundation also announced its partnership with Rex Cancer Center to create the Rex Prostate Cancer Center of Excellence. This collaboration, part of The V Foundation’s Partners In Excellence program, will provide a $500,000 grant to The Rex Hospital Foundation over 3 years. The grant will allow Rex to further develop and expand four components of the comprehensive prostate cancer program;  Outreach and Education, Community Screenings, Clinical Treatment and Follow up, and Survivorship.

According to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, more than 218,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer and more than 27,000 men will die from the disease this year. North Carolina ranks second nationally in prostate cancer in African-American men.

“We are so grateful to The V Foundation for providing the funds to make this expansion of the program a possibility,” said Vickie Byler, Director of Rex Cancer Center. “The program will not only increase community awareness about prostate cancer it will also give men with inadequate funds the ability to receive a free screening.”

The goal for the Rex Prostate Center of Excellence is to reduce the mortality rate in men due to prostate cancer. The center hopes to achieve this goal by improving the health of men in the community through cancer education and screening as well as state-of-the art treatment and survivorship programs for those men who develop prostate cancer.

“This grant is the first step in establishing The V Foundation’s North Carolina Prostate Cancer initiative. Our goal is to continue to expand and create addition programs with cancer centers across the state of North Carolina,” Valvano said.

The 2007 Volunteer Grant was awarded as a V Foundation “V Scholars Grant” in honor of David and Wanda Farley.  2008 will represent the 15th year of volunteering for the Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic for The Farley’s.  David masterfully head’s up the transportation division of The Classic while Wanda splits her time between the transportation and celebrity divisions.  Frank McCann, tournament director stated that “David and Wanda Farley epitomize the definition of ‘volunteer’.  They consistently give more of themselves each year to fight this disease.  I do not know of two more outstanding people who deserve this honor.”   The grant was awarded to James Brugarolas, M.D., Ph.D. of the Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX.  Dr. Brugarolas’ research involves the evaluation of the mTOR pathway in renal-cell carcinoma and in model systems.

About the 2006 Grants

The 2006 Volunteer Grant was awarded as a “Translational Grant” in honor of David Ingraham and Jeff Slack.  Both David and Jeff are long-time volunteers for The Classic and both are cancer survivors.  The grant was awarded to Anil Potti, M.D. of Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, NC.  The project is entitled: Signatures of Oncogenic Pathway Deregulation Provide a Novel Approach to Targeted Therapeutics in Non-small Cell Lung Carcinoma

About 2005 Grants

The V Foundation for Cancer Research awarded three of its 29 research grants in 2005 in honor of members of the Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic family.

Research grants were awarded in honor of former Golf Classic marketing director Kathy O’Brien, longtime V Foundation supporter and former basketball superstar Charles Barkley and Julie Stewart, who has volunteered with the Classic since its inception.

"I can't think of any better way to acknowledge those so loyal to our mission than to name these research grants in their honor," said V Foundation CEO Nick Valvano. "Funding cancer research is the very reason The Foundation exists and the naming of grants is our highest honor.

"Kathy O’Brien is an important member of The V Foundation family," continued Valvano. "Before serving as marketing director of the Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic, she volunteered her time to help the cause. We are honored to name a grant in recognition of all she has done.

“Charles Barkley has been actively involved in the Golf Classic since the beginning,” Valvano said. “He has generously given both his time and money, and we are glad to award a translational grant in his honor.”

The third annual Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic Volunteer grant was named in honor of Julie Stewart and awarded to Dr. Pilar Blancafort at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.

"The 1,100 volunteers continue to be the heart and soul of the Jimmy V Classic and Julie Stewart is a perfect example of the loyal and dedicated volunteers who ensure the success of the Classic each year," Valvano said. “We are grateful to everyone who has worked so hard in the fight against cancer and we know that together we will defeat the disease.”

About 2004 Grants

The V Foundation for Cancer Research awarded their 2004 research grants to two members of the Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic family.

The 2004 V Scholar Grant was awarded to the Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic Executive Director Frank McCann. The second annual Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic Volunteer Grant, also a V Scholar, was named in honor of Bruce and Susie Foster.

"I can't think of any better way to acknowledge those so loyal to our mission than to name a V research grants in their honor, " said V Foundation CEO Nick Valvano, in making the announcement. "The research grants are the very reason The Foundation exists and the naming of grants is our highest honor," he added.

The V Scholar Program provides funds directly to young scientists who are developing their own independent laboratory research projects. These grants allow the V Scholar to determine how to best use the funds in his/her research project. The grants are two-year commitments totaling $100,000.

"Frank McCann has been the driving force behind the Celebrity Golf Classic for the past 11 years," continued Valvano. "The Classic would not be what it is today, without Frank's leadership.

"The 1,100 volunteers continue to be the heart and soul of the Jimmy V Classic and Bruce and Suzie Foster are consummate examples of the loyal and dedicated army of community volunteers who ensure the success of the Classic year and after year," Valvano concluded.

The 2004 V Scholar grant named in honor of Frank McCann, was awarded to James E. Bear, Ph.D. at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. His research is titled "The role of Coronins in actin-based cell motility and metastasis."

The 2nd Annual Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic Volunteer Grant named in honor of Bruce and Susie Foster was awarded to Jeffrey C. Rathmell, Ph.D. of Duke University Medical Center. His research is titled "Cell survival and glucose uptake in cancer and autoimmunity."

"When Jim became ill, he was very interested in learning the most crucial needs in the fight against cancer," said Nick Valvano. "We learned that probably the most critical need was that of funding for young scientists beginning their research. They are unable to apply for larger funding, such as that from the government, without data. Thus, the V Scholars become our immediate priority at The Foundation and have been the core of our grant program since the beginning," Valvano said.

About 2003 Grants

The 2003 JVCGC Volunteer Grant was named in memory of long-time Golf Classic volunteer John Geddes, who lost his battle with cancer in 2001.

The 2003 JVCGC Volunteer Grant was awarded to Dr. W. Kimryn Rathmell at the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. It is a V Foundation "V Scholar" grant.

The 2003 JVCGC Benefactor Grant was named in honor of Jillian's Entertainment, Inc., a corporate partner of The V Foundation and the Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic since the inception of both in 1993. Jillian’s CEO Dan Smith has chosen to honor cancer survivor Gary Romp in the grant’s name.

The 2003 Benefactor Grant was awarded to Dr. Larry K. Kvols at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, at the University of South Florida in Tampa. This is a V Foundation “Designated Grant.”

Find out more about The V Foundation research grants.