LCRF, UALC merge to fight deadliest cancer

The required regulatory documents for the merger were approved by the New York State Attorney General on May 20, 2015. The combined entity, which will carry on the important work of both organizations, retains the Lung Cancer Research Foundation name to best reflect its mission: to improve and save lives by funding groundbreaking research for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure of lung cancer.

"We believe we can achieve more together than we can alone," said Pippa Gerard, Chairman of LCRF’s Board of Directors. "This merger allows us to combine our expertise, resources and network of committed individuals to increase our impact and help close the funding gap for lung cancer research."

The merged organization has made significant new hires as part of its commitment to becoming the leading nonprofit focused solely on lung cancer research.

Nancy Sanford joins as Executive Director with 25 years of fundraising experience, most recently as the Vice President and Chief Philanthropy Officer of the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation. Jan Baranski, PhD, formerly a management consultant to the pharmaceutical industry at Accenture, has been appointed the new Director of Scientific Programs. Delia Naughton, LMSW, joins as Vice President of Business Development.

Ms. Naughton was previously Vice President, Business and Program Marketing for the American Lung Association.

"Both UALC and LCRF were born out of personal connections and the commitment of families affected by lung cancer, and it is in this spirit that our organizations have decided to join forces," said Mary Ann Tighe, Vice Chairman of the LCRF Board of Directors and former President of the Board of UALC.

"In addition to building on our track records of success, our union will help enhance our fundraising capabilities and reduce duplication of efforts and overhead, allowing us to make larger grants to an even greater number of researchers."

To date, LCRF and UALC have collectively provided nearly 250 grants, totaling more than $17 million, to institutions around the world for critical lung cancer research.

This support has enabled researchers with groundbreaking ideas to innovate, and has paved the way for follow on funding from sources such as the National Cancer Institute/National Institutes of Health and American Cancer Society, among others.

Moving forward, LCRF will continue to fund pioneering, high-reward research across the spectrum of basic, clinical, and translational research that has the potential to extend survival and quality of life for people with lung cancer.