{"id":4285,"date":"2022-06-06T14:48:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-06T14:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/?p=4285"},"modified":"2024-07-10T18:42:18","modified_gmt":"2024-07-10T18:42:18","slug":"surprise-8-5-million-estate-gift-will-fund-more-than-40-years-of-cancer-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/Q2\/surprise-8-5-million-estate-gift-will-fund-more-than-40-years-of-cancer-research","title":{"rendered":"Surprise $8.5 million estate gift will fund more than 40 years of cancer research"},"content":{"rendered":"

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. —<\/p> \n

Thanks to an unexpected bequest of $8.5 million from fellow faculty member John Capaldi, Philip Low, Purdue University\u2019s Presidential Scholar for Drug Discovery and the Ralph C. Corley Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, has funding to support more than 40 years\u2019 worth of cancer research.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cI was absolutely knocked off my feet when I found out what was in his estate,\u201d Low said. \u201cThese funds have come at a perfect time for my lab, in that we have been blessed with many good ideas on how to treat cancer but have been short on the funding to develop them. Over my 40-year career, I\u2019ve taken the time to record my very best ideas, and with this remarkable gift from Dr. Capaldi, I won\u2019t have to delay exploring them anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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John Capaldi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

When Capaldi, professor emeritus of psychological sciences at Purdue, lost his only sister to cancer, he told his attorney that when he died, he wanted his remaining assets to support cancer research. His attorney, who had known of Low since high school, recommended supporting Low\u2019s research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Capaldi died in November 2020, he left much of his estate, including a Purdue-funded retirement account, to Low\u2019s lab at Purdue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much of the funding for Low\u2019s lab comes from federal grants, which require precise proposals for how the funding will be used. While these funds are vital, private gifts \u2014 like that from Capaldi \u2014 mean Low can pursue discoveries as they arise, allowing nimble and time-sensitive discoveries that wouldn\u2019t otherwise be possible. In this area, he\u2019ll apply a question that he considers key: \u201cHow can I use this information to do something that really matters?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI found that simply asking that question can open up opportunities that I would have never envisioned had I not stopped to think about the potential value to humanity of the work that I was doing,\u201d said Low. \u201cI do believe I have an obligation to minimize the suffering of cancer patients if I can.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Low has recently earned FDA approval on a novel ovarian cancer treatment<\/a>. While Low has more than 150 U.S. patents (and many more foreign patents), this is the first of his drugs to make it through the FDA-approval process. The results from this drug have drawn significant attention to Low\u2019s unique treatment methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most cancer drugs are created to attack dividing cells, which can also wreak havoc on patients\u2019 immune systems, GI tracks, and more. Low takes a different approach, creating \u201choming molecules\u201d that attack only cancer cells, paired with existing drugs that kill cancer cells. He has applied the method to force cancer cells to glow like a fluorescent light during surgeries so that the surgeon can find and remove more malignant tissue and to help killer T cells destroy only cancerous cells. These therapies may mean a longer and better quality of life for thousands of cancer patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cProfessor Capaldi\u2019s gift will have a lasting impact on cancer research at Purdue,\u201d said Patrick Wolfe, the Frederick L. Hovde Dean of the College of Science. \u201cWe are very proud to support Professor Low\u2019s signature patient-focused treatments, and these funds will enable him and his laboratory to focus not only on several different cancers, but also on fibrotic, autoimmune and CNS diseases, as well as bone fractures and even inherited diseases. All of us are eager to see what kind of exciting new treatments will emerge over time as a result of this transformational gift.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are several very resistant cancers that need these kinds of breakthroughs. Low will be able to spend significant time determining how to craft homing molecules for each type \u2014 cutting down years of financial hurdles that previously existed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe encouraging atmosphere for translating important scientific discoveries into commercial products is vibrant at Purdue,\u201d said Christine Hrycyna, Purdue\u2019s 150th Anniversary Professor of Chemistry and chemistry department head. \u201cThis investment in our faculty researchers results in bringing promising therapies for patients to fruition, including another from Dr. Low for prostate cancer<\/a> that recently received FDA approval.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Purdue University<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to today\u2019s toughest challenges. Ranked in each of the last four years as one of the 10 Most Innovative universities in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at https:\/\/purdue.edu\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\n Writer:<\/strong>\u00a0Katie Donworth,\u00a0kedonworth@purdueforlife.org<\/a>
Media contact:<\/strong>\u00a0Jim Bush,\u00a0jsbush@purdue.edu<\/a> <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Thanks to an unexpected bequest of $8.5 million from fellow faculty member John Capaldi, Philip Low, Purdue University\u2019s Presidential Scholar for Drug Discovery and the Ralph C. Corley Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, has funding to support<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"department":[32],"source":[29],"purdue_today_topic":[],"coauthors":[159],"class_list":["post-4285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","department-science","source-purdue-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4285"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4962,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4285\/revisions\/4962"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4285"},{"taxonomy":"department","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/department?post=4285"},{"taxonomy":"source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/source?post=4285"},{"taxonomy":"purdue_today_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/purdue_today_topic?post=4285"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=4285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}