A successful research project needs many elements: a good idea, lab space, equipment and supplies. But most of all it needs scientists who are well trained and committed to excellence.The quality and commitment of the researchers is what makes the difference between a project that stagnates and one that succeeds.

  Research labs at the Children's Research Center are staffed with many kinds of researchers. Most labs are run by physician/scientists doctors who take care of critically ill children and work to change the future for those children. Often the day-to-day work is managed by a research fellow, a scientist who has completed his or her Ph.D. and is obtaining additional training. Most scientists do three to six years as a fellow before they begin to work independently and generate their own research grants.

  A research team might also include a graduate student (one working on a Ph.D. degree), a medical student and an undergraduate student. Sometimes even high school students ask for opportunities to work in Children's Research Center labs.

  There are many ways to advance medical research. One of the best ways is to invest in a researcher. Most graduate students have exhausted their own and their family's resources and rely on grant funding to support their training. I am particularly aware of the financial challenges faced by graduate students and post-doctoral fellows because I, myself was a graduate student in molecular pharmacology prior to attending medical school. After medical school and pediatric residency training, I also spent six years as a postdoctoral research fellow at the National Cancer Institute prior to joining the faculty here at the University of Arizona. The experience I gained during these scientific training periods was absolutely essential for me to pursue a productive career in pediatric cancer research. If it were not for the support of public and private grant funding organizations such as yours, I would never have been able to pursue my mission of improving the treatment of children with cancer through scientific research.

  I urge you to consider investing in the training of a promising young researcher in pediatric cancer. A Courtney Page Zillman Fellowship in Cancer Biology will not just change the life of the researcher who receives this gift. It will prove a very effective way to change the lives of children with cancer forever.