As the coronavirus pandemic goes on, cancer researchers around the country tell SurvivorNet that they fear their funding will be diverted to research on the virus. However there are bright spots. The University of Chicago says it just received a $10 million gift from an investor to fund their cellular therapy research for certain types of cancer. The money was provided by David Jonas, the CEO of JVC Investment Partners. The research will be conducted at David and Etta Jonas Center for Cellular Therapy.
Jonas donated the money to University of Chicago specifically because of Dr. Michael Bishop's work. Dr. Bishop is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago and is a hematologist and oncologist. He specializes in treatments for leukemia and lymphomas and his research deals with relapse after stem cell transplantation.
Read MoreThis fund will help more researchers join the team to better advance therapies. This grant from Jonas comes at a time when cancer research is not gaining as much funding as COVID-19 research efforts.
Cancer Research Funding During COVID-19
The Charity organization Cancer Research U.K (CRUK) announced that due to COVID-19, many research areas are not receiving as much funding. Existing grants are being cut by 10% while research centers are being cut by 20%. Overall, CRUK is looking at over $54 million being cut from their research portfolio this year.
The charity admitted to The Daily Telegraph that the impact of this pandemic could "set back the cancer research effort within the U.K potentially for many years," but the disruption in cancer research is proving to be a world-wide issue.
Researchers told SurvivorNet that new clinical trials in the United States may be paused due to restrictions in place during COVID-19. With that being said, it seems that some private donors are attempting to balance out these cuts through personal donations to research groups like Jonas is doing for University of Chicago.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.