Johns Hopkins Pathology

Support Our Research at Johns Hopkins

While all of the efforts at Johns Hopkins to advance our understanding of emphysema and primary pulmonary hypertension and to develop new techniques to diagnose and treat these dreaded diseases are proceeding at a record pace, we have more leads than we have resources to pursue them. Financial support is needed to continue these efforts. Some people have given direct donations, some left us money as a bequeath, and some have asked that donations be sent in lieu of flowers. Each donation has helped us explore new avenues of research, and each is a poignant reminder of the human cost of this disease. Importantly, this private giving has provided us with the opportunity to make real advances in our understanding of cardiopulmonary disease and it has provided critical support to our young investigators. Those of you wishing to support cardiopulmonary research at Johns Hopkins may do so by sending your tax-deductible contribution payable to The Johns Hopkins University to:

Cardiopulmonary Research—Dr. Charles J. Steenbergen
c/o Robert Kahl
Department of Pathology
Johns Hopkins Medicine
600 N. Wolfe Street, Carnegie 424
Baltimore, MD 21287-6417

A number of you have asked us to spell out exactly where these donations go. We do not use the donations to support fundraising or other administrative efforts. Instead, 80% of each donation goes directly to support pulmonary science. The remaining 20% of your donation goes to the Dean's office here at Hopkins. In turn Hopkins provides infrastructure support to the cardiopulmonary research labs (things such as paper towels, lighting, heating for the building, lab space, etc.). If you have any other questions about how you can help support cardiopulmonary research, do not hesitate to give us a call: 410-955-2559.

• In Lieu of Flowers

  We have received a number of donations in lieu of flowers. This is a wonderful way to both honor a loved one and to help fight this terrible disease. These donations are made at very difficult times, and we therefore wanted to simplify the process. If you have lost a loved one and would like donations sent to Hopkins to help battle this disease in lieu of flowers, all you need to do is:
  
  1. Ask the donor to:
       - Make donations payable to: "Johns Hopkins University."
       - Indicate on the memo line of the check the name of the individual in whose memory the donation is being made.
  
  
  2. Mail the donation to:
  Cardiopulmonary Research—Dr. Charles J. Steenbergen
  c/o Robert Kahl
  Department of Pathology
  Johns Hopkins Medicine
  600 N. Wolfe Street, Carnegie 424
  Baltimore, MD 21287-6417
  
  3. Please include with your donation the name and address of where you would like acknowledgments to be sent (or you may call our office 410-955-2559).
  
  When we receive memorial donations, we send a thank you to the donor and we also send a complete list of the names and address of the donors to the relative of the deceased.
  
  We realize that the death of a loved one is extremely difficult. We hope these simplified instructions will help those of you who wish to honor your loved one with bequests to Johns Hopkins for cardiopulmonary research.

• What Your Donation Buys

  $10 One human gene contained within a cloning vector
  $15 Membranes for screening new genes
  $20 Reagents needed to isolate DNA from a patients' blood sample
  $30 A pair of PCR primers used to amplify one gene
  $30 Bacterial clone containing tumor-related gene
  $35 Vials for freezing tumor samples
  $40 Enzyme to precisely cut DNA
  $55 Scalpel blades for dissection of tumor samples
  $60 Enzyme to join DNA fragments
  $70 Updates to lab manual
  $75 Flasks for growing tumor cells
  $100 Radiolabel used to label DNA for sequencing and probing
  $100 Tumor cell line
  $100 Gel mix used to resolve DNA on gels
  $100 A vial of enzyme to modify or amplify DNA
  $130 Serum to grow cancer cells
  $150 DNA purification kit
  $180 Reagents to introduce genes into cancer cells
  $230 Purification kit for tumor-suppressor proteins
  $270 X-ray film to detect DNA sequence of a gene
  $380 Plates for drug-screening reactions
  $400 Enzyme to amplify DNA from tumors
  $500 DNA fragments to study a new gene
  $700 Lab refrigerator used in ongoing experiments
  $800 Digital camera for web page construction/updates
  $900 Set of pipettes to measure chemical solutions
  $1,800 Lab computer to access gene database
  $2,000 Ultraviolet light and camera to visualize DNA
  $2,700 Incubator for tumor cell culture
  $3,800 Set of DNA sequencing apparatus
  $5,000 Lab freezer
  $7,000 Centrifuge for drug screens and purifications
  $9,000 PCR machine to amplify DNA
  $10,000 and up Named permanent endowment
  $12,000 Drier for DNA gels and purifications
  $30,000/yr Cancer Research Technician
  $38,000 Drug library to screen for new therapeutics (19,000 drugs)
  $50,000/yr Research fellow and supplies
  $750,000 Named permanent endowed research fellowship
  $1.75 million Named permanent endowed chair for research
  $5 million Named endowed center
  

• Endowments

  Research requires money, and although most of the support for medical research comes from the federal government via the National Institutes of Health (NIH), it is private philanthropy that can provide the margin of excellence to a research enterprise. Private funds are flexible and can be deployed quickly to take advantage of new ideas and new people. Private funds also can form a constant base for faculty support upon which grant support can be superimposed.
  
  There have been several examples of private giving having a significant impact on a cancer. For example, the Clayton Fund in Basic Colon Cancer Research has laid the foundation for the remarkable success of the colon cancer research team here at Hopkins. Thanks to the Clayton Fund, many of the most significant discoveries in cancer biology in the last decade were made by the colon cancer team at Johns Hopkins (Bert Vogelstein who leads this team is now the most cited scientist in all of science).
  
  Just as the Clayton Fund has had an impact on our understanding of colon cancer, so too would the establishment of a Fund for primary pulmonary hypertension and emphysema have a fundamental impact on the fight against these diseases.
  
  Endowments are wonderful ways to honor a loved one - they are named and they are permanent. Once established, the principal of the endowment is invested by the University. A portion of the income generated each year is reinvested to insure the long-term growth of the Fund. The remainder of the income generated is given to the scientists to support their research. (Endowments start at $20,000. If they reach the $100,000 level a plaque is placed in the research labs honoring the donor. If they reach the $5-10 million level, then the endowment can be used to name a research center).

• Other Ways to Give

"The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit." ~ Nelson Henderson

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