Turner's Heroes is so happy to announce our first Discovery Grant at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt and that it will be led by Dr. Tuya Pal. The Turner Cockrell Discovery Grant will focus on enhancing access to point-of-care genetic testing for pediatric cancer patients. Simply put, greater access to point-of-care genetic testing will save lives and lead to better outcomes for pediatric cancer patients. I have posted a more in-depth description below.
We are hoping that this research will lead to a more efficient and more widely used germline genetic testing regiment for pediatric patients through the development of algorithms that show when genetic testing is necessary. As the description mentions, the ultimate goal is for this testing to reach beyond the Vanderbilt community. There are large disparities in the access to germline genetic testing and one of the goals of the Turner Cockrell Discovery Grant is to make this life-saving process more widely available to all.
This Discovery Grant would not have been possible without the support of the Mason Family and all of the other supporters of our mission. I could not be happier with the result of our first Discovery Grant and I can't wait to fund another one. We are getting closer by the day!
I will post videos below from our Zoom call with Dr. Pal for those who want to know more.
Thank you again for your support,
Cody Markel