Contact: Ernie Blazar 202.224.7627 Shana Stribling 202.224.0309
Friday, May 3, 2002

COLUMBIA, MO – U.S. Senator Kit Bond today spoke at the University of Missouri-Columbia’s Research Reactor (MURR) Research Day. The Biomedical Applications of Radioisotopes Research Day is an opportunity for the research community to share information with colleagues, the university community and other area professionals about the important life sciences research being conducted both regionally and at MURR.

“The Research Reactor at the University is world renowned and highly respected within the medical community,” said Bond. “I am happy that I have been able to contribute to this incredible facility and I will continue to work on behalf of the MURR.”

According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 1500 Americans will die from cancer every day this year, which makes cancer the second leading cause of death in the United States. Additionally, 1.2 million new cases will be diagnosed this year.

Taking the lead in the fight against cancer, the University is working to become designated as a National Institutes of Health Comprehensive Cancer Center. Bond has worked towards this goal by sending federal dollars, support and attention to the facility. Currently, Bond is working to fund an ‘imaging core facility’ at the University’s partner, Truman Memorial VA Hospital. Also, Bond continually works to increase funding for facility upgrades and expansions to MURR and Elis Fischel.

Bond insists that new hot cells, clean rooms, equipment and production facilities will enable MURR, the University and their partners to effectively support research, development, clinical testing and production of novel treatments for cancer. For instance, MURR produces radiopharmaceuticals, which have been shown to be effective in treating the deadly cancers of multiple myeloma, leukemia and lymphoma, among others.

“I applaud the University for its continued dedication to life sciences and nuclear biomedical research,” said Bond in closing.

As the leader in the Senate for life sciences and a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Bond has worked to make Missouri the biotechnology corridor. He provided $300 million in federal funds for genomics research; $31 million for the multi-disciplinary Life Sciences Center at the University of Missouri in Columbia; and funds for the facilities at the Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis and for the Life Sciences Initiative at the University of Missouri Kansas City to name a few.