Nemours Center for Childhood Cancer Research launches Drug Discovery Program
Nemours Enterprise
Tuesday, August 04, 2009 @ 09:00 AM EDT
by: Jim Lardear
Andrew Napper, PhD, has joined the research team at the Nemours Center for Childhood Cancer Research (NCCCR) to establish its High Throughput Screening and Drug Discovery Laboratory. Dr. Napper comes to Nemours from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was the Director of High Throughput Screening for the Penn Center for Molecular Discovery, one of the original ten centers established as part of the National Institutes of Health’s Roadmap initiative to discover drugs for neglected diseases.
Cancers found in children are inherently different from those commonly seen in adults. Yet children are treated with drugs developed for adults. Although these drugs have saved the lives of many children, the side effects are severe. They most often affect health and development well beyond childhood and have a major impact throughout the lifespan of pediatric cancer survivors.
The goal of Dr. Napper’s work is to discover new drugs for childhood cancers.
modified: Tuesday, August 04, 2009 @ 08:33 AM EDT
created: Tuesday, August 04, 2009 @ 08:30 AM EDT
About Nemours
Nemours, one of the nation’s largest pediatric health systems, is dedicated to achieving higher standards in children’s health. Nemours offers an integrated spectrum of clinical treatment coupled with research, advocacy, and educational health and prevention services extending to all families in the communities it serves. Starting with Alfred I. duPont’s bequest over seventy years ago, Nemours has grown into a multi-dimensional organization offering personalized clinical and preventive care focused on children.
Nemours owns and operates the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware and major children’s specialty clinics in Delaware (Wilmington), Florida (Jacksonville, Orlando and Pensacola), Pennsylvania (Philadelphia and Bryn Mawr) and New Jersey (Atlantic City and Voorhees). Having recently received preliminary approval from the State of Florida, Nemours will establish a new full-service children’s hospital as part of an integrated pediatric health campus in Orlando. KidsHealth.org, the world’s most visited pediatric health care Web site for parents, kids and teens, is a project of Nemours.
Nemours employs over 4,400 individuals, including 430 pediatric physicians, specialists and surgeons who cared for approximately a quarter of a million children in 2007. The organization’s goal is to align with parents, physicians, community leaders, children’s advocates and elected officials to ensure optimal wellness for every child. Additional information about Nemours can be found at www.nemours.org.
