New UCSF-based center will

By Maureen McInaney

A new federally funded Center, based at UCSF, will bring together local health experts to investigate possible environmental links to breast cancer and the high incidence of disease in the Bay Area.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) representatives will be in Marin County to announce the opening of the UCSF-based Bay Area Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Center and three additional national centers. The centers as a group are supported jointly by the National Institute of Environmental health Sciences and the National Cancer Institute, both institutes of the NIH, at $5 million a year over seven years for a total of $35 million.


EVENT: NIH announces funding for the Bay Area Breast Cancer and
    Environmental Research Center to be based at UCSF and
    three additional national centers.
TIME:  11:00 a.m.—Noon. Community reception to follow.
DATE:  October 14, 2003
PLACE: San Rafael Community Center—Lonatese Gardens
    618 B Street, San Rafael,  CA 415-485-3160


FEATURED SPEAKERS:

* Kenneth Olden, PhD, director of the National Institute of
  Environmental Health Sciences.
* Lynn Woolsey (D-Petaluma), a long-time leader on women’s health
  issues.
* A representative from Nancy Pelosi’s office (D-San Francisco).
* Robert Hiatt, MD, PhD, director of the new UCSF-based Center.
* Fern Orenstein, community advocate and breast cancer survivor.

Collaborative partners for the UCSF-based center will include Kaiser Permanente of Northern California, Marin Breast Cancer Watch, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the California Department of Health Services, the San Francisco Department of Public Health, and the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services.

Note:  Reporters interested in covering the event or arranging interviews with speakers should contact Tom Scott with Marin Breast Cancer Watch at 707-996-9907.

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