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Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund awards $150,000 to SUNY Upstate Medical University

The Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund has awarded three grants totaling $150,000 to SUNY Upstate Medical University.

These are the first grant awards to be made by the fund to SUNY Upstate. Previously, the fund has supported research at SUNY Stonybrook in Stonybrook, N.Y.

The grants are made in memory of three Camillus, N.Y., women who died of breast cancer. Cala Smits-Cardinal, 48, and Kathy Virginia, 43, passed away earlier this year on Feb. 5 and 6, respectively. Maureen Welch, 52, died of breast cancer in 1998.

“These women and others who have passed away remind us that the fight against breast cancer has not been won,” said Carol M. Baldwin, a Syracuse native and Camillus resident who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1990. “However through research we are finding better ways to treat the disease and are moving closer to a cure.

“The fund is grateful for the support of all who contributed generously to this cause,” Baldwin said. “Together we can find a cure.”

Three grants of $50,000 will fund a variety of research dealing with cancer treatments. Researchers Matthew Allen, Ph.D., assistant professor of orthopedics, and Timothy Damron, M.D., associate professor of orthopedics, will investigate the use of drug therapy to ward off bone fractures following radiation therapy. A common side effect of radiation therapy for women is weak and brittle bones leading to bone fractures.

Bernard Poiesz, M.D., professor of medicine, will study a mammory tumor virus common to mice that has been found in women with breast cancer.

The recipient of the third grant has yet to be announced.

Baldwin founded the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund in 1996. Since its inception, the fund has provided more than $1.6 million dollarsfor breast cancer research.

Baldwin also was actively involved in the Onondaga County Breast Cancer Mapping project, which provided critical information about the incidence and prevalence of breast cancer.

Baldwin is the mother of six children, among them the actors Alec, Stephen and William.