TSFRE Supporter
Alley-Sheridan Scholarships
Medical innovation doesn’t always happen in a lab. Sometimes it happens in an unexpected place, like an unassuming red barn in rural New York.

It was there in 1955 that David Sheridan developed the bubble principle that revolutionized how catheters, cannulae and tubes are used in operative procedures and patient care.

While the bubble principle was one of Mr. Sheridan’s most significant inventions, it was not his only one. In fact, he held or shared more than 50 patents for innovations that greatly improved medical care throughout his lifetime.

Fortunately, Mr. Sheridan collaborated with others throughout his life. Dr. Ralph D. Alley, former head of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at Albany Medical Center, was one of them.

Moved by his collaborator and friend’s commitment to thoracic surgery, Dave Sheridan donated $1 million to the Thoracic Surgery Foundation for Research and Education to establish the Alley-Sheridan Fund. Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Over the past 15 years this fund has supported 192 thoracic surgeons through scholarships to the Leadership and Health Policy Program both at the Kennedy School and most recently at Brandeis University.

Through his generosity, Dave Sheridan has ensured continued innovation in a field that has greatly benefited from his inventiveness.

Sai Yendamuri, M.D.
LUNGevity Foundation/TSFRE
Research Grant Recipient

The Foundation/TSFRE Research Grant serves as a validation of my research and a vital source of seed funding at a crucial time in my academic career. Starting an independent laboratory was the next logical step after completion of a fellowship in thoracic surgery and starting my first job at the Roswell ParkCancer Institute. Our research is focused on the utilization of microRNA expression patterns as clinically relevant biomarkers. As a first experiment we decided to attempt to identify a microRNA signature for the prediction of recurrence after resection of early lung cancer. We identified a promising signature that deserved additional validation.

However, microarray experiments are expensive and difficult to accomplish without external funding. While we were given access to tissue and clinical data from a co-operative group, we still needed to get funding to complete this crucial part of our project in order to move this signature to a prospective study.

At this critical juncture, the TSFRE award provided the funds required to complete our experiment. Thanks to the award, our validation study is moving ahead. While the funds given by the TSFRE are important, the award itself is a shot in the arm for young investigators beginning their career in academic research. With the difficult funding environment that researchers face currently and the pressure to be clinically productive at the same time, such seed funding is crucial to obtain the data that enables us to apply for competitive NIH funding.

Sai Yendamuri, M.D.
Roswell Park Cancer Institute
2009 LUNGevity
Foundation/TSFRE Research
Grant Recipient

Jane Yanagawa, M.D.
LUNGevity Foundation/TSFRE
Lung Cancer Award Recipient

The TSFRE research fellowship has provided me with an amazing learning experience. After my third year of general surgery residency, I entered the lab with minimal previous research experience and little direction other than that I was interested in lung cancer research. The process of applying for the award introduced me to grant-writing as well as taught me how to develop a detailed project with meaningful goals and realistic aims. The funding I received gave me the opportunity to learn and utilize a variety of techniques, including three-dimensional cell culture, gene expression and tissue microarray analysis, as well as a variety of murine tumor models.

As a result, I have had the honor of presenting at national meetings and publishing my work on the previously un-described impact of a transcriptional repressor called Snail on the tumor progression of non-small cell lung cancer. In addition to the immediate benefits related to my recent research project, this research fellowship has also contributed to my long-term commitment to pursue academic thoracic surgery. The satisfaction of garnering support for a cause one believes in leaves no doubt that such a career path would be incredibly meaningful.

Jane Yanagawa, M.D.
University of California
Los Angeles
2008 LUNGevity
Foundation/TSFRE Lung Cancer
Research Award Recipient