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CEFCU gift to aid Cancer Research Center

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The Cancer Research Center at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria is ready to expand its programs and outfit new lab space thanks to a $250,000 gift from CEFCU.

CEFCU made the pledge Thursday during a public open house at the $13 million Research Center, which opened in December and provides reseachers at the center with far more lab space.

(Photo courtesy of UICOMP) Mark Spenny, right, CEO of CEFCU, presents the symbol of a $250,000 gift to Dr. Jasti Rao, director of the Cancer Research Center at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria. The money will be used to help the center add research programs and purchase equipment for its new research lab."Today in Peoria we are sharing our wonderful new facility with the public. But the real focus of today is the cancer research the facility contains. Working together with scientists across the world, our cancer research program, led by world renowned researcher Dr. Jasti Rao, will make important discoveries that ultimately lead to a cure for cancer," said Dr. Sara Rusch, regional dean of the medical school.

"Today's gift from CEFCU will provide important funding for our Cancer Research, increasing the chances that we discover a cure for cancer and that some of those we love will be saved from this dreaded disease," Rusch said.

The money will be used to develop more programs and to purchase research equipment, which the college believes will help attract more top researchers to the Peoria campus.

"A cure is desperately needed and that cure will be found through research — very likely the life-changing research that is accomplished right here in our own backyard at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria," said Mark Spenny, CEO of CEFCU, when presenting the gift on behalf of CEFCU's Board of Directors.

"While nothing is more important than the essential research to be conducted here, we would be remiss if we did not also consider the economic benefits this facility will bring. In a time of economic rebuilding for our community, and the nation, it is exciting to know that more than 30 new jobs in the form of world class researchers will be brought to central Illinois to further expand on the extraordinary work done by Dr. Rao and his current team," Spenny said.

Since Rao joined the school more than a decade ago, the UICOMP Cancer Biology Program has received $27 million in funding and published more than 150 scholarly articles. The work has led to national and international collaborations and a patented discovery of a new anti-cancer treatment, a UICOMP news release said.

About the Author
Paul Gordon is the editor of The Peorian after spending 29 years of indentured servitude at the Peoria Journal Star. He’s an award-winning writer, raconteur and song-and-dance man. He also went to a high school whose team name is the Alices (that’s Vincennes Lincoln High School in Indiana; you can look it up).