BEACON FALLS — Project Purple recently awarded a $10,000 grant to fund clinical research into whether obesity causes genetic mutations that lead to pancreatic cancer.
The project, titled Obesity-Induced Genetic Alterations in PanINs Lesions During Pancreatic Cancer Development in the Conditional KrasG12D Mouse Model, will be led by Dr. Guido Eibl at the University of California at Los Angeles, a press release stated.
“We have shown previously in animal models that in mice with high fat diets there is a higher probability towards a genetic mutation towards pancreatic cancer,” stated Eibl in the release.
Eibl will collaborate with scientists at the University of Connecticut who will validate the data, the release stated.
Project Purple is a Beacon Falls-based nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness and funds toward a cure for pancreatic cancer. The grant was made possible by the John Polio Fund established at Project Purple in memory of Dr. John Polio.
“This fund will directly support critical research being done to help with prevention of pancreatic cancer,” said Dino Verrelli, Project Purple founder and CEO, in the release.
For more information, visit www.projectpurple.org.
