This week the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (MARF) announced that a National Mesothelioma Virtual Bank (NMVB) is now operative. The Meso Foundation’s advocacy efforts, in cooperation with medical and academic institutions, helped make this tissue bank a reality.

According to a release on MARF’s web site, the Virtual Bank, which was four years in development, is the first mesothelioma research resource of its kind. The NMVB provides mesothelioma tissue samples from a variety of institutions, clinically annotated in a readily accessible database, to researchers in all mesothelioma investigations.

The Meso Foundation is the national organization dedicated to eradicating mesothelioma as a life-ending disease by funding the highest quality and most promising research projects from around the world through our rigorous peer-reviewed process; helping patients connect with national meso experts and obtain the most up-to-date information on treatment options; and advocating in Washington, D.C., for federal mesothelioma research funding to stop this national tragedy.

The Foundation has funded more than $5 million in mesothelioma research projects around the world, to date.

According to the MARF release, the NMVB is a collaborative effort of multiple organizations, including the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which together provided the initial $1 million grant for starting the tissue bank.

The release goes on to describe the NMVB as a bioinformatics system that combines assorted data from mesothelioma-related specimens into a single, annotated engine. The goal of the tissue bank is to expedite the discovery of preventive measures, novel therapeutic interventions and ultimately cures for mesothelioma.

For more information on the National Mesothelioma Virtual Bank, visit www.mesotissue.org.

The Meso Foundation will host its annual symposium to educate patients and families on the latest advances in meso research and treatment this year in Washington, D.C., June 26-28.

I’m a little behind with this, since the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (MARF) announced it in January, but I think it’s important enough to share in case there are others, like me, who didn’t know.According to a release on MARF’s website, the Department of Defense (DoD) Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program was appropriated $50 million in the Defense Appropriations bill that the President signed in mid-November 2007. For the first time, mesothelioma will be included as a research priority within the DoD’s Medical Research Program, which was set to begin in February.In the press release, Chris Hahn, executive director of The Meso Foundation, says, “The Meso foundation has been working with fifteen senators, led by Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), advocating the federal government to respond to the mesothelioma crisis through a commitment of new federal research dollars.”As a candidate research area within the program, mesothelioma investigators are eligible to compete for funding through the program’s 2008 grant cycle.For more information, read the full release online, or contact the Meso Foundation directly at (805) 563-8400.