A philanthropic organization is giving the UW a $100,000 grant for pancreatic cancer research as part of a $1.5 million national grant package. The Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research, in New York, announced the grant awards.

Teresa Brentnall, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology, is primary investigator for the grant, which will fund her research on the genetic causes of pancreatic cancer. Brentnall and her colleagues received a similar $100,000 grant from the Lustgarten Foundation this past year.

Pancreatic cancer affects 30,000 Americans each year, according to the foundation, and has a five-year survival rate of four percent. An estimated 168,000 people worldwide die from pancreatic cancer each year.

The Lustgarten Foundation funds pancreatic cancer research, and also conducts public service campaigns and sponsors seminars to boost awareness of the disease.