SUMMER 2014 UPDATE
Happy Summer!
Here is a summary of recent stories published about the UA Steele Center, the Department of Pediatrics
and Diamond Children's. Want to receive updates as they happen? Please follow us on Facebook:  
  Steele Center FB page Diamond Children's FB page



UA Discovery Shows Curcumin Blocks the Metastasis of Colon Cancer by a Novel Mechanism

 

A team of researchers led by the University of Arizona Steele Children's Research Center discovered that curcumin--the bioactive molecule derived from the spice turmeric--blocks the protein cortactin in colon cancer. Cortactin, a protein essential for cell movement, frequently is overexpressed in cancer, thus facilitating cancer cell metastasis to other organs in the body. Read more

 

 

 

 

  

20th Annual Fathers of the Year Awards Dinner and Gala Raises $205,000 for the UA Steele Center

 

 Father's Day Council Tucson recently celebrated six outstanding Tucson fathers - while also raising funds for the University of Arizona Steele Children's Research Center - at its 20th annual "Fathers of the Year Awards Dinner and Gala" at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort. Last month's event raised approximately $205,000 for type 1 diabetes research, clinical programs, faculty recruitment and the "Father's Day Council Tucson Endowed Chair for Type 1 Diabetes" at the UA Steele Center. Read more | View photos

 

 

  

Orphaned Ugandan Boy Undergoes Surgery at UAMC to Correct Severely Deformed Spine 

 

Neurosurgeons Ali Baaj, MD, University of Arizona Department of Surgery, and Kumar Kakarla, MD, Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, successfully performed corrective spine surgery June 9 on a severely deformed Ugandan orphan approximately 8 years old at the University of Arizona Medical Center (UAMC) in Tucson. Now, Luwasi Muhammed, also known as "Little Lewis," stands four inches taller and has a chance at living a normal life. Read more | KOLD video | KOVA video

  

Young Fashionistas Raise $640,000 for UA Steele Center

 

The Phoenix Women's Board of the UA Steele Childrens Research Center celebrated their 15th annual PANDA "Children Helping Children" Fashion Show and Luncheon. The event raised $640,000 for the "PANDA Children's Autoimmune Disorders Project."The event took place at The Phoenician in Scottsdale on April 12, with 65 children modeling fashions from Dillard's to the theme, "Through the Looking Glass...Anything is Possible." Read more | View photos

 

  
UA Steele Center to Study Preventing Deadly Intestinal Disease in Premature Babies

 

Melissa Halpern, PhD, associate professor, plans to measure bile acid levels in premature babies to predict and prevent Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC), an intestinal disease that is fatal to nearly one in five infants who develop the most severe form.  NEC is a potentially deadly inflammatory gastrointestinal disease that afflicts approximately 9,000 premature infants in the United States every year. The cause is unknown and no treatments for the disease exist. Read more  

 

Kids of Steele Take the Field

 

Hundreds of kids hit the playing field at Arizona Stadium Thursday night for the 1st "Team Up" event hosted by UA Football and head coach Rich Rodriguez.The event gave children from 5-years through 8th grade, the opportunity to participate in practice drills and other football activities with Coach Rodriguez and his staff and Wildcat players. Read more  

 

 


For the Love of Benny: Students at Miller Elementary School Raise Funds for the 'Louise Thomas Endowed Chair in Pediatric Cancer Research' at the UA Steele Center

Students at Miller Elementary School held a "Hat Parade" and raised $221 for the "Louise Thomas Endowed Chair in Pediatric Cancer Research" at the UA Steele Children's Research Center.The "Hat Parade" was coordinated by the school's community representative, Amy Petz. Amy's son Benny passed away on June 27, 2006, at the young age of 5 from neuroblastoma--a pediatric solid tumor cancer of the nerve tissue. Students each donated $1 to wear a hat at school on Tuesday, May 13, and then they held a hat parade. Read more



'Celebration of Courage' Honors Resiliency in Child Patients

 

Beads of Courage held its "Celebration of Courage" event on Friday at Diamond Children's at the University of Arizona Medical Center. The organization provides innovative, arts-in-medicine supportive care programs for children who are coping with serious illness; it also supports their families and health care providers.During the event, community members made bracelets for patients. Also, the Barnum & Bailey Bead of Courage Clowns attended to provide entertainment for the patients and their families. This year, about 30 children and teenagers attended the event with their families. Oro Valley Dolphins and Cheer Association youth made and carried more than 50 beads, giving them to patients during the event. Read more

 
Arizona Elks Pediatric Clinic Receives 'Daniel T. Cloud Outstanding Teen Practice Immunization Award'

 

The Arizona Elks Pediatric Clinic at the University of Arizona Medical Center won the "Daniel T. Cloud Outstanding Teen Practice Immunization Award." The award was presented at the 18th Annual "Big Shots for Arizona Awards Ceremony," by The Arizona Partnership for Immunization in Phoenix. This award is given for reaching 90 percent immunization coverage levels by age 15.

Read more  

 


UA Steele Children's Research Center
1501 N. Campbell Ave., Room 3301
Tucson, AZ 85724
520-626-9618