Native Western New Yorkers express pride in RPCI while investing in new treatments for families touched by cancer

(BUFFALO, NY)—The Lawrence P. Castellani Family has made a leadership commitment to Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) with a $1.5 million donation to establish the Lawrence and Joan Castellani Family Chair in Dermatology. Allan Oseroff, MD, PhD, who heads the Department of Dermatology at RPCI, will be the first Chairholder.

The endowment gift will ensure a guaranteed permanent annual donation from the Castellani family, offering seed funding for the research of new treatments for skin cancers. Funds from the endowed Chair also will provide flexible dollars for the Department to use for its highest priorities determined each year. Once cures for dermatological cancers are found, the income will be used for patient and community education programs, including prevention services.

Cancer of the skin is the most common of all malignancies, accounting for more than half of all cancers. Melanoma accounts for about 6 percent of skin cancer cases, but causes most skin cancer deaths. It is increasing faster than all other cancers.  In 2006, it is expected that more than 62,000 new melanomas will be diagnosed in the United States, with approximately 8,000 people dying of this disease.

“Melanoma incidence is rising, and these funds are urgently needed to continue our research, so more lives can be saved,” said Dr. Oseroff. He noted that since the mid-1970s, Roswell Park has been a world leader in pioneering the non-surgical treatment of both skin and other cancers with Photodynamic Therapy (PDT), using light-activated drugs to target malignant cells. “We are enormously grateful to the Castellani family for recognition of Roswell’s work and for this generous gift.  It will allow us to explore new approaches to PDT for all cancers, including its use to help the body’s defense systems recognize and eradicate metastatic disease.”

Dr. Allan Oseroff joined the faculty of Roswell Park Cancer Institute in 1990, and holds joint appointments in the departments of Cell Stress Biology and Pharmacology & Therapeutics.  He also is Professor and Chair of Dermatology at the University at Buffalo.

The Castellani family, Western New York natives now living in Longboat Key, Florida,  expressed that their decision to support this Chair is due to their belief in the mission of RPCI, and their wish to recognize Dr. Oseroff’s and the Department of Dermatology’s excellence and achievements.

“Roswell Park is a true asset to Western New York, a cornerstone in the community,” Joan Castellani shared. “We feel fortunate that we can make a difference in this way to help families who are facing cancer, and to further research that is changing the ways cancer is treated.”

Joan and Lawrence (Larry) Castellani, together with their children, Julianne and Larry, Jr., have been supportive of the Institute for many years. Larry Castellani, Sr., the former CEO of Tops Markets, Inc., was involved with RPCI as an advisor to Thomas B. Tomasi, MD, PhD, who served as RPCI’s president and CEO from 1986–1996.  Castellani was instrumental in bringing Roswell Park’s holiday cards (now known under the “Paint Box Project” name) to the shelves of Tops stores throughout the Buffalo Niagara region to help raise funds for cancer research and patient care.

Joan was an active member of the Roswell Park Alliance Community Advisory Board and served for four years as Chair of the popular holiday card fundraiser. In 1997, Joan and her co-chair, Carol Hill, were recognized at Western New York’s National Philanthropy Day as Roswell Park’s Distinguished Honorees for their exceptional leadership.

The Castellanis’ children, Julianne and Larry, Jr., also contributed to helping Roswell Park in the past: Julianne as a student intern in the Department of Psychology, working with pediatric cancer patients, and Larry, Jr., as a three-year Canisius High School volunteer for RPCI’s fundraising programs.

The Roswell Park Alliance Foundation, founded in 1991, is a not-for-profit organization formed to receive and administer funds to support scientific and clinical research, state-of-the-art medical care, and patient-related activities at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI).  Roswell Park Cancer Institute, founded in 1898, is the nation’s first cancer research, treatment education center and is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in Upstate New York.  RPCI is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation’s leading cancer centers.  For more information, visit RPCI’s website at www.roswellpark.org, call 1-877-ASK-RPCI (1-877-275-7724) or email askrpci@roswellpark.org.