Make a Difference: Become a Sponsor and help the Wendy Walk and the Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative Find a Cure for Liposarcoma, a Rare and Dangerous Cancer

The ultimate goal of the liposarcoma research is to help speed promising new drugs through the clinical trial process into clinical use. Currently, there are no effective drugs available for the treatment of liposarcoma that cannot be cured by surgery—which may ultimately include most patients with this disease.

Drug development includes basic science research (understanding the underlying biology and genetics of the disease), identification of promising molecules, pre-clinical trial research (cell-based and on animals), clinical trials (on humans), and obtaining regulatory approval to market the drug. Drug development is an extremely expensive undertaking, often costing in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

The success of this process depends on significant basic science research and continues with translational research in which the results of research done in the laboratory are used to develop new ways to diagnose, prognose and treat the disease, including drugs which are evaluated via clinical trials.

Collaborative research linking the laboratory to the clinic is critical. We cannot emphasize enough the benefit of having several skilled physicians and scientists work together to focus on translating science into the clinic, to help reduce the time required for drug development. Such research is also expensive. Whole-genome sequencing of tissue, which is extremely important to understanding any cancer, is quite expensive. It currently costs $25,000 to sequence a single sample. Results from such studies require many quality samples to reliably and reproducibly identify potential therapeutic targets. These targets form the basis for all drug development.

The funds we are requesting will be used to help grow the teams of physicians and scientists already working on Initiative-funded liposarcoma research, and to extend the range of basic and translational science issues that they are investigating, including deep sequencing studies and bioinformatics studies. We require $50,000 to support a single researcher undertaking a basic science study for one year and $100,000 for two years. Collaborative research requires funding of at least $250,000 for 2-years. The following table summarizes some of the ways the Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative uses its available funds.

Amount Needed	To Help Fund
$250,000	A collaborative study conducted by 3-4 physicians and scientists
$125,000	A portion of a collaborative study conducted by 3-4 physicians and scientists
$100,000	A single researcher undertaking a 2-year basic science study
$50,000	A single researcher undertaking a 1-year basic science study
N • $25,000	Whole-genome sequencing of N tissue samples
$25,000	Whole-genome sequencing of a single tissue sample
$10,000	Part of a study or part of the whole-genome sequencing of a tissue sample
$5,000	Help sarcoma families (e.g. with costs related to second opinions, travel to treatment center, medications, etc.)

How can You Help

The three 2012 Wendy Walks are expected to draw over 1,500 people from all over the country. The walks are publicized on websites, social media, blogs, local news forums, as well as in medical publications. Additionally, the Wendy Walks will be professionally filmed and an official Wendy Walk documentary will be created. You can help by becoming a sponsor of this effort at one of the funding levels shown in the following table. We will use your funds to maximize the best opportunities for research.

Sponsor Level	Recognition
Wendy Walk Savior $250,000	Premier National Event sponsor National stage mention Mention in press release Prominent recognition on all event related materials Event Signage Website Recognition Name on Banner in all three cities Prominent logo recognition on t-shirt
Wendy Walk Angel $125,000	Premier National Event sponsor National stage mention Mention in press release Prominent recognition on all event related materials Event Signage Website Recognition Name on Banner in all three cities Prominent logo recognition on t-shirt
Wendy Walk Partner in Hope $100,000	National Wendy Walk Sponsor Recognition on all event related materials Name on Event Signage Website Recognition Logo on t-shirt
Wendy Walk Champion $50,000	National Wendy Walk Sponsor Website Mention Recognition on Event Signage Logo on t-shirt
Wendy Walk Benefactor $25,000	Local Wendy Walk Sponsor Website Mention Name on City –Specific Banner Name on City Specific Event Signage Logo on t-shirt
Wendy Walk Patron $10,000	Local Wendy Walk Sponsor Website Mention Name on City-Specific Banner Logo on t-shirt
Wendy Walk Friend $5,000	Local Wendy Walk Sponsor Website Mention
Wendy Walk Supporter $1,000	Local Event Signage Recognition

Contact Information

Please contact Ali Landes at 310 487-5488 to discuss becoming a Wendy Walk sponsor.