Our Mission

The Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research is dedicated to providing financial support to offer highly qualified scientists the opportunity to pursue research into the causes and origins of cancer.

The goal of the Fund is to provide support to the brightest individual scientists pursuing careers in cancer research while promoting and emphasizing the value and contribution of the individual in keeping with the spirit of the conception of the Fund.

FINANCIAL REPORTS

2008 FINANCIAL REPORT >
2007 FINANCIAL REPORT >

JCC FUND NEWSLETTERS
Check out our current and past newletters to find out about the newest JCCF fellows and what they are researching, details on our annual retreats, and other interesting articles.

2012 JCC FUND NEWSLETTER >
2011 JCC FUND NEWSLETTER >
2010 JCC FUND NEWSLETTER >
2009 JCC FUND NEWSLETTER >
2008 JCC FUND NEWSLETTER >
2007 JCC FUND NEWSLETTER >
2006 JCC FUND NEWSLETTER >
2005 JCC FUND NEWSLETTER >

We will accept referee and sponsor letters by email until February 15. Referees may send letters and ratings (from A to E) directly to us at letters@jccfund.org. Sponsor letters may also be sent to the same address. Please paste the contents of your letter inside the body of your email.

THE JANE COFFIN CHILDS FUND FELLOWS 2010 – 2013

FELLOW:

Effie Apostolou

Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Regenerative Medicine Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Boston, MA

My current research focuses on the molecular and epigenetic mechanisms governing the process of nuclear reprogramming of somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells). More specifically, I study how the differentiation stage of the initial somatic cell affects the efficiency of reprogramming into iPS.

I was born at Naoussa, a small town in northern Greece. I studied biology at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and pursued my PhD on molecular biology at the medical school of the National University in Athens. While working at Dr. Dimitris Thanos’ lab for my PhD thesis -- "In vivo study of the dynamics of transcriptional complexes" -- I became intrigued by biochemistry and familiar with molecular and cytogenetic techniques. I also published my first paper, which opened the door to Harvard University and a new world. I switched my scientific focus to this new and exciting field. I joined Dr. Konrad Hochedlinger’s lab and am more than happy with my choice. At the beginning of my second year, I feel so much richer in knowledge and research experience. I also enjoy life in Boston, which is an ideal city for tango dancing and hiking.

FELLOW:

Jeremy Baskin

Department of Cell Biology Yale School of Medicine / New Haven, CT

My current research concerns the mechanisms by which cells regulate the biosynthesis of phosphoinositides, a class of lipids found on the cytosolic face of numerous membranes within the cell. In particular, I am interested in studying the metabolic interconnectedness of different classes of lipids.

I was born and raised in Montreal, Canada in a family of artists. My parents are both classical musicians, and my younger sister is a budding actress; to this day I play classical piano as a hobby. I was drawn to chemistry in high school, and my interest in organic chemistry grew in my undergraduate years at MIT, where I received a B.S. in 2004. Midway through MIT, inspired by an advanced biochemistry class, I joined a young chemical biology lab. I continued in this area in my graduate years at UC Berkeley, in the laboratory of Carolyn Bertozzi, where my research concerned the development of chemical tools for imaging cell-surface glycans in living systems. After earning a Ph.D. in chemistry in 2009, I again switched direction, embarking on post-doctoral research in cell biology, under the supervision of Pietro De Camilli.

FELLOW:

Andrea Berman

Howard Hughes Medical Institute Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry / University of Colorado / Boulder, CO

I am using biochemical and biophysical techniques to understand how the essential protein p65 facilitates the assembly of the Tetrahymena telomerase ribonucleoprotein particle. I am also interested in studying the mechanism by which telomerase recycles its RNA template sequence, allowing the protein component to copy the template several times without dissociating.

I grew up on Long Island, NY and received my BS in biology with a concentration in biochemistry from Cornell University. An undergraduate research opportunity in an x-ray crystallography lab at Cornell piqued my interest and I moved to Connecticut to pursue and earn a PhD in molecular biochemistry and biophysics from Yale University, working in the laboratory of Tom Steitz. Currently living near Boulder, Colorado, I am engaged in the work I’m doing with Tom Cech, in whose lab I am learning new biochemistry techniques and interacting with graduate and undergraduate students. When not in the lab, I enjoy practicing yoga, baking, eating New York bagels and pizza, and hiking and biking in Boulder with my husband.