Swim Across America
Establishes ‘Stacey Leondis Fellowship’
The SAA Nassau Suffolk Committee has
established the ‘Swim Across America- Stacey Leondis Fellowship
‘ at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, Bronx, N.Y. for
research into the development of a targeted therapy for
osteosarcoma, an adolescent bone cancer. Stacey Rose Leondis, a
GCHS ‘03 graduate, passed away July 21, 2008.
SAA has been funding this research, which
is supervised by Dr. Richard Gorlick at Children’s Hospital,
since 2006. The data developed in Dr. Gorlick’s Lab has defined,
for the first time, a targeted therapy—antibodies directed at
the insulin-like growth factor receptor—as being potentially
efficacious in the treatment of osteosarcoma. This information
has been used to guide treatment of patients in clinical trials
for osteosarcoma with promising results already obtained. A
Phase III National Clinical Trial is expected to commence in the
next year based on data developed by Dr. Gorlick’s Lab.
Gerry Oakes, a Garden City resident and
V.P. of Swim Across America, Inc. said that “ SAA invested in
this research along side Garden City’s ‘FOSTER Foundation
(Fighting Osteo Sarcoma Through Everyday
Research)’ three years ago, inspired by Stacey.
SAA will continue to support this critical research and we
formally want to recognize Stacey’s role in establishing the
FOSTER Foundation and inviting SAA to assist in funding the most
promising research focused on a cure for osteosarcoma”.
Born February
11, 1985, Stacey was a bright and energetic young girl who began
playing the harp at age 5. Beyond her many accomplishments, her
family and friends knew her as being fun, intelligent and
compassionate with everyone she met. Influenced by her
experiences with cancer, she planned to become a doctor so she
could help others. Always humble and gracious, she was an
inspiration to all who knew her. Her success in the classroom
led her to Yale University where she majored in Biology and was
able to complete her credits and graduate in 2008, in spite of
having to take time off to face a second bout of osteosarcoma as
well as a bone-marrow transplant necessitated by leukemia. She
was accepted to Mount Sinai School of Medicine for the class of
2012.
Stacey’s
battle with cancer began at the tender age of 16 when she was
diagnosed with osteosarcoma in her knee. This diagnoses only
served to fuel Stacey’s natural philanthropic spirit and she
quickly founded the FOSTER Foundation. Stacey’s initiative has
and will continue to enable the Foundation to fund several
research grants each year. Despite her struggle with this
disease which required difficult treatments, Stacey maintained
her vibrant and giving spirit. She was only twenty three years
old and yet touched so many people in her short life. She
leaves behind a tremendous legacy of selfless service to others
making the SAA fellowship in her name entirely fitting.