The Taylor-Wharton Partners For Life Achievement Program has awarded a liquid nitrogen freezer to William E. Grizzle, M.D., Ph.D., University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) professor of pathology and director of the Tissue Procurement and Banking Facility at the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The Taylor-Wharton Partners For Life Achievement Program was created to support varying medical research fields each year. In this, its inaugural year, the program aims to support finding a cure for breast cancer.
“It is extremely generous of Taylor-Wharton to provide this freezer as a resource to support research in major cancers that affect women, and we are very pleased to have been selected to be part of this effort,” said Grizzle.
The Taylor-Wharton 2012 Breast Cancer LABS unit, a pink liquid nitrogen freezer capable of holding 20,000 samples, is valued at more than $22,000. The freezer will provide an opportunity to expand human tissue collection for the UAB breast cancer SPORE (Specialized Program of Research Excellence) grant, provide specimens to researchers throughout North America through the Cooperative Human Tissue Network (CHTN) and expand research efforts in breast and ovarian cancer.
After a competitive selection process, Grizzle was chosen to receive the freezer by panel of six experts in the biotechnology field. He was selected because of his work to reduce racial disparities in the understanding of the molecular features of breast, ovarian, prostrate and pancreatic cancers to improve medical care to the African-American population.
Based in Theodore, Ala., Taylor-Wharton Cryogenics LLC manufactures and produces a comprehensive range of bulk and portable cryogenic storage units, as well as a complete line of high-pressure, compressed-gas cylinders and asbestos-free acetylene cylinders. Their state-of-the-art equipment ranges from 1.5 liters to the largest LABS freezer that holds up to 94,200 vials.