Sharks Rx Spring 2018 | NSU College of Pharmacy

DONOR PROFILE THE MEMBERS OF the Royal Dames of Cancer Research, Inc., are South Florida’s “Super Sheroes.” For more than 48 years, this dedicated group of philanthropic women has been on a steadfast mission to raise funds to encourage, aid, enrich, and support educational programs and cancer research at the NSU Rumbaugh-Goodwin Institute for Cancer Research (RGI). “The Royal Dames of Cancer Research was founded in 1969 by a group of ladies who cared deeply about funding cutting-edge cancer research in Broward County at the Leo Goodwin Institute for Cancer Research,” said Rhonda Ritchie, president of the Royal Dames. When the Rumbaugh family made a significant contribution to the institute, it was renamed the Rumbaugh-Goodwin Institute for Cancer Research. In 2005, the institute merged with the NSU Health Professions Division. In the ensuing years, the RGI—a nonprofit organization—has continued to expand its programs and research activities, with the main goal of developing cancer therapies that can specifically target tumors, with minimal cellular damage and toxicity to the patient. The RGI discovered and developed two new antiangiogenic cancer drugs that received patent approval in 2011. It also trains and educates undergraduate and graduate students who will conduct cancer research well into the future. “Our scientists at the RGI are working very hard to find new and safer cures for cancers,” said Appu Rathinavelu, Ph.D., RGI executive director and professor of pharmaceutical sciences in the College of Pharmacy. “We share the same beliefs as the Royal Dames that no human being should die because of cancer or from the side effects caused by chemotherapeutic drugs.” Unwavering Support of Royal Dames “Sheroes” Benefits RGI, Cancer Research By Ellen Wolfson Valladares (continued on next page) Today, we remain a sisterhood of caring, passionate ladies focused on cancer research. —Rhonda Ritchie, president, Royal Dames of Cancer Research