RJA #13c: Application Project Example

Major Grant Will Facilitate Cord Blood Research for Cerebral Palsy at Duke University

Posted: Mar 18, 2010

The Robertson Foundation has given $10.2 million to Duke University that will help facilitate studies evaluating cord blood stem cells infusions for newborns with various conditions including brain injuries suffered at birth, like cerebral palsy, as well as congenital heart disease and forms of cancer.

Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg, director of Duke’s Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Program, and her research team have spent decades investigating the therapeutic use of umbilical cord blood stem cells.

“The emerging field of regenerative medicine has great promise, and this generous gift will accelerate the pace of Dr. Kurtzberg’s and other Duke scientists’ world-renowned, translational work in cell therapies,” said Dr. Victor Dzau, chief executive of the Duke University Health System.

Umbilical cord blood stem cells, normally discarded after birth, have the ability to grow and develop into various types of cells throughout the body. They can be harvested after birth and stored for future transplant in patients with many types of blood disorders, and increasingly, other diseases as well.

“Dr. Kurtzberg’s research reflects the kind of transformational science that has the potential to change the lives of thousands of people throughout the country and around the world,” Julian Robertson, of the Robertson Foundation, said in a statement.

“This gift comes at such an important time because it will enable us to move forward with the first placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial in children with (cerebral palsy) that has been specifically designed to answer key questions about the efficacy of cord blood treatments in children with this condition,” Kurtzberg said in a statement.

This particular example of a newspaper article helped me to realize that newspaper articles need to be effective and concise in their wording. Each paragraph should contain elements of interest without lengthy verbage. The title needs to be eye catching and the piece packed with information that leaves the reader wanting to know more about the story being told. I chose this piece specifically because it deals with stem cell therapy and cerebral palsy which is what my article is dealing with as well. I also think having a small photo with the article adds a nice touch, something that people will stop to look at but which does not add length to the piece.

RJA #13b: Application Project

I plan to write a newspaper article focusing on stem cell therapy and cerebral palsy. Since my primary research was an interview dealing with a young boy, Drew Covington, who suffers from cerebral palsy and is going to have stem cell therapy done at the XCell Center in Germany this July, I thought this would make a good newspaper piece. In the article I will focus on Drew and what kinds of problems he is faced with because of his cerebral palsy. Why his parents chose to go ahead with stem cell therapy and what was necessary for them to do in order to be accepted into the program at the XCell Center. The article will touch on what kind of procedure is done at the center for their cerebral palsy patients and what Drew may or may not expect from his treatment there.

RJA #13a: Word Cloud