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From a One-Room School...to Medical Researchby Kristi Krupala
Today, the Gillson Longenbaugh Foundation is a lasting legacy of the couple's charitable spirit. It aims to help people with debilitating conditions and children suffering from devastating diseases, as well as supporting cancer research. The Gillson Longenbaugh Foundation may be small, with only three members on its board, but it has made a big difference at Baylor College of Medicine and at institutions throughout the Texas Medical Center and the state.
The Foundation was established in 1981 by Mrs. Alta Gillson Longenbaugh, wife of the late Harold J. Longenbaugh, one of the most successful rice farmers ever to live in Katy, Texas, where they had been since the 1930s. The Longenbaughs established rice farming and ranching operations in the area and at one time were one of the largest landowners in Harris County. The Longenbaughs had no children of their own, and, ultimately, the management of both the business and personal affairs of Mrs. Longenbaugh was undertaken by her close family friend and personal attorney, Lawrence I. Levy. After her death in 1994, he continued the management and development of the Foundation as its president.
Keeping true to his word, Mr. Levy, with the help of the other Foundation directors, Neal Pellis, Ph.D., and E.W. "Ned" Torian, ensures that the Gillson Longenbaugh Foundation supports some of the most promising individuals and projects in medical research today. The Foundation's board members take a novel approach to determining which projects to support, spending a great deal of time getting to know the scientists behind the projects they are considering funding in the hope of finding outstanding researchers with genuinely novel or creative ideas. "We believe in investing in those individuals that show the most promise as scientists and physicians, as well as in projects that have potential to make important scientific or medical contributions," said Levy. "Getting to know the people we support and truly understanding their ideas is the most important part of our jobs." The board members also follow the progress of each project through annual reports and one-on-one meetings with the investigators. The Foundation has supported basic research at BCM by providing critically important seed funding for more than 38 young investigators. Its focus in supporting the College has been in three main areas: the Scott Department of Urology, the Texas Children's Cancer Center, and the College's Junior Faculty Seed Funding Program and Collaborative Research Program. Scott Department of UrologyKevin Slawin, M.D., and Jonathan Levitt, Ph.D., are co-principal investigators of a project funded by the Gillson Longenbaugh Foundation. These investigators are looking for a method of early diagnosis of prostate cancer metastasis in lymph nodes. "Typically, when a patient undergoes a radical prostatectomy, the surgeon removes a 'packet' of lymph nodes, which are then embedded in paraffin, transferred onto slides, and examined microscopically by a pathologist to determine whether the prostate cells have metastasized into the lymph nodes," explained Levitt. "But this process is not sensitive enough to detect the metastasis if it is in a very early stage." Instead, Drs. Slawin and Levitt are looking at the problem on the molecular level. By purifying the tissue samples obtained at the time of surgery and extracting RNA, they can detect copies of messenger RNA in lymph nodes. This highly sensitive process yields increasingly accurate indications of metastasis. "The beauty of this technique," said Slawin, "is that it enables the detection of metastasis when there may be as few as one or two cells in the lymph nodes—something that would be invisible to a pathologist using the traditional method of looking at the nodes under a microscope. These patients are at higher risk of cancer recurrence in the future; early identification allows us to consider giving additional treatment at the earliest possible time." The study funded by the Gillson Longenbaugh Foundation is providing verification of this technique. By conducting a retrospective screening of 300 samples, the investigators can compare their tissue analyses to patients' actual recurrences of cancer to determine the number of cells that correlates with eventual progression of the disease. "The funding from The Gillson Longenbaugh Foundation is helping us get one step closer to figuring out how to identify prostate cancer indicators earlier," said Slawin. "We are truly grateful for their interest, support, and belief in the work being done to help identify, treat, and ultimately cure this devastating disease." Texas Children's Cancer CenterChing C. Lau, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine, and head of the Molecular Neuro-oncology Laboratory and the Cancer Genomics Program at Texas Children's Cancer Center, has received funds and renewed support from the Foundation for his work in predicting which children with brain tumors need more aggressive treatment and which children would do well with lower-dosage therapies that produce fewer side effects. Because children's brains are constantly developing, they are vulnerable to toxicities from treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation. While it is crucial to treat certain tumors aggressively from the beginning, other tumors do well with a more moderate treatment that reduces the risk of damaging healthy brain tissue. With support from the Gillson Longenbaugh Foundation and others, Lau is using new genomic technologies to determine patients' likely outcomes. The ability to predict an outcome enables physicians to customize the treatment for each child to have the best chance of survival with the fewest unnecessary complications. The results of these studies have led Lau to expand the scope of his research to include other pediatric cancers, such as osteosarcomas. Lau also has received more than $3.5 million in grant funding to continue his investigations, all of which would not have been possible if not for the initial support of the Gillson Longenbaugh Foundation. "Larry, Neal, and Ned have become true partners with us in the effort to find a cure for children with cancer," said David G. Poplack, M.D., director of the Texas Children's Cancer Center, and head of the Hematology/oncology Section of BCM's Department of Pediatrics. "They understand what we do and that our research is state-of-the-art. More importantly, they understand how critical it is to provide seed funding for physician-scientists who are in the early stages of their research. Without the Gillson Longenbaugh Foundation, many of our research efforts would not be nearly as far along as they are today; nor would we have received additional funding for them." Junior Faculty Seed Funding and Collaborative Research FundingSince 1999, The Gillson Longenbaugh Foundation has been one of the main support systems for two unique programs at BCM, donating more than $1.1 million toward the Junior Faculty Seed Funding and the Basic and Clinical Collaborative Research Programs. This funding has provided vital start-up money for 38 new research projects by some of medicine's most talented researchers and brightest new stars. For the past twenty years, the Office of Research has offered seed funding to junior faculty through an annual College-wide competition. The program helps prepare and support new investigators as they begin their careers as independent researchers. It is intended to help recipients obtain preliminary results that will assist them in successfully competing for national research grants. While the amount is small—awards are $25,000 for one year—it is often the first funding a young investigator receives and has a significant impact on his or her career. "Receiving monetary support from a private contributor not only helps young researchers with equipment expenses or hiring an extra technician, but it also provides them with confidence that someone believes in their life's work," explained James W. Patrick, Ph.D., senior vice president and dean of research at Baylor College of Medicine. "The support of a private donor is extremely hard to earn, and getting something from a foundation such as Gillson Longenbaugh is a great feeling for a young researcher." The Basic and Clinical Collaborative Research Program supports collaborative research among established independent investigators in the basic and clinical sciences. The program's main goal is to foster the development of collaborative projects between faculty in clinical and basic science departments to more closely associate research and patient care. This program is the cornerstone of BCM's efforts to advance clinical applications of basic science discoveries. Two researchers who have benefited from these programs are Mary E. Dickinson, Ph.D., and Robia G. Pautler, Ph.D. Funding from the Foundation has helped Dickinson work to improve imaging techniques that better determine how blood flow can instruct cells to change the shape and size of vessels, which may benefit patients with cardiovascular disorders. Pautler completed mouse model studies to better understand the effects of anxiety disorders and Alzheimer's disease. Her findings will contribute to the development of treatments for these two debilitating diseases. The Foundation's generosity also has facilitated important research in a number of other health priorities, including cancer, epilepsy, obesity, glaucoma, HIV, hepatitis, and Crohn's disease, as well as devastating pediatric genetic disorders. The Foundation's first five years of grants have leveraged more than $15 million in research grant funding for recipients, an enormous return on investment. "The talent at BCM makes our jobs easy," said Levy. "There are such bright researchers and physicians at Baylor and such experienced and gifted faculty to nurture them into becoming the best medicine can offer. We are fortunate to be part of their success." |
Patient CareA New Medical School for Botswana ResearchStars and Workhorses: A Varied Future for Stem Cells Unfolding the Tiniest Problems EducationCommunity ServiceAlumni & DevelopmentThe Story Behind the Jewish Building From a One-Room School to Medical Research College News
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Volume 2, Issue 1, Spring 2006 |
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| Last modified: October 10, 2008 |
Harold and Alta Longenbaugh's love story began in a one-room school house in the small town of Iowa, Louisiana. It was there that the two third-graders first met and formed a bond that later led to a long and devoted marriage.
"The challenge of every organization supporting medical research, from the NIH to the smallest private foundation, is to most effectively apply whatever limited resources and funds that it has," said Lawrence I. Levy, President of the Foundation. "The talent and dedication of the individuals we support at Baylor are invaluable to us in meeting that challenge."
"I always considered Mrs. Longenbaugh more a family member than a client," explained Levy. "It is my responsibility to make sure that her wishes are carried out and that her humanitarian spirit is visible in each program or research project the Foundation decides to support."