DURHAM, N.C. – Alice and Fred Stanback of Salisbury, N.C., donated $2 million in December 2007 to the Nicholas School and the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center, continuing their support of a collaborative research initiative between the two institutions.

Duke is one of only two universities in the country that can lay claim to a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center as well as one of the nation’s premier schools of the environment.

William L. Chameides, dean of the Nicholas School, says, “Every year, humans add myriad new chemicals to the environment. In many case, we have little information on the health and environmental effects of these chemicals. The Stanback family’s generous support will enable us to continue and expand our interdisciplinary efforts to understand the threats these chemicals may pose and find sustainable alternatives.”

“The Stanbacks are wonderful, supportive friends and advisors to both the Cancer Center and the Nicholas School,” says Dr. H. Kim Lyerly, director of the Cancer Center. “It is our goal and that of the Nicholas School to use this gift to support researchers from both institutions who will dedicate their lives to investigating the link between cancer and the environment.”

Stanback served on the Nicholas School’s Board of Visitors for many years, and his son, Brad, currently is on the board. Mrs. Stanback serves on the Cancer Center’s Board of Overseers. The Stanback’s previous gifts to both the Cancer Center and the Nicholas School have been used to create the partnership between the two institutions and provided seed money for nine novel collaborative projects to investigate links between environmental toxins and cancer.

It also provided funding to host major scientific conferences on cancer and the environment, such as the Fourth Aquatic Animal Models of Human Disease Conference, which brought hundreds of scientific experts and policymakers from around the world to Duke in January 2008. David Hinton, Nicholas Professor of Environmental Quality, was conference chair.

The new Stanback gift will make it possible for Duke to step up its research activities to map out the pathways by which specific toxic chemicals cycle through the environment, enter the human body and propagate the mutagenic transformations that lead to cancer.

“During my childhood, I heard about the loss of the forest and conservation,” explains Fred Stanback. “When I got older, I read more and began to understand the huge affect that the environment has on our bodies and our lives.

“My hope is that working together the Cancer Center and Nicholas School can have a larger impact on these issues than they could working independently. These two institutions hold an enormous amount of knowledge and expertise. When you combine that expertise with the respect and authority that the Duke name demands, then you create a powerful team.”

One of the recipients of the Stanback’s initial gift was Randy Jirtle, professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the 91 Medical Center. Jirtle was nominated for Time Magazine’s 2007 “Person of the Year” award, for his pioneering work in epigenetics and genomic imprinting.

"Imprinted genes are unusually vulnerable to pressures in our environment—even what we eat, drink, and breathe,” explains Jirtle. “I am truly grateful to the Stanbacks for their interest in environmental affects and for their support of my research and that of others who continue to explore this fascinating and important link.”