At a conference a few months ago, Donella Wilson of the American Cancer Society encouraged Hawaiians to apply for grants in asbestos research.  Dr. Michele Carbone had echoed her sentiments, and once again he is showing Hawaiians the importance of mesothelioma research.

Carbone and a team of researchers have won the inaugural Landon Foundation-AACR Innovator Award for International Collaboration in Cancer Research.  According to the Honolulu Advertiser, "the team discovered a unique mesothelioma epidemic in three Turkish villages was caused by a genetic predisposition to mineral fiber carcinogenesis."  Now, the researchers will apply for a $100,000 grant to identify the predisposing gene(s) for mesothelioma among the Turkish villages and map the genetic risk factors by conducting genetic linkage studies.