MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL – (Nov. 11, 2005) The Leukemia Research Fund at the University of Minnesota Foundation received $311,000 from this year's Danny Thompson Memorial Golf Tournament. Georgie Fenton, president and director of the Danny Thompson Memorial, and Steve Hanks, CEO of Washington Group International and chairman of the Danny Thompson Memorial Board of Directors, presented the donation to University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks and Masonic Cancer Center Deputy Director Tucker LeBien at a recent ceremony in St. Paul.

Since 1976, the Danny Thompson Memorial Golf Tournament has contributed more than $4 million to the Leukemia Research Fund. The fund supports interdisciplinary research in leukemia and related diseases at the Masonic Cancer Center and elsewhere at the University of Minnesota. The Leukemia Research Fund distributes research funds to University of Minnesota faculty with research interests in oncology, molecular biology, biochemistry, immunology, pharmacology and other fields. The goal of the fund is to accelerate progress toward a cure of leukemia and related diseases.

“The Danny Thompson Memorial Golf Tournament is proud to associate the traditions of golf with the traditions of research at the University of Minnesota to fight leukemia,” said Georgie Fenton. “Great strides have been made in leukemia research the past 30 years with nearly 80 percent of children diagnosed with the disease these days being cured. We need to continue this type of research until no one dies from leukemia, and if we with the Danny Thompson Memorial Golf Tournament can make that happen, then it's worth our effort.”

“Money from the Danny Thompson Memorial Golf Tournament has helped fund dozens of leukemia research projects at the University of Minnesota that have brought us many steps closer to better understanding and treatment of leukemia,” said Tucker LeBien, Ph.D., deputy director of the Masonic Cancer Center and associate director of basic science research. “Currently, nine cancer scientists receive funds to conduct innovative research ranging from using stem cells and natural killer cells to discovering new drugs for treatment of leukemia.”

Danny Thompson, shortstop for the Minnesota Twins in the early 1970s, died in 1976 of leukemia. His memory lives on through the Danny Thompson Memorial Golf Tournament, which has raised more than $8 million for leukemia research since it began in 1976. The annual tournament was started by former Minnesota Twin Harmon Killebrew and former Idaho Congressman Ralph Harding in memory of their friend, Danny Thompson. The 29th annual Danny Thompson Memorial Golf Tournament was held in Sun Valley, Idaho, in August.

The Leukemia Research Fund is an endowment fund managed and invested by the University of Minnesota Foundation. Founded in 1962, the University of Minnesota Foundation is an independent, non-profit organization that builds greatness at the University of Minnesota by raising and managing gifts from alumni and friends.

Media Contact: Mary Lawson, Public Relations Director, Masonic Cancer Center, 612-624-6165, 612-363-6971 (cell), mlawson@umn.edu.