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Family attends dedication of St. Jude research lab named for Joan F. Gignac

[Memphis, TN] - [08 31 09] - Thirty-three members of the family of Roy and Joan F. Gignac traveled to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital® in Memphis, Tenn., August 14 for the dedication of a research laboratory named in honor of the late Mrs. Gignac.

Mother of 9 healthy children

The Joan F. Gignac Pharmacogenomics Research Laboratory was made possible by a gift from Mr. Gignac to St. Jude and the pioneering research of Mary Relling, PharmD, in improving drug therapy of childhood leukemia.

Three generations of the family and their spouses toured the hospital, one of the world's premier centers for the research and treatment of pediatric cancer and other catastrophic childhood diseases. They also took part in a blessing of the laboratory by St. Jude's chaplain, Brent Powell; toured Target House, St. Jude's long-term residence for patients and their families; and met Dr. Relling and St. Jude Scientific Director James Downing, M.D., who holds the Gignac Chair of Pathology endowed by the couple approximately 10 years ago.

"On behalf of the patients and families of St. Jude, we want to express our gratitude to Mr. Gignac for his generous gift," said David L. McKee, chief operating officer and interim CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising organization of St. Jude. "This is a gift to children in communities everywhere, because the groundbreaking research and lifesaving treatment at St. Jude is freely shared with doctors and scientists throughout the world."

Charitable gifts from individuals like the Gignacs have helped St. Jude make tremendous strides in its mission to find cures and save children. One example is St. Jude's development of combination therapy for children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common form of childhood cancer, which revolutionized leukemia therapy worldwide and increased the survival rate from 4 percent, when St. Jude opened in 1962, to 94 percent today. St. Jude's innovative research also has led to a dramatic increase in survival rates for children with many other major forms of cancer.

About St. Jude
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. St. Jude is the first and only pediatric cancer center to be designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute. Founded by late entertainer Danny Thomas and based in Memphis, Tenn., St. Jude freely shares its discoveries with scientific and medical communities around the world. St. Jude is the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance. No child is ever denied treatment because of the family's inability to pay. St. Jude is financially supported by ALSAC, its fundraising organization. For more information, please visit www.stjude.org.