PHILADELPHIA, July 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — The MANNA Institute has awarded its first two research grants at $50,000 each to Fox Chase Cancer Center and Jefferson Health’s Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, following a request for proposals launched in January. The MANNA Institute is seeking to measure the impact of MANNA’s medically tailored meal program in patients with a non-terminal cancer diagnosis. The resulting research is intended to identify appropriate outcomes and potential evaluation tools that can be used to build a robust clinical trial protocol.
These are the first grants in the three-year history of the MANNA Institute, and are funded by the Institute’s founding donors: John Alchin, Kevin R. Boyle, Dr. Lynn Garvin Dever, Julia Fleischner, Steven H. Korman, Linda Richardson Korman, and Allan Schimmel in honor of Reid Reames.
“We received multiple proposals from healthcare institutions across the Philadelphia region,” says MANNA Institute Director Jule Anne Henstenburg, PhD, RDN, LDN, FAND. “We are so lucky to be in a city that continues to drive medical research and innovation. The MANNA Institute is the first research institution of it’s kind and we look forward to continuing to innovate in the food as medicine space with our partners.”
Fox Chase Cancer Center, under Principal Investigators Rishi Jain, MD, MS, DABOM and Kara Stromberg, MS, RDN, CDE, LDN, will conduct the study “A Medically Tailored Meal Program to Improve Chemotherapy Tolerance in Patients with Colorectal Cancer: a Pilot Study.”
“We are greatly honored to receive this grant from the MANNA Institute. My primary area of research is the intersection between nutrition and cancer, so this will greatly assist in that work,” said Jain, MD, MS, DABOM, assistant professor in the Department of Hematology/Oncology at Fox Chase.
Jefferson, under Principal Investigator Kristin Rising, MD MSHP, was awarded funds for the study “Identifying & Testing Patient-Important Outcomes to Assess Efficacy of Medically Tailored Meals for Oncology Patients.”
“Time and time again over the past years I have heard from patients about the nutrition-related challenges they have to achieving control of their medical conditions. It is my mission to develop the evidence needed to incorporate nutrition interventions such as MANNA services into routinely covered health benefits across medical conditions. Yet to do so we need to demonstrate the value of these services, which requires rigorous trials in which we demonstrate the impact of nutrition services on specific patient outcomes,” explains Dr. Rising, Director of Acute Care Transitions at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. “The nutrition needs of patients with cancer are complex and multi-factorial, and it is unclear how to best capture these needs as defined outcomes for use in a trial. This work funded by the MANNA Institute is focused on engaging patients and clinicians to identify the most meaningful and useful outcomes for use in a subsequent trial testing the impact of MANNA services on outcomes for patients with cancer. Findings from this study are critical to ensure that future studies are truly measuring what matters most to patients.”
Each study will measure unique health outcomes in patients receiving MANNA’s medically tailored meals – three meals a day, seven days a week. Both research projects are expected to conclude by June 2022.
For more details, contact Laura Payne at [email protected] or 215-496-2662 x 115.
ABOUT MANNA
MANNA is an essential service in the City of Philadelphia. Especially for people at acute nutritional risk due to life-threatening illnesses, MANNA prepares and delivers delicious nourishing meals and counsel, empowering individuals to battle illness and improve their quality of life. A small professional staff and 9,500 dedicated volunteers bring more than 150,000 nutritious, home-delivered meals each month to individuals and families living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. MANNA dietitians promote wellness through nutrition education and counseling. Through these services, MANNA provides opportunities for caring people to extend loving support to families, friends, and neighbors. MANNA is spelled in all capital letters.
ABOUT THE MANNA INSTITUTE
Founded as a division of MANNA in March 2019, the MANNA Institute explores the impact of nutrition on health for people with serious illnesses. The institute leads research and evaluation initiatives, educates healthcare practitioners and consumers, and shares findings and best practices for improved service delivery and healthcare transformation.
ABOUT FOX CHASE CANCER CENTER
The Hospital of Fox Chase Cancer Center and its affiliates (collectively “Fox Chase Cancer Center”), a member of the Temple University Health System, is one of the leading cancer research and treatment centers in the United States. Founded in 1904 in Philadelphia as one of the nation’s first cancer hospitals, Fox Chase was also among the first institutions to be designated a National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center in 1974. Fox Chase researchers have won the highest awards in their fields, including two Nobel Prizes. Fox Chase physicians are also routinely recognized in national rankings, and the Center’s nursing program has received the Magnet recognition for excellence five consecutive times. Today, Fox Chase conducts a broad array of nationally competitive basic, translational, and clinical research, with special programs in cancer prevention, detection, survivorship and community outreach. It is the policy of Fox Chase Cancer Center, that no one shall be excluded from or denied the benefits of or participation in the delivery of quality medical care on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity/expression, disability, age, ancestry, color, national origin, physical ability, level of education, or source of payment.
ABOUT JEFFERSON HEALTH
Jefferson Health, home of Sidney Kimmel Medical College, is reimagining health care in the greater Philadelphia region and southern New Jersey. Jefferson’s dedicated team of doctors, nurses, health professionals and staff provides a range of primary to highly-specialized care through 14 hospitals (seven are Magnet®-designated by the ANCC for nursing excellence), more than 40 outpatient and urgent care locations, the NCI-designated Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Magee Rehabilitation and the JeffConnect® telemedicine program. For 2020-2021, Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals is ranked among the nation’s best hospitals in nine specialities by U.S. News & World Report. Jefferson Health’s mission is to improve the lives of patients in the communities it is privileged to serve through safe, effective, equitable, compassionate care.
CONTACT: Laura Payne
Senior Manager, Marketing & Events
(215) 496-2662 x 115
[email protected]
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