On Saturday, May 21, 2011, the Parker H. PetitInstitute for Bioengineering & Bioscience (IBB) will host itsthird annual Petit Undergraduate Research Scholars fundraising dinner onthe campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology. This event welcomes membersof Atlanta’s business community, university leaders and government officials tocome and support the innovative undergraduate research at IBB. 

This year’s dinner will feature guest speakerMitchell H. Gold, MD, who currently serves as president and chief executiveofficer for Dendreon Corporation. Gold will be describing an innovativenew cancer therapy in his presentation entitled, “Winning the War." 

Dendreon, a Seattle-based company, recentlycompleted a $70 million Immunotherapy Manufacturing Facility in Union Citywhich brought over 450 jobs to Georgia. Dendreon’s product, Provenge, is thefirst ever FDA-approved immunotherapy for prostate cancer. 

The Petit Scholars program began in 2000 as part of a ten-year NationalSciences Foundation grant and has been continued and expanded with the help ofprivate donations.  With this year’s fundraising goal of $100,000,sponsorship opportunities are available at platinum, gold, silver and bronzelevels as well as individual dinner ticket purchases. 

To date, the Petit Scholars program has provided funding and programsfor 166 students from Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University,Georgia State University, Morehouse College, Spelman College, Agnes ScottCollege, Gwinnett Technical College and the University of Georgia over the past12 years. IBB Undergraduate Research Scholars program is a competitivescholarship program that allows undergraduates to develop independent researchprojects in Petit Institute laboratories under the director mentorship of agraduate student and faculty member.  The programs’ alumni go on to usetheir valuable research experiences in careers as research scientists,academics and physicians.