August 2020 | E-Newsletter
Missouri Cures Education Foundation is a statewide non-profit alliance working to promote & protect medical advances to improve the health of Missourians and stimulate the economy in our state. Donations are tax-deductible & support education and outreach programs.
From the Director's Desk:
Currently there are more than 160 COVID-19 vaccines being developed worldwide and about 30 have entered human trials. Scientists and researchers are racing to find a safe and effective vaccine by next year. Recently I participated in webinars giving an update on the Moderna Therapeutics and Johnson & Johnson vaccine development. Participating in these webinars gives me hope that life will resume back to normal by the end of 2021. There will be hurdles to overcome such as creating and evaluating vaccines at an accelerated pace, and how companies will manufacture, store and distribute millions of doses but the experts are working tirelessly to overcome these obstacles. Missouri is playing an important role in the vaccine development with Saint Louis University Center for Vaccine Development and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis enrolling almost 3,000 participants in several COVID-19 vaccine trials, with each school participating in different trials.  

Thank you to the researchers, physicians and scientists who are moving cures and therapies forward in this challenging time.

Stay well,

Dena Ladd
Executive Director
Missouri Cures
News Around Missouri:
University of Missouri Kansas City:
Saint Louis University:
University of Missouri:
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Washington University:
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National & International:
Spotlight:
WISER Woman:
This month we are excited to introduce you to Dionne Stalling. Dionne is the Founder and Executive Director of Rare and Black, whose mission is to empower and amplify voices of black patients and care takers affected by rare disease. They work to educate the broader community, to bring awareness to the needs of this population, and to advocate for changes to improve the delivery of health care to individuals who are black and living with rare disease. We are excited to have Dionne as a panelist at our upcoming Rare Disease Symposium on September 30th. To find out more click here.
Meet the Researcher:
Meet Chanté Summers, Senior Associate Scientist at Pfizer Inc. in the Bioprocess Research and Development Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Chanté works with a multidisciplinary team to research innovative technologies for the development of mid- to late-stage therapeutics. She leverages her technical background in organic chemistry to develop biochemical processes for production of clinical trial material. Through small-scale laboratory studies and statistical analysis, Chanté applies her findings to deliver robust and efficient strategies for heightened process performance at large scale. Chanté has supported therapeutics across Pfizer’s portfolio including gene therapies, antibody drug conjugates, and vaccines. We are excited to have Chanté join us as a panelist for on November 11th for our WISER Week. Learn more here.
Missouri Cures Goes Virtual:
We invite you to listen to the next episode of our podcast WISER Conversations, featuring Dr.Susan Rahman.
Or attend one of our upcoming events:

Sept. 22nd - WISER Columbia
Nov. 10th, 11th and 12th - WISER Week Virtual Lunch Seminars
Missouri Cures Education Foundation | PO Box 16580 | St. Louis, MO 63105 | Website