Guests ‘KISS Cancer Goodbye’ at RockStar Lounge

June 4, 2013 |
RockStar Lounge featured a private concert by KISS tribute band Rock and Roll Over.

June 4, 2013 | Supporters of the UAMS Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute joined forces May 31 to “KISS Cancer Goodbye” at the institute’s annual RockStar Lounge.

Featuring Dallas-based KISS tribute band Rock and Roll Over, the event raised more than $50,000 for research programs at the Cancer Institute. It was hosted by the Envoys, an advocacy group whose mission is to advance the outreach efforts of the Cancer Institute by promoting its physicians, scientists, programs and vision. Natalie and Win Rockefeller Jr. were the event chairs and presenting sponsors.

“We are so grateful to the Envoys and to Natalie and Win Rockefeller for making this event possible. The money raised at RockStar Lounge directly benefits research at the Cancer Institute and makes it possible for our scientists to search for better ways to diagnosis and treat cancer,” Cancer Institute Director Peter Emanuel, M.D., said.

Guests at the event, held in Little Rock’s River Market District, enjoyed a concert by Rock and Roll Over, a KISS-themed face painting booth, a buffet of concession-style fare and libations provided by beverage sponsor Glazer’s. A live auction of KISS memorabilia, including a gold record and a guitar autographed by Gene Simmons, original bassist in KISS, brought in about $4,000 for the cause.

Proceeds from the event will be presented in early 2014 as Seeds of Science grants to Cancer Institute scientists. The 2013 Seeds of Science grant recipients, announced in March, are Aime Franco, Ph.D., assistant professor in the UAMS Department of Physiology & Biophysics, and Y. Lucy Liu, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor in the Division of Hematology and Oncology of the UAMS Department of Internal Medicine.

Franco’s research titled The Pathogenesis of Thyroid Cancer is focused on understanding the development of anaplastic thyroid cancer, the most severe form of the disease. Liu’s project, Investigating the Role of Over-Expression miR-183 in Leukemia Transformation, studies how leukemia transforms in the body. It also will test new therapies in treating leukemia.