Kaye Competition awards more than $1,000,000 to Edmonton-based researchers

Edmonton, AB, July 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The University Hospital Foundation (The Foundation) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2024 Kaye Competition, which funds research and quality improvement programs and projects by local healthcare professionals that directly advance patient care.

The annual competition is a partnership between the University Hospital Foundation and the University of Alberta Hospital (inclusive of the Kaye Edmonton Clinic and the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute), made possible thanks to a $30-million donation in 2012 by the late Donald Kaye, a local philanthropist and retired businessman.

Since its inception in 2017, the Kaye Competition has awarded over $7 million to 45 research and clinical teams who are using innovative approaches, new partnerships and bold ideas to bring the right people, resources and solutions together to advance patient care.

“Congratulations to the 2024 Kaye Competition recipients! We are proud to support their innovative projects and look forward to seeing the impact they will have on their patients and the future of health,” said Dr. Jodi L. Abbott, President and CEO of the University Hospital Foundation. “13 years after Donald Kaye’s transformational gift, his generosity continues to make a difference by funding the exceptional health researchers and clinicians in Edmonton. Research ignites discovery, and even one small finding can open doors to unimaginable breakthroughs.”

The 2024 Kaye Competition recipients and their areas of research are:

Dr. Matthew Anaka: Point-of-care Manufacturing for Tumour Infiltrating Lymphocyte Adoptive Cell Transfer as a Treatment for Metastatic Melanoma. This project will look at the development of a point-of-care tumour infiltrating lymphocyte adoptive cell transfer (TIL-ACT). TIL-ACT is a cancer treatment manufactured from a patient's own immune cells, with demonstrated efficacy in metastatic melanoma.
Dr. Adam Kinnaird: PSMA-Guided Ablation of the Prostate (P-GAP): A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial. This project will study the use of a new imaging technique, prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA), to improve patient selection for focal therapy. Focal therapy is a new treatment for prostate cancer; improved diagnostic techniques will ensure prostate cancer patients are accurately staged to receive focal therapy.
Dr. Frank Wuest: 203/212Pb-PSMA Radiopharmaceuticals for Radionuclide Therapy of Prostate Cancer. This project will study the use of 212Pb-based alpha therapy, an innovative Alberta-made technology, for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. The incorporation of this new therapy into the treatment of prostate cancer is expected to enhance survival outcomes and improve the quality of life for about 100 patients per year battling this aggressive disease.
Dr. Fernando Godinho Zampieri: KETO-AHF: Ketone Ester for Treatment of Acute Heart Failure: A Vanguard Randomized Controlled Trial. This study will assess ketone therapy's impact on systemic congestion and heart failure symptoms, leading to an improved care delivery and expansion of existing knowledge.

About the Kaye Competition
The Kaye Competition is a partnership between the University Hospital Foundation (The Foundation) and the University of Alberta Hospital (inclusive of the Kaye Edmonton Clinic and the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute), made possible through a $30 million donation from Donald Kaye to the Foundation in 2012. More information about the Kaye Competition is available at https://givetouhf.ca/kaye-competition.

About the University Hospital Foundation
The University Hospital Foundation is an organization dedicated to a powerful, singular purpose: to continuously seek, inspire and support bold solutions to seemingly insurmountable challenges and ignite new discoveries in health. Responsible for raising and managing funds to advance prevention, patient care, research and education at the University of Alberta Hospital, the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute and the Kaye Edmonton Clinic, the Foundation strives to transform and redefine health in the Edmonton area, throughout Alberta and around the world so that everyone can live a longer, healthier life. More information about the University Hospital Foundation is available givetouhf.ca.

Hilary Anaka
University Hospital Foundation
780-975-9563
hilary.anaka@givetouhf.ca

Raegan Sather Willford
University Hospital Foundation
825-901-0605
Raegan.SatherWillford@givetouhf.ca

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