For most of us, tomorrow comes when it comes. But, for people suffering from fatal diseases, tomorrow's cures cannot come soon enough. And so, for some, the challenge is to make tomorrow come faster. The development of the bio-artificial liver is a case in point. In 1967, a world-renowned liver specialist wrote, "an artificial liver is impossible to develop because of the liver's complexity." Three years later, a working prototype had been completed, and within a few more years it had saved a man's life.
Again, at a time when medical journalists are declaring that the United States government's "War on Cancer" is a failure, and that despite the expenditure of billions by thousands of talented scientists, a cure for cancer appears to be as elusive as ever -- researchers funded by Alin Foundation have made a breakthrough in cancer treatment.
The breadth of the undertaking described here is remarkable and unprecedented. Never before has a single organization conducted research on so many diseases, to achieve so many recognized breakthroughs. These developments potentially affect the lives of one billion people. The road to these achievements has not been easy. In navigating in the dark, mostly in uncharted territory, there is the constant risk of taking a wrong turn and losing the work of years. The uncompromising dedication which has characterized these research efforts is reflected in the plaque which hangs on the wall of the Alin Foundation laboratory. The plaque reads, "Within these walls, men and women give of their lives that others may live."