Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation

The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (Meso Foundation, formerly MARF) is a nonprofit organization funded by charitable donations[1] that in turn funds mesothelioma research, provides support services to patients, educates the public, and advocates in Washington, DC for governmental funding for mesothelioma research. The organization's mission is to eradicate mesothelioma, a cancer caused by exposure to asbestos, as a life-ending disease.

Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation

Formation	1999
Type	Non-profit organization
Legal status	Foundation
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Location	1717 K Street NW Suite 900 Washington, D.C. 20006
Region served	United States
Director of Communications and Operations	Maja Belamaric
Website	www.curemeso.org

Of its donors, 65% are individuals personally affected by mesothelioma. The remaining 35% include pharmaceutical companies, labor unions, plaintiff and defendant attorneys,[2] and companies that have manufactured asbestos products.[3]

To date, the foundation has funded over $11.5 million [4] in clinical research and is the host of the annual International Symposium on Malignant Mesothelioma. The organization was founded in 1999 and became tax-exempt in 2000.[5] The organization's board of directors is composed by Marjorie G. Zauderer, MD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Chair; Jessica Blackford-Cleeton; Cheryl Bruner, Esq.; Keith Cengel, MD, PhD, University of Pennsylvania; Patrick Forde, MD, Johns Hopkins University; Jason Foster, MD, University of Nebraska; Aaron Mansfield, MD, Mayo Clinic; Sanjay Popat, MD, PhD, The Royal Marsden; R. Taylor Ripley, MD, Baylor University; Boris Sepesi, MD, MD Anderson Cancer Center; Daniel Sterman, MD, New York University; James Stevenson, MD, Cleveland Clinic; Bill Ziegler.[6]