On this page we highlight information and/or events that just don’t need much space to be interesting or effective. Reading this page will keep you “in the know”.

A is for adjustment to change! In the summer of 2021, the KTB joined three other biobanking entities within the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center. Together, this umbrella group is called the Biospecimen Collection and Banking Core, or BC² for short. No worries, the KTB remains the same, we just have a lot more peripheral team members and a few different duties, changes we can fully embrace!

B is for Bye-bye, and a bittersweet farewell to our longtime development guru and advocate Lizzie Conkle Knol. Lizzie accepted a position as Senior Gift Planning Officer at Caltech in Pasadena, California. We were so sad to see her go! We wish Lizzie and her husband Eric a fond farewell and are happy that she is now able to be much closer to family.

C is for continuing our farewells, as we also bid adieu to Natascia Marino, previous IU School of Medicine Assistant Professor and KTB researcher

ONE: The number “1” means priority, and the KTB wants to remind all of our prior tissue donors to please prioritize completing their medical follow-up survey. This very short questionnaire arrives once a year in the month of your birth. You can add the KTB general address komentb@iupui.edu to your address book or “safe senders” list to help ensure that you receive this important email. If you have questions or need to update your information but have not received your Happy Birthday email from us this year, please contact Alison Hughes, alisnide@iu.edu.

TWO: Since the start of the pandemic, IUPUI has held two school-wide reading groups focusing on antiracism. Last spring, Jill (KTB COO) and Kathi (KTB Communication & Outreach) read and co-facilitated small group discussions of So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo. We recommend this book to any who are interested in learning how to be more comfortable talking about race.

THREE: Exciting news – the KTB will hold a fall tissue collection event on Saturday, November 12! We are so excited to be back in the swing of things and able to host our second event since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are three ways you can get involved: donate your healthy breast tissue (if is has been at least five years since your last donation); volunteer on event day, or volunteer for setup the night before. Watch the KTB website for more information – registration will be open sometime in late September.

EXTRA! EXTRA! The KTB places great focus on ensuring that our samples are racially, ethnically, and geographically diverse. During the pandemic, large numbers of our tissue samples from Black and Brown women were used up by researchers hunkered down in their labs working to lessen breast cancer disparities. In September, we will hold three Tasty Talks, casual dinners where potential donors of color can learn more about the KTB in a relaxed, no-stress environment. The Tasty Talk for Black women will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 13, for Latinas on Wednesday, Sept. 21, and for Asian women on Thursday, Sept. 29. If you are a previous tissue donor of color, please help us populate these fun, casual gatherings over food by sending a friend or coming yourself and bringing someone with you who may want to learn more. Contact Kathi Ridley-Merriweather, keridley@iupui.edu, for more information, or to make a reservation.