(Media-Newswire.com) – Cold Spring Harbor, NY – Swim Across America ( SAA ) has pledged $50,000 to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory ( CSHL ) to support the work of cancer researcher Rafaella Sordella, Ph.D. SAA raised part of the money during its 2009 “Sound to the Cove Swim” held on Saturday, August 15, during which more than 200 swimmers took the plunge into Long Island Sound to raise money for, and increase awareness of, cancer research.

Dr. Sordella, who is an assistant professor at CSHL, thanked SAA for the generous donation. “Lung cancer causes one in every three cancer deaths in the U.S., but federal funding for lung cancer research is only 5% of the total cancer research budget, which is not at all proportionate to the magnitude of the problem,” said Dr. Sordella.