VIP Suites include 10 tickets, VIP Parking and cost $2,000 – you can write off half!

If that’s how you wanna roll this year, contact Mary Guiney.

I Love Me Some ShamRockin’!

Along with co-owner Scott Newman, Murphy has donated three renovations so far, raising a total of over $30,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.  They have signed up for another year, and are really looking forward to the excitement of the live auction.  ”I wear my heart on my sleeve, and I really get emotional during the bidding,” says Tom.  ”It’s amazing to think that we can have such an impact on the lives of the Baker Boys, just doing what we love.”

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I’ve just gotten home from the ShamRockin’ event, and I gotta tell you, I’m amazed.  What an incredible evening, so well-coordinated, well-attended, and fun.  Congratulations to all of you.  And to think that this is a volunteer-based effort, put together and pulled off without the help of the CFF, makes it truly outstanding. No matter what happens in the future, please know that the people like me who stand to have their work benefit from your hard work really appreciate all that you do.

Best regards, Nael

P.S.:  Mary:  Thanks for the added motivation to “cure this son-of-a-bitch”!

Dr McCarty is a Ph.D., Associate Professor and Senior CF Scientist; Associate Chief for Research; Division of Pulmonology, Allergy/Immunology, Cystic Fibrosis, and Sleep; Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine; Director, Center for Cystic Fibrosis Research, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta; Scientific Director, Emory-Egleston Children’s Research Center

To net over $100,000 in only the 3rd year of an event is a major accomplishment for founders Mary & Chris Guiney.  ”We are overwhelmed by the support of our local community,” said Chris.  ”It means so much to both of us that this many people would come out to support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and our friends the Bakers.  Gavin and Jake need each one of these people if they’re going to be cured, and we’re grateful to every one of them.”

Corporate sponsors Jim Ellis Audi and Free Spades Poker had their wares on site for crowd perusal, with the gorgeous A8 front and center on the stage, and a poker tournament in the VIP club.  Classic Tents and Events graciously donated half the cost of the immense heated tent housing hundreds of guests and food vendors in the orchestra pit.  The Coffee Pot, a local downtown Alpharetta coffee shop, provided hot beverages to accompany the shamrock shaped cookies provided by Henri’s Bakery.  Henri’s also donated 2 sheet cakes with Gavin and Jake Bakers’ picture on them, which no one had the heart to cut into.  The chocolate fountain was back courtesy of Carmine’s Restaurant & Pizzeria, who once again outdid themselves with an enormous spread of italian entrees.

It’s safe to say that a good time was had by all!

And you can always contact Mary or Chris Guiney at (770) 905-4310 if you’re interested in getting more involved with ShamRockin 2012 – next year on March 10.

A 16-year-old from the Toronto area used a supercomputer system to find a new drug combination that shows potential in treating the genetic disorder cystic fibrosis, and won top honors for his work.

Marshall Zhang, an 11th-grade student at Richmond Hill’s Bayview Secondary School, received first place Tuesday (May 10) in the 2011 Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge, a contest in which students conduct their own research projects with the help of mentors.

Cystic fibrosis is a potentially fatal condition caused by a genetic mutation, or error. It causes thick, sticky mucus to build up in the lungs and elsewhere. Cystic fibrosis occurs most among white people of northern European ancestry, in about 1 out of 3,000 live births. In the past, most people with cystic fibrosis died in their teens, according to the Mayo Clinic. It has no cure. [10 Worst Hereditary Conditions]

At his mentor’s lab, Zhang used the Canadian SCINET supercomputing network to investigate how two promising new compounds acted against the defective protein responsible for the condition. Using computer simulations, he figured out how each of these drugs acted against the protein and discovered they acted on the protein in different spots, raising the possibility they could be used simultaneously without interfering with each other.

Zhang then tested his theory in living cells, and the results exceeded his expectations.

“They actually worked together in creating an effect that was greater than the sum of its parts,” he told LiveScience.

Zhang is realistic about the future for his discovery; once tested in the human body, promising treatments can turn out to be toxic or ineffective, he said. But even if this combination of compounds doesn’t ultimately help treat cystic fibrosis, he believes his research has laid important groundwork for other discoveries.

“I have identified certain chemical structures that are key in the corrective effects of these molecules, as well as identified two molecular targets on the protein for future therapeutics,” he said.

His mentor, Dr. Christine Bear, a researcher at the Hospital for Sick Children’s Research Institute in Toronto, has invited him back to her lab to continue his work, he said.

After taking Advanced Placement Biology last year, in Grade 10, Zhang decided he wanted to do what real scientists do and began contacting professors to see if he could work in their labs.

“Most of them said ‘no’ because I didn’t have the experience I needed,” he said. “I emailed the entire list of faculty in biochemistry at the University of Toronto.” The last one, Dr. Bear, said yes.

Now Zhang and a trio of Montreal students who took second place for their technique for making sorbet without gelatin move on to compete against U.S. and Australian teams at the International BioGENEius Challenge in Washington, D.C., June 27.

You can follow LiveScience writer Wynne Parry on Twitter @Wynne_Parry. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.

Click on image to get a room

If you are looking to grab a hotel room after a great night of ShamRockin close to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, We are thrilled to announce that there are now a list of Hotels in the Alpharetta area offering special low rates for ShamRockers!

Click on this link to Georgia-BookDirect.com for a list of great hotel options, pick one, give them a call and let them know you want the ShamRockin rate.

No worries – SafeRide will even drive you and your car to the hotel!

See you on March 12th!