ATLANTA — First Lady Dr. Jill Biden was in the Peach State for part of this week to highlight and reinforce the president's national commitment to fight cancer.
The First Lady visited Emory University on Friday, where she toured the school's cancer lab. The visit comes as part of the Biden Administration's "Cancer Moonshot" effort "to end cancer as we know it."
The White House said the trip to Emory will be a chance to highlight the launch of the first project funded through the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, or ARPA-H. The agency aims to use mRNA technology -- the same tech that was used to quickly develop vaccines for COVID-19 -- to train immune systems to fight diseases.
During her Friday morning remarks, Dr. Biden spoke about how her husband, President Joe Biden, worked with both sides of the aisle to advance medical discoveries to "build a world where cancer is not a death sentence, where we invest in innovative research and health patients and their families navigate this journey," Biden said.
She also referenced her own personal cancer story, discussing how she lost her own her son Beau Biden to brain cancer and how programs like this one will help families fight the disease.
"This work gives families the power to hold on to that hope just a little bit longer," she said. "This work can change lives, your work can change lives -- here in Georgia and around the world."
Biden said that she hope the program puts forth results for Americans so they can live longer, healthier lives. She ended her speech by stating that the ARPA-H plans to give $250 million more in cancer research, with its first award going right here to Emory.
"I've seen what's possible when we invest in cutting-edge research," she said.
The Cancer Moonshot -- a White House initiative -- works to add renewed leadership to the battle against cancer. The goal is to drive progress and facilitate new collaborations, with a goal of preventing more than 4 million cancer deaths by 2047. Read more about it here.
Watch her speech here:
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